Crimson Tikes: The Show Me State

Missouri is nicknamed the "Show-Me State" because the phrase signifies a skeptical, pragmatic attitude, meaning people need to be shown proof rather than just given words. The origin is not known, but It is attributed to U.S. Congressman Willard Duncan Vandiver.

Per the Missouri Secretary of State website:

"While a member of the U.S. House Committee on Naval Affairs, Vandiver attended an 1899 naval banquet in Philadelphia. In a speech there, he declared, 'I come from a state that raises corn and cotton and cockleburs and Democrats, and frothy eloquence neither convinces nor satisfies me. I am from Missouri. You have got to show me."

"Other versions of the 'Show-Me' legend place the slogan's origin in the mining town of Leadville, Colorado. There, the phrase was first employed as a term of ridicule and reproach. A miner's strike had been in progress for some time in the mid-1890s, and a number of miners from the lead districts of southwest Missouri had been imported to take the places of the strikers. The Joplin miners were unfamiliar with Colorado mining methods and required frequent instructions. Pit bosses began saying, 'That man is from Missouri. You'll have to show him.'"

Regardless, it's on the license plate.

Crimson Tikes: The Show Me State; Alabama at Mizzou — Crimson Tikes: The Show Me State | Anthony Sisco

No. 8 Alabama at No. 14 Missouri

Saturday, 11 a.m.
At Columbia, Mo., Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium (57,321)
TV: ABC
Play-By-Play: Joe Tessitore, Analyst: Jesse Palmer, Sideline: Katie George
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network
Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Analyst: Tyler Watts, Sideline: Cory Reamer, Host: Roger Hoover
Sirius/XM: 119 or 191

The Best of Crimson Tikes

Crimson Tikes: Back on Track | Anthony Sisco

"Crimson Tikes" is the brainchild of Anthony Sisco, who is passionate about all things Crimson Tide. Although his career paths have taken him in different directions, the cartoon centered around Alabama athletics has been a labor of love for the past few years.

He and his wife live in Hickory Flat, Ga., where they raised two kids and a multitude of pets. He attended Alabama through its distance learning program to study writing and literature. Although Sisco still loves to visit Tuscaloosa whenever possible (the self-described lifelong zealot of Alabama football considers the campus "hallowed ground."

Originally out of Huntsville, his background includes two years in the U.S. Army, stationed in Monterrey, Calif.; plus 30 years of full and lay ministry that stretched from Atlanta all the way up to New England. Mix in 20 years of various entrepreneurial pursuits and you’ll see hints of what he describes as spiritual insights and philosophical musings, all with a Peanuts-type approach to the Crimson Tide.”

Sisco's compilation books include: “Crimson Tikes - The Tradition Rolls On,” “Bouncing Back,” “Out of Order” and “The Best of Crimson Tikes.” His latest is "Bama Fans Only" and can be ordered at www.anthonysisco.com.

Crimson Tikes: Bama Fans Only cover | Anthony Sisco