By Roger Smith: Flickr Creative Commons
Almost everybody has a favorite team. Forget the “Beatles or Rolling Stones?” icebreaker. Get conversation flowing for hours with a simple “Ole Miss or State?” I use the term “conversation” loosely, of course.
An allegiance to a college football team isn’t tied to where one graduated. It starts way earlier than that. Often, in the womb. You’re an Ole Miss fan because your daddy is an Ole Miss fan. Your daddy’s an Ole Miss fan because his daddy was, and so on.
my nephew, jackson, was a tiny tiger's fan
Apparently, he's switched teams.
It may be blasphemy to confess that I couldn’t care less about college football (or any other kind, except “Friday Night Lights.” “Clear eyes. Full hearts. Can’t lose!”) However, I must admit that this wasn’t always the case. Back in third grade, I was a diehard MS State fan, if only for fashion/romantic reasons. See, there was this jacket. Lots of kids in my class had them, including the boy I liked. Who was, of course, the boy EVERYbody liked. It was a silky, maroon, letterman-style jacket with “Mississippi State” silkscreened in white on the back. I just HAD to have one. Be careful what you wish for – or what you ask your parents for.
The jacket I wound up with was a burgundy (even then I knew the difference) windbreaker with the words “Mississippi State” in white iron-on letters on the back. Or was it “Miss. State”? Oh, well. I still wore the jacket to school with all the pride I could muster. Till fourth grade came around, and I moved on to another boy – and, hopefully, more attractive outerwear.
Why is college football so popular in the South? Is it just the tailgating or what?
stuff southern people like 
It’s because the SEC is the best division in the country. 🙂
I remember reading something somewhere…maybe Sweet Potato Queens. It was something about how southern women, at their funerals, should be propped up in a sitting position on top of the coffin, with a tape recording that said (with proper southern twang), “Hey, cute shoes! How’s your momenthem?” Unless, of course, you’re from Mississippi, in which case it’s, “Hey, kewt shoes! Think Ole Miss gonna win?”
Thoroughly enjoying your blog…and about to pass around to all my southern friends!
Glad you like my blog, and thanks for getting the word out!
I’m pretty sure that must be from one of the sweet potato queens books. Sounds very familiar…and very true!!
What better way to spend a day than at tailgate? Why yes, I would like a cold beer and some brisket tacos, thank you!
I will skip the cold beer (too wheaty for my taste), but I could definitely go for some brisket tacos!