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Missouri: State of Champions

  • February 25, 2020

Missouri Partnership CEO, Subash Alias, discusses Missouri’s winning attitude and explains how Missouri became the State of Champions.

If you’re a sports fan, I can’t think of a better place to live right now than Missouri. We are the State of Champions. In less than one year, Missouri’s professional sports teams have won not just one, but two major championships. Can fans in any other state say they’ve watched their beloved teams make it through the playoffs to clinch the final win twice in one year? I don’t claim to be a sports history expert, but I know this is extraordinary.

The Kansas City Chiefs won Super Bowl LIV a few weeks ago, bringing unmatched energy and pride to Chiefs fans throughout the state.

A few months prior to the Chiefs win, St. Louis Blues fans celebrated the team’s wild ride through the playoffs that ended with the Blues bringing home the 2019 Stanley Cup.

While these championships are exhilarating for fans in Missouri, having two teams from two different regions in the state take the top spots provides more than just a thrill for fans. It sheds light on Missouri’s winning mentality. Our sports teams’ success reflects the mindset of Missourians.

We don’t give up.

We work hard.

We strive for perfection.

We know how to win.

Grit and determination set our state apart in both the sports and business worlds. Missouri is the State of Champions, which explains why several leading global companies have operations here. Ford and General Motors produce more than 770,000 vehicles in Missouri every year. Boeing manufactures several military jets in our state, including the F/A-18, EA-18, F-15 and T-7. Advanced manufacturers in Missouri churn out a long list of impressive products. From the number one selling Tracker fishing boat to batteries used by NASA to power space missions, it’s all made in Missouri thanks to our top-notch workforce. Speaking of workforce, our state just rolled out Missouri One Start, a program that delivers a customized talent strategy for all employers in the state. I’d say that’s a win.

Perhaps our state’s laser-focus on providing a champion workforce helps explain why Missouri is seeing so much investment from companies who have never done business in our state until recently. For example, USDA just announced they’re relocating two of their key agencies’ HQ from Washington, D.C., to Kansas City, Missouri. When USDA posted the first 100 job openings in Kansas City, they had more than 6,000 applicants. Talk about a large talent pool!

There are countless examples of Missouri proving to be the best in sports and in business. For Missourians like myself, this winning attitude and drive to be the best is nothing new for our state. But now that our professional sports teams are hoisting Missouri into the spotlight, people around the world are seeing for themselves that Missouri truly is the State of Champions.

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