Commentary

College hoops couples therapy

Missouri and Kansas fans hash out their basketball rivalries with a psychologist

Updated: February 1, 2010, 2:57 PM ET
By Elena Bergeron | ESPN The Magazine

The 10 or so people nursing Coronas an hour after the bar opened aren't too thrilled about the noise coming from a table in the corner. San Diego isn't exactly a rah-rah town and the Chargers, playing three blocks away, don't hit the field until tomorrow. But when Robyn and Brad Quick, both in their mid-30s, settle into their favorite sports bar for a Saturday college hoops-a-thon, all hell breaks loose. See, the two genial marrieds -- she's a nurse, he's a hair stylist -- grew up on opposite sides of the Big 12's Border War. Kansas City transplant Brad sided with his Mizzou-obsessed dad. Robyn, a Lawrence, Kan., native whose entire family attended KU, is a Jayhawker right down to her crimson roots (Brad dyed her hair blond). Now that the Quicks have settled in SoCal, far away from mascots and kin, they're seeking help from psychologist Dr. Michael Mantell to resolve their, um, differences of opinion before they add a new fan to their household. Dr. Michael Mantell, a local psychologist, offered to counsel the Quicks ... but he had to wait until halftime of both games to get a word in edgewise.

Dr. Mantell: So tell me about this bar? Is this a place where you root for your teams together?

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Elena Bergeron

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