Big Football Weekend in Mississippi

The weather is finally turning colder. The look of Fall is all around us. Chrysanthemums are blooming. Halloween blow ups are looming. Most importantly the sounds of football stadiums are booming with the excitement of college football.

Here in the Deep South the sounds of Southeastern Conference football are probably the loudest. Here in Mississippi the excitement has been building this week for one of the biggest football weekends in a long time. Saturday both Mississippi teams, the University of Mississippi (Ole Miss) Rebels and the Mississippi State University Bulldogs which are both ranked in the top 12 will play even higher ranked opponents. Both teams have not been so highly ranked in the polls at the same time since 1958. Mississippi State (#12) will face Texas A&M (#6) at 11 am CT and Ole Miss (#11) will face (#3) Alabama at 2:30 pm CT. Both games are home games for the Mississippi teams. These conference matches between Top 25 teams will give these Mississippi teams a chance to prove themselves on a national level.

And, the people of Mississippi couldn’t be more excited! Kids have been checked out of school. Sunday School teachers are arranging for someone else to teach their classes. The people of MS are ready for some football!

The buzz has been for weeks if Ole Miss and Alabama were both undefeated by the time their match-up rolled around...that ESPN GameDay would come! Those dreams have come true for Rebel fans and ESPN GameDay is coming to Oxford, MS for the first time. When they see the art of tail-gating Mississippi-style, I don’t think it will be their last time! The Ole Miss fans have tents filling The Grove, an area near the center of campus. You won't just see coolers and grills. You will see chandeliers, thematic decor, chafing dishes and a lot of wonderful food! It is a Southern experience you will not forget!

Then came the news that the guest celebrity picker for GameDay would be Katy Perry. Turns out that Katy Perry’s manager was a 1996 graduate of Ole Miss and seems to have had some influence on Ms. Perry’s football allegiance. Now the state is really in a frenzy preparing for a major game with a major celebrity in attendance. The people of Mississippi are really hoping that these games are a great showcase for their schools and our state.

My husband and son are both huge Ole Miss fans. I am an Auburn alumnus and fan. This weekend though it won’t be a problem for me to yell Hotty Toddy before my own scary matchup with LSU at 6 pm CT. As a resident of Mississippi, I am very excited for both Mississippi teams, and I am rooting for them both. Until they play Auburn in a few weeks, of course!

So in conclusion, I hope everyone enjoys their football Saturday wherever they live in the country. And, if you live in Mississippi, I hope you weren't planning to sleep 'til noon. I think you will be able to hear the fans ringing the traditional Mississippi State cowbells from miles away!