Escape From Pandemia: College Football
When I started this website I promised to take you with me when I traveled. Well, I spent the weekend in Mississippi and thought you might be weary of politics and need a nice, juicy slice of normal.
Nothing is more pre-pandemic America than a college football game. Especially at SEC schools where they take their football seriously and take tailgating to sublime heights.
Football in the South is exactly as it was in 2019. No masks, massive crowds and big boy football. It’s a glorious escape from the paranoia that still grips parts of America. Despite dire predictions by Team Apocalypse Captain Tony Fauci, who can’t stand the thought of fans having fun and who probably hates football anyway, these games have not been super-spreader events.
I spent last weekend in Oxford, Mississippi and I can report that everything was as it was meant to be at Ole Miss, my daughter’s alma mater. The Grove, the 10-acre park shaded by towering magnolias, oaks and elms in the heart of the picturesque campus, was blanketed with tents on Saturday.
The Magnolia State’s largest cocktail party was well underway by 10 a.m.
Someone once asked the athletic director of Ole Miss how many people are in The Grove on football Saturdays and he said they’d never tried to count. Easily 100,000. Maybe more.
And when LSU is in town? The Grove is packed, the fans are feisty and at kickoff, the stadium is standing room only and rocking.
While Mississippi fans enjoy spirited rivalries with Mississippi State and Alabama, their true rivals are the Bayou Bengals. When that team is being coached by a former Ole Miss head coach - one who was a disaster during his two seasons in Oxford - well, let’s just say the fans were hungry for a big win.
It was also Eli Manning Day. The university retired the legendary quarterback’s #10 jersey in a ceremony at halftime, reminiscent of the one held for his dad, Archie Manning, about 30 years ago. To complete the picture, the end zone was emblazoned with the word MANNING and the 10-yard lines were painted red.
A slew of former players were there, chief among them, linebacker and Pro Bowler, Patrick Willis, who spent seven seasons with the San Francisco 49ers.
The weather cooperated and the football gods smiled on the Rebs as their Heisman candidate quarterback Matt Corral led the team to a 31-17 win.
As a rabid college football fan who likes to be in her seat when the teams warm up and who stays until they’re picking up the cups, Saturday was perfect.
So much better than 2011 when LSU annihilated the Rebs 52-3. I stayed till the end of that one, too. Trust me, winning is better than losing.
I took pictures. Want to see?
The Grove.
It’s common knowledge in Oxford that LSU fans smell like corndogs - shoot, even Katy Perry said so during her appearance in The Gove at College Game Day 2014 - so the delicacy featured prominently in tailgate arrangements.
No love for that school in Baton Rouge.
Katy Perry, Queen of the Ole Miss fans.
Head Coach Lane Kiffin.
Tailgating is an art form. Each tent has its own personality.
Love the silver chafing dishes. And the corndog display.
Waiting for Eli Manning to lead the team through The Grove on the Walk Of Champions.
Eli and his kids.
My lucky boots. I wore them on October 4, 2014 when Ole Miss beat #1 Alabama. They worked this weekend, too!
Bryn and I waiting for Eli. And yes, I wear pearls to football games. It’s Ole Miss, after all.
