re: Question for missouri fans..

Your best bet is flying into St. Louis (or Kansas City) and driving to Columbia. You could catch a morning flight into either of those cities and make it to Columbia mid day. Lambert (STL) is about 1.5 hours away, and KC Int'l is about 2 hours away. If you can't find anything in Columbia, look first to Jefferson City (20 miles from Columbia), than Booneville (20 Miles, Isle of Capri Casino). Beyond that you could look to Moberly or Fulton (both about 30 miles away). Alternatively, you could stay in a B&B in Rocheport, MO (15 miles away). A quick search on Kayak.com showed tickets for $300 from ATL to St. Louis.

Hope this helps, can't wait for Sept 8! MIZ.