How many of you converted your allegiance to MSU from another school?

[M.Fillmore]

Topic for a slow sports day.

MetEdDawg talked below of how he was raised an Auburn fan and converted to MSU.

I was raised a Black Bear but MSU had the better department for my major. I thought it was goofy to get a degree I didn't want just because of football so I came to MSU. I would sit in the student section and silently pull for the Confederate nation. Maturity finally came and I converted to MSU. In time I grew to despise Umiss, its teams and all its trappings.

Were all of you raised as Bulldogs or have any of converted from another school. What's your story?

[AROB44]

Didn't have to convert.....was always a Bulldog.

[MetEdDawg]

I'll go ahead and talk about mine again. Came out of the womb Auburn. Grandfather graduated from Auburn in the 50s during their national championship year. He's the head of the family, has had a very successful business life, so everyone fell in line and I was no different. Knew Auburn players names and what city they came from since I was 5 years old. Went to an SEC Championship game, have multiple signed footballs from Auburn players from events I went to, and I went to more Auburn football games between the age of 4 and 16 than I can count. My grandfather donates back to Auburn, has a lot of influential friends in the know, but I went away from it all. It was really really tough because it was all I knew and it had been engrained in me since I could remember. But I knew I wanted to do meteorology and had to go somewhere else. That didn't stop my family from trying to do everything in their power to get me to still go to Auburn but they knew that once I made my mind up that it just wasn't going to happen.

Eventually I did some research, decided I was sure I wanted to do meteorology and stay in the SEC, went to the MSU honor band and scheduled some things with some recruiters, and from the moment I stepped on campus I knew where I was going to college. Haven't looked back since.

Best part is that I've converted one set of grandparents and my mother into MSU fans. Also, my Auburn side of my family really enjoys MSU and going to campus and pull for us in everything that doesn't involve Auburn. They will all set aside times to watch our games on TV in all sports. I've fully invested myself in MSU and my family (yes, even my Auburn family), has done the same. I'm in the Bulldog Club and I wear so much MSU stuff that people make fun of me because they think it's all I own. In my little corner of SE Alabama, I just try to do my part for MSU.

Interestingly enough, I ended up attending Auburn for one semester to finish up some classes after I graduated from MSU so that I could enroll in my Masters program. So I technically went to Auburn which allows me to be the only other member of my family besides my grandfather to have attended Auburn. So I got to do what I wanted to do by going to MSU, then for some meaningless classes, I got to do what my grandparents wanted me to do in the first place. Win win for everybody.

[EnterpriseDawg]

Being Catholic and living in the coast I was a diehard ND fan. Started my love of MSU after attending in 00-01.

[starkvegasdawg]

So the story goes I popped out ringing a cowbell.

[BogeyGolfer]

Family... My mother and father both graduated from State along with all my aunts and uncles etc.. However when I was 4 my mother remarried an Ole Miss grad... He happens to be one of the good ones. My sister graduated from UM as well. I was pretty much raised by mom and step father and they both respected each other's schools traditions etc... He'll, he would even wear maroon to games with her just to show her respect when we weren't playing UM. The only game there was tension was the Egg Bowl of course but he never talked shit and still doesn't, and I don't either out of respect.... Mom is gone now and he will go with me to State games and I will go with him to UM games, he still has season tickets after all these years...

[Dawgbite]

I grew up more or less a Bear fan. My playing football at recess was in the 70s and Ole Miss was still somewhat relevant from their near past. My older brother went to and graduated from Ole Miss. After spending time visiting him, I realized they were not my type of people and I realized early in high school that I wanted to go into engineering. I won a prize, I think my sophomore year, for selling magazines and one of my choices was a collegent jacket. I chose a maroon one and have never regretted it.
I still cheered for OM through the years unless they were playing State until my experience in the grove a few years ago at he egg bowl. Now, I hope they never win another game of transgender ping pong! My bear brother is now a season ticket holder at State thanks to his wife and daughter, he even has started wearing MSU gear!

[Ronny]

..I was an "Archie era" OM fan. I saw him play at least twice in Jackson, but never in Oxford.

