So Much Winning!
Almost every political junkie I know loves sports. It’s our escape, our oasis in a crazy world.
No matter how the presidential election turned out, I knew my bestie and I were heading to an Ole Miss football weekend four days later.
On Saturday night - as we stood there hoarse and soaked from the rain - we watched the kids storming the field and the goalposts leaving the stadium on the shoulders of the students, I was struck with one glorious thought:
SO MUCH WINNING!
If you don’t care about college football or if you’re not an SEC fan, bear with me today. I told you when we started the website that when I went out of town I’d take you along.
So let’s take a break from politics and the culture wars, just for today.
As I waited to board my Southwest flight home last night in Memphis a Connecticut college student - a lacrosse player - struck up a conversation with me. He was giddy with excitement. He’d never been to a big football game before and he was amazed at the electric atmosphere in the stadium and the pre- and post-game parties that happen rain or shine in the 10-acre Grove in the heart of campus.
They don’t call Ole Miss the “holy grail of tailgating” for nothing.
Did Saturday’s wet weather bother him? Not a bit.
Me either. Sure, I’d rather not be saturated when the final whistle blows (see photo below) but when your team beats UGA 28-10 to keep their play-off dreams alive it doesn’t matter if you’re waterlogged by the end.
Taking off Friday morning.
Don’t laugh. The students consider this a late-night delicacy. Available only at one Chevron station.
The Oxford courthouse. John Grisham’s inspiration for so many novels. And the final resting place of those goalposts.
Tents everywhere in the 10-acre Grove.
It’s a party!
They say no one’s ever been able to get an accurate count of how many fans turn out for “Mississippi’s largest cocktail party” on football Saturdays in The Grove.
My happy place. Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Even in the rain.
Did the rain dampen spirits? Decide for yourself.
Well done, Jumbotron man. The trolling was first rate. We especially enjoyed the rendition of Ray Charles’ “Georgia on my Mind” as the crestfallen Bulldog fans filed out of the stadium.
