Disclaimer: Much respect given to the guys representing the MSU Bulldogs and Ole Miss Rebels football teams or the students that can separate the academics from the athletics; this is strictly geared towards certain fanatics. I can't even call these folks fans with a straight face.
I was once a student at Mississippi State. At that time, I tried to develop an interest in the school's sports teams even though I never had before enrolling. One of the first lessons I learned was that Ole Miss was the enemy in all ways. Next, I was informed that being in the SEC was the best association any sports administration could ask for. Finally, Mississippi State offered the Black college student the greatest opportunity to learn of all the institutions in the state. The crazy thing is that I lived in Ole Miss country for the same amount of time that I was enrolled at MSU and learned a similar lesson about the Great University of Mississippi. The real lesson that I learned is that it's hard for me to associate myself with either culture because of the nature of these points, which are addressed every single year around Thanksgiving as the two schools prepare for the annual football contest.
Rivalry
For me, the rivalry between the schools has become athletic in nature. Nothing more, nothing less. Issues of tradition, academics, culture and such are always on the table when "trash talk" is going on. Each school is so different that the only similarity between them is the words "University" and "Mississippi", and those are shared with one other institution in the state by the way. Comparing the two schools is worse than comparing apples to oranges. Together, both schools provide the state with a diversity of higher education. Wouldn't it be terrible to have 3 universities that specialized in law?
People have such a need to feel apart of something greater that students sometimes get caught up in association. Just because someone chose to attend one school, doesn't automatically make them fit a certain mold. On the same hand, attending one school or another didn't mean I had to shape myself to fit the "look" of that school. I, for example, enrolled at Miss State because at the time I was prepared to study electrical engineering, and the school has one of the better programs in the region. My competitive nature decided that I wanted the challenge. Now if I wanted to be a lawyer or journalist, Ole Miss may have been a better choice.
"Just Happy Winning by 1"
Years have gone by since the last time that both Mississippi State and Ole Miss were considered contenders in the national scope. In that same time, their home conference has been home to a host of national champions (a topic for another day) in football. The mind state of a good many fans, or maybe just the ones that I see, is one that finds joy in success of any Southeast Conference school. It matters not that your team may have gotten their asses kicked by 5 of the 14 member schools; the SEC is the greatest conference to take weekly ass kickings. A casual observer would scratch their heads while witnessing a Reb fan and Dog fan bicker about who gave Alabama a better game even though both teams lost. Who the fuck brags about losing? You lames need to stop that shit.
(There was an attempt to keep this clean but fuck it.)
Today, I saw a nigga post that they would be happy losing to LSU by one. In 2009, Bulldog Nation gave me the verbal business because I couldn't understand their excitement with barely winning a game that shouldn't have been a contest in the first place. "A win is a win," I was told. The difference between teams that are given respect and teams that have to fight for it is something I call killer instinct. The Roll Tide faithful could really give a damn if their team is #1 or #41, losing to teams that do not have a tradition of winning programs is unacceptable. In Bulldog and Rebel nation, it would seem that being the underdog each week is great because that means there's a chance to pull an upset and ruin someone's year. Get the fuck out of here with that bullshit. What's the underdog's winning percentage?
Race
I really don't know how race talk enters the conversation among supposedly college educated individuals when having "shit" talking sessions concerning football. The biggest culprit is nearly always the MSU affiliate. The claim that Ole Miss is a racist institute and has a tradition that supports such as if nothing remotely racist has ever occurred on the campus of the Maroon and White Loons (remember the black greek frat houses?). While I agree that the conservative environment of the school does not give much room for those that do not look fit a certain mold, the fact is that the school was the first to integrate of the two. It was 3 years later that the first black student enrolled at Mississippi State. The James Meredith & Dr. Richard Holmes accounts of their accomplishments are as different as the culture of the two schools. It appalls my mind to think that people can relate the racial tension that takes place throughout this country to two schools, one which seeks to rely on a distinguished foundation and the other that seeks to impact the economy through contributions to natural and physical sciences.
The racial aspects of this country run deep in the undercurrent of our daily lives with a little peeking on the surface from time to time. I'd have to say that currently it's doing a lot more peeking than usual; hell, down right exploding is a better word. Normally, racism exists just as the underground water system. It's there even though you can't see it. I manifests itself in the forms of reckless talking and actions from time to time similar to brooks, streams, and the all important geyser. I'm starting to accept the fact that no matter the level of civilization, the ISM's will always be present. We could always talk about elitism among blacks, but I don't think I'm ready to lose any associations right now. You niggas are really trippin though.
At the end of the day, the majority of you Maroon Loons and Rebel Devils are debating social issues when you should just stick to sports talk. On second thought, some of you can't even do that; you cannot even accept the fact that your team isn't as good as you tout it to be. I cannot limit my discussion to the supporters of MSU and Ole Miss either; this is for all my educated brothers and sisters who have lived or currently reside in the not-so-great State of Mississippi. Mississippians make less than $40K per household (
verify for yourself) and is the lowest ranked of all the states, but you know this and yet you still have pride in the state just because you were born there. The majority of the residents of the state earn far less than I do, and I know it's an everyday struggle on my income. Matter of fact, only one county in the state has a
per capita income that is higher than my
personal income, no I didn't say household.
I'm running out of words. So I'll end before this becomes a lot of "ignorant muthafuckas" and "dumb niggas" bashing. Peace out people...own your life and quit being content with failure.
