When architect Eero Saarinen and engineer Hannskarl Bandel designed the Gateway Arch in St. Louis in the middle of the last century, it was to be the centerpiece of a monument to Thomas Jefferson and the westward expansion of the U.S. that happened during his administration. In fact, the arch is often called the “Gateway to the West.”

Judging by the number of Georgia football fans I saw in St. Louis last week, it might be more appropriate to call it “Gateway to the SEC East.”

(As an aside, it could also be called “Gateway to Blakely,” because when I got to the top of the 630-foot-tall arch, I ran into two couples from my hometown. I doubt even an MIT engineer could figure the odds of five people from the same small Southwest Georgia town showing up at the top of the arch at exactly the same time.)

Thousands of Georgia fans packed into Missouri to witness the Tigers first game as a member of the Southeastern Conference. Like us, many started their trip as tourists in St. Louis.

By the time we all converged on Columbia, home of the University of Missouri, none of us was really sure what to expect. One of their football players had referred to Georgia’s style of play as “old-man football.” Another tweeted that Missouri, with its 71,000-capacity stadium, was going to show Georgia, home of 92,000-seat Sanford Stadium, what a real stadium atmosphere was like.

But it turns out that, aside from that bravado from the players, the folks in Columbia were warm and welcoming. They seemed genuinely glad we were in town.

Nearly everyone we passed on the street offered a hearty, “Welcome to Columbia.” Even the students.

Counter that with our last trip to Baton Rouge where LSU beat Georgia and fans threw cups and bottles at us as we left the stadium. I want to go back and win so we can throw them back.

Or the nastiness of the Auburn-Alabama rivalry that was taken to another level by that guy who poisoned the old oak trees at Toomer’s Corner, where Auburn fans go to celebrate big wins.

Or really, just about any campus where a big rivalry is taking place. I’ve had chicken bones shaken in my face by obnoxious opponents.

“Come here, dawg, and get this bone,” they say.

I’m not suggesting this kind of stuff doesn’t happen in Athens. It does. Get enough people together, mix in enough alcohol and someone is bound to do something idiotic.

But I didn’t see or hear any of that in Columbia. In fact, the only other college town I’ve ever been to that was so friendly is Oxford, Miss. But Oxford is the home office of Southern hospitality. I just didn’t expect it in Missouri. But apparently, Midwesterners have manners, too.

After eating lunch at Shakespeare’s Pizza, which they say is one of America’s best college hangouts, we were going to walk around campus. But we didn’t get 20 feet before we were stopped by two different groups of Mizzou fans, who welcomed us to town and then shared their recommendations of places to eat and sites to see.

I can only hope that when thousands of Missourians come to Athens next season that Bulldogs fans will treat them with the same warmth and friendliness.

You all know how big a college football fan I am. I’m up before daylight to start tailgating in Athens. I go on the road where Georgia plays. But I’m always mindful that it is just a game. And it is supposed to be fun. I hope I never take it as seriously as some people I know, people who are miserable for days after Georgia loses a game.

That’s why I came away so impressed with the people in Missouri. Maybe the next time we play, we are both competing for an SEC title and maybe the folks won’t be so nice.

But I doubt it.

Mitch Clarke is executive editor of The Times. His column appears Sundays. Read previous columns at gainesvilletimes.com/mitch. Follow him on Twitter @MitchTimes.