Shortly thereafter my dad took me to a game in Starkville (my dad is a State grad) & that's when I realized I was Bulldog Semper Fi forever.

BTW, you kids have no idea how bad MSU was in football back then. And that bullshit went on for decades.

I would listen to Jack every Sat. describe the carnage. It was sad to hear all the ass-whippings but by now my loyalties to Miss. State was ironclad.

[Political Hack]

I had Johnny Vaught, Archie, Billy Brewer, and others autographs growing up. thought it was cool until I went up there some. Not my cup of tea. One trip to Starkville and I was hooked.

[CJDAWG85]

Born Maroon and White

[Sam&DeansDawg]

My dad went to State and I went to Old Dominion and played football my freshman year but ended up not playing the rest of my time there. School and football was a little too much for me. I grew up liking Memphis mostly until my dad finally talked me into going to my first MSU vs ARK game and I fell into the cowd. I'd like to say I go to a lot of games but this year I only made the egg bowl and last year was the MTSU game. In my defense I was in Virginia for college.

[rabbitthedawg]

Grew up in central Florida, little town called Tavares, near Orlando. Steve Spurrier was QB for the Gators when I was in high school and was a die hard Gator fan. Moved to Mississippi late '60 and after being here three weeks or so I learned to hate Ole Miss. Decided on going to college and a friend talked me into going to visit State. I really didn't want to go as I disliked State because they beat the Gators in 1965 when Spurrier was at his peak. I was dragged to Starkville and absolutely fell in love with the place. Both my kids graduated from State and are even bigger fans than me. Club level seats and all...we are True Maroon.

[bgover4]

Born and raised in an Alabama fan. My dad told me I could go to any SEC school I wanted, except Auburn. I knew I wanted to study engineering and the UA program would have been equivalent to going to TSUN for an engineering degree so I visited Starkville and my mind was made up. Never regretted a day there and wish I could have more.

[quickstrike2]

Never had to convert. My dad, 4 uncles, and two older cousins all graduated from State. It was pretty simple from the start where my allegiance was and have been diehard ever since.

My dad did want me to go to USM for the closeness to home, so i did put there hat on the table, but was always going to MSU.

[Will James]

Fourth generation Dawg

[missouridawg]

Grew up in southeast Missouri. Everyone there is mostly Mizzou fans, with UK and Tennessee fans sprinkled in here and there. My dad is a big Mizzou fan and my little brother went to school there. Watched a lot of Mizzou basketball growing up and attended the annual Bragging Rights basketball game (Mizzou vs Illinois) several times in the early 2000s over my Christmas break while in school at MSU.

I still support Mizzou in everything, except when they're playing us.

[Technetium]

Born in Baton Rouge with a Cajun mother, I grew up a big LSU fan before deciding to attend MSU. Was in the FMB, and the first LSU game was extremely difficult for me, but I quickly converted completely. Still pull for LSU in every other game of the year, and my mother now loves MSU almost as much as the tigers.

[Bully13]

I was born a Bully but my dad's conversion was quite interesting which to me, to this day still explains the difference between ole miss and state. My ancestors had a rich lawyer / ole miss heritage in the delta. the depression and other factors evaporated the old money and my dad was going to have to work thru college if he was going to continue his education after high school in the early 60's. While most of his friends were going to do the traditional delta thing which is go to ole miss law school on diddy's money, my dad chose another route. with his name and all, he couldn't "bear" having to go to ole miss in such "common" fashion. so he chose political science at the "people's" university. working your way thru college was not frowned upon at State and that's where he felt comfortable going to school. I have extra reasons for hating bow ties, red pants and spoiled brats with rich diddys .

[Political Hack]

Born in Baton Rouge with a Cajun mother, I grew up a big LSU fan before deciding to attend MSU. Was in the FMB, and the first LSU game was extremely difficult for me, but I quickly converted completely. Still pull for LSU in every other game of the year, and my mother now loves MSU almost as much as the tigers.

I've completely brainwashed my entire family too. they all bleed maroon now even though they went to USM, Tennessee, NLU, etc...

