KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Anywhere there was basketball on a TV was sure to be packed in Kansas City on Thursday. Jayhawk and Tiger fans intermingled as their games overlapped in the first round.

The only way Kansas would play Missouri is if they both make it to the NCAA Championship game. That means, at least from what FOX4 crews saw, there was a lot of love shared between the fan bases.

On any given day, it’s pretty easy to spot hardcore KU fans. And on Thursday, diehard Mizzou fans were equally easy to catch.

“I was born in Columbia, raised in Columbia, went to school in Columbia,” Mizzou fan Jerry Brumfield said.

But he admits it isn’t always easy to be a Tigers fan during the NCAA Tournament.

“My remembrances of past appearances in the tournament are always bad,” he added. “They’ve broken my heart multiple times. Tyus Edney — I was laying on the couch with food poisoning that day so that was an awful day all round. Norfolk State a few years back wasn’t fun.”

But on Thursday, Mizzou beat Utah State 76-65, winning a March Madness game for the first time since 2010.

“My KU buddy, I bring him to games with me all the time, and he’s awful luck,” said Brumfield, referring to Allen Curtis who sat with him at Harpo’s in Westport.

But with a longtime MU-KU rivalry, Curtis said he loves being the bad luck.

“Every time I go to a Mizzou football game they lose. I’m not lying. Middle Tennessee, all of them, Auburn, Syracuse. I can name them all,” Curtis said.

“Kiss of death. We have no chance today because he’s here,” Brumfield predicted, though proven wrong by mid-afternoon.

On the flip-side, KU fans expressed reserved confidence, perhaps owing to how long they’ve been on the successful Jayhawk grind.

“I think since the day that I was born,” Molly Askew said while headed into Johnny’s Tavern at the Power & Light District.

“We watched every game, and she was always right there with us,” Molly’s mom Karen Askew said.

They watched again Thursday as Kansas beat Howard 96-68, advancing to the round of 32.

“When [my son] was a baby, my dad used to have to take him into the other room because he would cry when she would scream at the TV,” Molly said of her mother.

“Molly was born in ’88 when there was a championship. And I was born in ’52 when there was a championship. So we figured there was something there,” Karen said.

The luck might continue this year for this Jayhawks family. Molly is pregnant.

“Yeah, I think it’s pretty legit. Yeah, you never know,” she said. “And a girl, so all the girls born. [My son] was born when we won the World Series so we’ve got a family of champions right here.”