Farmageddon is a Stupid Name for an Incredible Rivalry

We need to talk about Farmageddon.

First of all: that name is ridiculous. Farmageddon. Like it’s a bad disaster movie from the 90s. “Coming this summer: FARMAGEDDON. Two farms. One field. No survivors.” Who came up with this? Why did everyone agree it was good?

But second of all: the actual rivalry is incredible and I need more people to care about it.

Kansas State vs. Iowa State. Two land-grant universities. Two programs that have no business being good but somehow are. Two fan bases that genuinely dislike each other for reasons that are hard to explain but very real.

The games are always close. ALWAYS. I went back and looked at the last ten meetings. Nine of them were decided by one score. Nine. That’s not normal. That’s not random variance. That’s two evenly matched programs who know each other too well to blow each other out.

This year’s game was a perfect example. K-State won 24-21. It was a slugfest. Low-scoring. Physical. Both teams running the ball and playing tough defense. The kind of game that looks boring on a stat sheet but is actually incredible if you’re watching closely.

The fan bases are both weird too, which adds to the charm. Iowa State fans do that weird “Cyclone” hand thing and yell about corn. K-State fans do the “Wabash Cannonball” where they all jump up and down in unison like they’re trying to collapse the stadium.

Actually, the Wabash Cannonball is genuinely terrifying. I’ve seen videos where you can see the stadium structure physically shaking. Some engineer somewhere is probably having a heart attack every time they do it.

Mike’s note: The Wabash Cannonball is a legitimate structural concern. Bill Snyder Family Stadium was not designed for that level of synchronized movement. It’s fun until it’s not.

The other thing about Farmageddon is that both fan bases travel well. When Iowa State plays at K-State (or vice versa), the visiting team’s fans actually show up. It’s not just a home crowd. It’s a split crowd. That creates an atmosphere you don’t get in other games.

Look, I know Farmageddon doesn’t have the history of Texas-Oklahoma or the cultural weight of the Holy War. But it’s a damn good rivalry between two damn good programs, and the stupid name shouldn’t distract from that.

Give Farmageddon the respect it deserves.

— Jake

P.S. — They should still change the name though. Maybe “Cornfield Chaos”? No, that’s worse. “Plains Pain”? Also bad. Fine, keep Farmageddon. Whatever.