[Waveland Dog 1]

I was born in Baton Rouge and lived there for half of my childhood. We later moved to the coast of MS. My parents attended LSU and have had season tickets there for over 30 yrs. I attended numerous ballgames when I was a kid and I always saw myself attending LSU. Things change and I walked onto MSU's campus for the first time one week before school started. I will never forget the culture shock that I experienced when I first arrived in Starkville. Before orientation I had never spent any amount of time in the northern part of the State. I do not regret one minute spent at MSU and as an adult I am actually really glad I did not attend LSU. Anyway, I could not morally cheer for another squad that was not from my school. It just seemed extremely awkward. I was in attendance as a freshman the last time we beat LSU. I threw down the purple and gold for Maroon and White and have never looked back! No one fan of the Bulldogs wants us to beat LSU more than I!!!

[ckDOG]

Most of my family are OM folks. Parents went there. Aunts, Uncles, cousins. I grew up with a dog named Rebel. Hell, I even had an OM themed retainer when I was a crooked toothed 12 yr old. Started picking up on the cultural differences late in high school and decided MSU was more of my cup of tea. First game as a dog was the throttling of Florida in 2000. That was an easy way to convert and have hated the Rebels/Bears ever since.

[hailmari]

Both of my parents are UM grads/fans and I grew up thirty mins from Oxford, so you'd think I would've been a lost cause.. but I never enjoyed going to their games as a kid. It just seemed like too much of a popularity contest there. My brothers broke the trend first and when I finally went to my first game in Starkville with them (~10 y/o against UK), I was hooked. I knew where I fit in right away. Now two of my UM loving parents' sons have MSU degrees.

[Todd4State]

I think most of y'all know my story. Dad played baseball at MSU, was recruited by MSU, Ole Miss, Arkansas State, and Army. He actually liked Jake Gibbs, but he didn't care for Ole Miss (grew up on a farm) and my Grandfather liked Paul Gregory, plus MSU had just gone to Omaha in 1971.

[Dawgdom]

Born a Bulldog...clanga.

[HereComesTheSpiral]

I had two choices regarding college whenever I graduated high school, State or a West Point.

[It_Could_Happen]

I had been a razorback my entire life. My grandfather played there so I went to games every year. Took one visit to state my senior year and loved it. And state have the most scholarship money.

[Political Hack]

I had two choices regarding college whenever I graduated high school, State or a West Point.

I got some interest from West Point... but they scared me. Those guys are serious.

[BrunswickDawg]

One of the few GA boys on here - I was raised by a die hard UGA Dawg. My grandfather was headed to UGA on scholarship when his Guard unit got activated in 1940 and he chose service over school. He would have been in the backfield with UGA greats Charlie Trippi and Heisman winner Frank Sinkwich. Oddly, my Dad's brother went to GT on a football scholarship but never saw the field.

I grew up in the Herschel Era, and bled UGA football. When it came time to take the SAT, I knew I was Athens bound but still had a slot to send scores to. I sent them to State as a joke because they had a great baseball program and I figured what the hell. I got into both and State offered $ so I went visit. I was hooked as soon as I walked on campus. I was home.

[Mjoelner34]

Started out a USM fan since I grew up 30 miles away and got to attend home games for free with the Boy Scouts as an usher. I started taking a liking to State when I saw them play in Hattiesburg in 1978 but I was still primarily a USM fan. I became a 100% Bulldog in high school after I decided to become an engineer. Even as a buzzard fan I hated Old Miss and always will.

[Pollodawg]

I had a brother-in-law who as a huge Archie/ OM fan and and two of my brothers were big times MSU fans, one a baseball fan and the other a football fan. All through high school, I was lackadaisical about both schools. Just didn't really care. Then I went to College Day and had an OM representative be the biggest ass hole I have ever encountered. When I asked the State rep where would be best for me, he said it depended on what I wanted to do. Back then, it was medical, so he said Undergrad at State and grad at OM. When I asked the OM rep the same question he told me that OM was better than State and that they always would be it didn't matter what I wanted to do. Basically, if you weren't wearing an OM jacket or some form of OM paraphanialia, dude was an absolutely cock sucker to you.

Long story, short, I transferred from MCC to the State branch in Meridian because I wanted to stay close to my wife who was finishing up RN school. Loved it. I am from a lifeling Mississippian, and there will only ever be one team in this state that I give a shit about. Piss on USM. Go to Hell OM. I will never turn my back on the place that gave me an opportunity to finish my education right here at home and support my family. It is one of the great joys of my life that I am doing ok enough to buy my dad and two brothers football tickets every season and watch games with them in Starkville as a family.

Wasn't Bulldog born.
But I was Bulldog bred.
And I will be a Bulldog till I am golddang dead.

[oldjoedawg]

Child of the '50s and always had the radio in the dairy barn tuned to OM games in the era of Eagle Day, etc.....this while helping my dad milk. First in my family to get a chance at college chose MS State College (1958) for engineering...made it through one semester before Dr. Sheely and others showed me the 'light'....switched to accounting and never looked back....it was tough being a bulldog fan in the late '50s early '60s, but did see the win over Auburn in B'ham in '61. I'm loving these days of MSU football...Class of '62

[cubswillwinitonedaydawg]

Grew up a Hardy Street High fan and would casually follow other schools as a kid like MSU, FSU, LSU, or Michigan since USM is never relevant nationally (doesn't every USM fan do that?). My mom and sister both graduated from USM, and my folks took me to numerous football, baseball, and basketball games over the years. Went to my first State game in the mid-90's in a win over Arkansas and loved the atmosphere compared to "The Rock." I was all set to go to USM but ended up playing baseball at William Carey. Went to grad school at State in 07 (chosen over USM and Bama) and fell in love. Went from casual follower to living and breathing MSU sports pretty quickly. Now I have both my parents following State much more than USM, and my sister who knows very little about football went to the Egg Bowl this year and can't wait to go back to more games. So I have to apologize for any USM lurkers for dropping the fanbase from 10 to 6.

[HereComesTheSpiral]

I got some interest from West Point... but they scared me. Those guys are serious.

Ha, I got in, but my brother would have been a senior my freshman year and he told me he was going to make my life as miserable as humanly possible for that whole year. I said **** it, and oddly enough joined the actual Army after high school. As soon as the bus pulled into Fort Knox I knew I had made a terrible life decision because im convinced that Drill Sgt made my life a lot worse than my brother could have ever imagined making it.

[Bullmutt]

Birmingham-born, but as a military brat I grew up moving from place to place. My mother was an old Bama country gal and a fan of the Tide, and I had an older cousin from Memphis who I idolized growing up and who attended OM for a couple of years, so I was pretty much a fan of those two schools.

When I was a h.s. senior, my Dad had his second heart attack and got a medical discharge from the service. He wanted to retire in an area close to a military base and my mom had relatives not far from Columbus, so that area became home. I had played all major sports my entire young life, but my grades in h.s. had been pretty mediocre, so the options I had were West Point (prep program) or E. Miss. Jr. College. I stayed at EMJC long enough to get serious about studying and to realize that I was neither big, fast nor mean enough to compete above the h.s. level.

At the end of my frosh year, I made the move to MSU and really became a fan while watching a little scrapper named Tommy Pharr who played his heart out while running for his life during a long series of hard-fought but losing battles. As an aside, The Coach in T'town at the time had a ton of respect for Pharr and said so several times. After graduation, my fanship graduated to a more rabid level following Tyler's Sun Bowl team (I still think Rocky Felker was as good as I ever saw at reading and executing the triple option). Been a dedicated Dawg ever since and, more years than not, died the death of a thousand cuts along with the rest of Dawgdom.

[Schultzy]

3rd generation MSU.

I had no idea so many switched to MSU from other major universities/allegiances. Very interesting.

[Political Hack]

Ha, I got in, but my brother would have been a senior my freshman year and he told me he was going to make my life as miserable as humanly possible for that whole year. I said **** it, and oddly enough joined the actual Army after high school. As soon as the bus pulled into Fort Knox I knew I had made a terrible life decision because im convinced that Drill Sgt made my life a lot worse than my brother could have ever imagined making it.

brother > drill sgt.

My dad was a Sgt Major.

[MetEdDawg]

In order for MSU to thrive, I think it has to be this way. It's like our football recruiting. Mississippi is always going to be our base and where we take the most people. But in order to build something special, we have to fill with people from Alabama, Lousiana, Tennessee, Georgia, and a few others so that we can expand our brand. When we do it that way, all of us from out of state that love football are most likely not going to have been MSU fans growing up.

I think what we are going to see though in the next 15-20 years is a lot of 2nd generation Bulldawgs coming in because of what Mullen, Cohen, and MSU as a whole has done in terms of expanding the brand and getting kids to look at us both in sports and in academics as a much more attractive option than it used to be. Lot of people like me became 1st generation Bulldawgs during our recent expansion and will start building an entirely new fan base that is heavily concentrated beyond the MS state lines. There are a lot of new Birmingham Dawgs and new Dawgs in the state of Alabama period and that is very good for sustaining this fan base.

We can make up a very large portion of Birmingham if we hit it hard. It's a mix and match of the craziest kind. Obviously you are going to see your Auburn's and Alabama's, but after that, MSU is probably the 3rd most seen college. Need to keep pushing that area because there are a lot of solid kids there and a lot of alumni there.

[BrunswickDawg]

Maybe even earlier MetEd. State was pretty aggressive in out of state recruiting in the early 90s, and then slacked off for a while. There were a lot of Ala., GA, and LA students there then. Both my kids first college campus experiences were at State, and both love MSU. My oldest is in HS now and hopefully it pans out in at least one of them going to school there.

[thejunction1977]

I did. I started out as a Georgia Bulldog. Used to listen to Herschel on the radio as a kid. Starting liking what I then called the "other Bulldogs" when I heard John Bond run all over Georgia. As a little kid, I thought that was such a cool name. "John Bond". Always secondarily cheered for them after that.

Then I went to school in Jackson. Came over at least 12 times for games. I was in for the long haul then.

[MrKotter]

Grew up mostly a Tulane fan of all things but liked State too. Most of my father's side are Tulane grads. Mom's cousin is Kermit Davis Sr so followed State a little. Became all State my senior yr in HS after deciding that is where I would go to college.

[M.Fillmore]

There are a lot of converts in this thread and the majority did so because they were attracted to the "realness" of MSU and didn't like the "I'm better than you" attitude of UMiss and other schools. We are the "People's University" and we should celebrate that fact in our recruiting, both athletic and for general student body.

After the Civil War a guy in the Tupelo area named John Allen ran for Congress against some guy who had been a general in the war. They had a debate and the general made a big to do about being a general. John Allen stood up and said that he was a private in the war. Allen added that the generals in the crowd should vote for his opponent and all the privates should vote for him. The speech was a big hit, Allen won the election and served in Congress a long time. He went by the moniker "Private John Allen" the rest of his life.

We can learn from this guy. Let the rebs have their society nonsense and kick their butts.

[Big Daddy Dawg]

Well I was all set to enroll for the fall of '84, had been a MSU fan since I could remember, family friends mostly, then later in high school my DL coach became a GA at state and I helped him move up to Vegas, spent 3 days running around with him, made my mind up that MS was where I wanted to be!
I went back determined to be there that fall, but got an invite to walk-on in juco! Biggest mistake I ever made in my life! Long story short small school football to juco, did not work out!
Wound up partying out of school, got a job intending to work my way back to school, got a really good job...... End of college career!
Now 30 yrs later, got a highly driven A-B student son who is intent on being an engineer, mainly because of the contacts that my career has opened for him!
I am as hard for anything MSU as anybody you know! I am not pushing my kid but he's been around other places and he tells me " dad, I just can't see myself anywhere else"! Damn!

[hometowndawg]

As far back as I know of my family we have lived in Starkville and have been MSU fans. My grandfather attended State and got his degree and avoided Vietnam by being top of his class. He went on to be the meat and cheese inspector for the army because his degree was in dairy science. My great grandfather was once sheriff of Oktibbeha County. I was born and wrapped in Maroon and White. God willing, I'll graduate in May with my degree from MSU.

[Bass Chaser]

Add me to the group of converted. I grew up in KY and UK fan though I went to Murray State. While basketball was good, football was/is embarrassing except for a few years. I didn't really follow college football until about 20 years ago just the NFL. My wife and her family are huge MSU fans so they converted me. We go to all the home games, usually one out of town game and the bowl games. Growing up for me TN and UK was the rivalry except I don't remember UK ever winning. Can you imagine a rivalry where your team never wins?

[Goat Holder]

Great post, I agree with all and I've been preaching this for a long time. It all starts with the Alumni Associations. Huntsville has a great one that does a heck of a job recruiting that area. We need to do the same in Birmingham.

[Goat Holder]

delete

[Goat Holder]

I've been Moo U 4 eva. Never had a choice in the matter. BUT, I think my grandfather was a rebel (WW2 vet and didn't go to college) but then switched to MSU when my mother went there. I really think MANY Mississippians were this way, and it explains why we have a relatively young fanbase. I keep thinking about how Ole Miss had their chance to completely dominate the state forever but couldn't capitalize during the Vaught years. They should have been marketing and recruiting and building out the ass. But instead, they wanted to keep it all 'in the clique'. They could have been Alabama, but I guess when you stand for stupid shit, that's how it ends up.

I guess that explains why they are so angry and bitter, especially towards MSU. Filled up with a bunch of hate and regret about literally what they 'allowed' to happen. And that's the honest truth about why they think they are so much better than us.

[RTO Dawg]

My Dad and I went to MSU.....My Mom and brother went to UM......I rescued my wife from UM when she was a junior.. she graduated with me at State..

[TheRef]

I was born and raised in Maroon and White. Grandfather graduated from MSU with an Engineering degree. He was the freshman engineering drafting professor until the early-80's. My mother did not go to Mississippi State (Delta State made a better presentation). She has worked for MSU at the Stoneville Experiment Station for the past 28 years and is still working there. My brother graduated in 2007 with a B.B. in Business Management. He married an MSU fan and they were both in the FMB. I chose MSU a LONG time ago and never looked back. Was great for me to be such a MSU fan since I wanted to go into Meteorology. I've been converting people ever since. Hail State, everyone.

[blacklistedbully]

I didn't give much of a damn either way until I chose to go to MSU based on major choice. My family lived abroad a lot prior, so perhaps that's why I never cared much prior. My dad was a football player, including college despite having suffered a serious knee injury prior to college, and he was friends with Bob Khayat, but my dad went to Mississippi State College. I still own autographed footballs from the Washington Redskins and of the Ole Miss football team from '61 or '62, both courtesy of Khayat. Can't tell which year anymore because, as I kid, I cared so little I took the ball out in the rain & mud to play football with my buddies. Ruined it. It didn't seem to bother my dad that much either.

When it came time to decide on a university, my dad asked an uncle of mine who was a partner at Arthur Anderson. I was determined to go into business, and my uncle recommended MSU over OM at the time. That's how I ended up a Bulldog in 1980.

I suppose that's why I've had a hard time accepting us as an overall bad football team. My time in school was John Bond, Michael Haddix, Johnny Cooks, Tyrone Keys, Billy Jackson, Glen Young, Mardye McDole, Kent Hull, Bellard & 500+ yards of offense, 6-3 MSU over Bama. I remember us being able to beat anybody, but suffering losses we shouldn't have. It was never that we just sucked. That has colored my perspective through the decades, I suppose. I don't look at our university and assume we should have sucked at football as much as we did. To this day, I still think injuries did Bellard in, not bad coaching.

In any case, I came to love MSU and absolutely hate Ole Miss based on what I experienced while in school and since. The stereotypes of Ole Miss students are largely accurate and deserved. I had good friends and family who wound up going to Ole Miss and it changed them for the worse. Even the ones who came from the same middle-class and same neighborhood I did assumed this air-of-superiority and unwarranted arrogance that was hard to fathom, yet palpable.

Even after decades away and out of state, I got on message boards having softened quite a bit, only to be reminded on those boards exactly why I hated those arrogant, self-aggrandizing, delusional, snobby pricks, and why I love and am proud of my alma-mater for the genuine, decent, grounded, down-to-earth people we tend to largely attract in comparison.