Todd4State
12-11-2019, 01:36 AM
I'm posting this because I've seen a lot of Ole Miss people on Twitter try to downplay the rivalry. And that makes me glad for two reasons.
One it means that we won the Egg Bowl. Which is obvious but the best part about winning the Egg Bowl is it happened in such a fashion that it embarrassed Ole Miss to the point where they are literally doing everything that they can do to make people forget it and try to put it in their past. The second reason I'm glad that they are trying to downplay the rivalry is because I think MSU focusing on the rivalry has helped MSU elevate itself nationally. And they don't realize it because they're trying to pretend to be like LSU or think that downplaying the rivalry makes us mad.
I think one of the most brilliant marketing campaigns in MSU history was the This is OUR State campaign which I believe was started under Greg Byrne although credit to whoever came up with it. The way to become a power within your own backyard is to dominate your local competition. And then in some cases after you defeat them you assist them and try to make them part of your empire. This is the same strategy that Rome used way back in the day to become a great empire. We have essentially created or are creating a football empire. What the Romans would do is defeat a weaker empire and then make it part of the Roman empire. At Christmas the one that immediately comes to mind in Jerusalem as an example.
So what MSU did starting back in 2009 was we first started playing the in state SWAC schools. Well, except for Mississippi Valley State because of their scholarship situation being such that we wouldn't be able to count a win over them towards bowl eligibility. I remember when we first played Jackson State the first SWAC team we played some people- a few not the majority- thought it would be a close game or at least competitive mainly because they had played USM somewhat competitively before. And we all know what happened- we dominated and pretty much could have named the score. Same thing every other time we played JSU and Alcorn State. By doing that it did a couple of things. It showed people how much better MSU was than the SWAC teams for the few that held the opinion that they could compete with us. That gave MSU a favorable perception. The second thing it did is- like Rome- it essentially allowed MSU as a University to reach out and create goodwill. We helped fund both athletic departments in a big way and there were other things that MSU did on a University level to help both schools. Things like that give us a favorable perception to the SWAC schools alumni and you never know- those alums may start to pull for us over Ole Miss, buy a MSU t-shirt, and talk well of MSU to other family members. MSU is Rome. They are Jerusalem.
So once we conquered the small towns- we went bigger. We went for USM. Some of our fans didn't like that because of how USM has treated us in the past plus the "USM has nothing to lose" aspect. And the fact they price gouge our fans anytime we play them in Hattiesburg. However, playing them was IMO a good idea on at least a limited basis- every 4-6 years or so is fine. For those that don't remember we didn't play USM for 24 years after playing them every year for years. And what did we hear during that time at least once a year. "MSU is scared to play us". Wasn't really true. But that's what they said. They would always point out that they beat some good MSU teams in 1980 and 1981 with the Nasty Bunch. So finally I think because of Mark Keenum we played them again starting in 2014 and in one of the biggest underrated moments of MSU football history we clobbered them 49-0 and it honestly could have been worse had Dak not thrown an INT in the end zone and we screwed up a run a fourth and 1 from the goal line. That game and then the one next year in Hattiesburg where MSU won convincingly again- changed perception. Same this year too. You don't hear USM fans talking about how MSU is scared of them anymore do you? But the real key is winning pretty easily which has again- shaped perception and moved MSU solidly ahead of USM in the state.
That finally brings me to Ole Miss which is our biggest rival for obvious reasons. Personally I think rivalries are good things and I think if you have one you should acknowledge it because if you don't- you just look kind of stupid. Especially after you say it's not a rivalry- and then you rush the field like you did in 2012. Or the time you hired a coach after winning in 2017. Or the time you fired the same guy for losing the Egg Bowl in 2019. That being said- I think focusing on the rivalry has been a good thing for MSU. Now that doesn't mean that we can't have or should strive for other goals and that 6-6 with an Egg Bowl win is something we should be satisfied with at all. I'm not saying that. We can and should have goals that for things like 10 wins but winning the Egg Bowl always should be A goal. The reason being is because IMO we can't really say it's OUR State if we don't win it regularly. The Romans lost some battles here and there. But they usually won the war. Winning the overall war on the field in state along with winning other games to go to bowls and increase our profile is how we raise the bar for ourselves. That's why I think if we started to downplay the rivalry ourselves it would be a huge mistake. But to MSU's credit we haven't made that mistake yet. So let's recap the battles to see how we're doing in the war. I'm starting in 2009 because that's when the Our State campaign began but honestly I could go further back and we would still have an advantage going back into the Felker era.
2009- MSU win
2010- MSU win
2011- MSU win
2012- Ole Miss win
2013- MSU win
2014- Ole Miss win with players that they bought. When people are losing the war they call in mercenaries sometimes.
2015- Ole Miss win with players that they bought.
2016- Nick Fitzgerald win
2017- Ole Miss win while intentionally hurting our QB while acting ridiculous.
2018- MSU win
2019- MSU win
So we're 7-4 during that time and at no point in that timeline is Ole Miss anything better than tied with us. Two of those wins they cheated their ass off. One was legit. One they had to hurt our QB and have everything go right to squeak out a three point win. I'd say that we're winning the war and what that has done is it has created in state pride for MSU and help make us THE University in the state of Mississippi. And that in turn has helped us acquire better players in state which has helped elevate our football program on a national level. And I see MSU keeping on doing that and overall having a very bright future.
See y'all in Nashville!
One it means that we won the Egg Bowl. Which is obvious but the best part about winning the Egg Bowl is it happened in such a fashion that it embarrassed Ole Miss to the point where they are literally doing everything that they can do to make people forget it and try to put it in their past. The second reason I'm glad that they are trying to downplay the rivalry is because I think MSU focusing on the rivalry has helped MSU elevate itself nationally. And they don't realize it because they're trying to pretend to be like LSU or think that downplaying the rivalry makes us mad.
I think one of the most brilliant marketing campaigns in MSU history was the This is OUR State campaign which I believe was started under Greg Byrne although credit to whoever came up with it. The way to become a power within your own backyard is to dominate your local competition. And then in some cases after you defeat them you assist them and try to make them part of your empire. This is the same strategy that Rome used way back in the day to become a great empire. We have essentially created or are creating a football empire. What the Romans would do is defeat a weaker empire and then make it part of the Roman empire. At Christmas the one that immediately comes to mind in Jerusalem as an example.
So what MSU did starting back in 2009 was we first started playing the in state SWAC schools. Well, except for Mississippi Valley State because of their scholarship situation being such that we wouldn't be able to count a win over them towards bowl eligibility. I remember when we first played Jackson State the first SWAC team we played some people- a few not the majority- thought it would be a close game or at least competitive mainly because they had played USM somewhat competitively before. And we all know what happened- we dominated and pretty much could have named the score. Same thing every other time we played JSU and Alcorn State. By doing that it did a couple of things. It showed people how much better MSU was than the SWAC teams for the few that held the opinion that they could compete with us. That gave MSU a favorable perception. The second thing it did is- like Rome- it essentially allowed MSU as a University to reach out and create goodwill. We helped fund both athletic departments in a big way and there were other things that MSU did on a University level to help both schools. Things like that give us a favorable perception to the SWAC schools alumni and you never know- those alums may start to pull for us over Ole Miss, buy a MSU t-shirt, and talk well of MSU to other family members. MSU is Rome. They are Jerusalem.
So once we conquered the small towns- we went bigger. We went for USM. Some of our fans didn't like that because of how USM has treated us in the past plus the "USM has nothing to lose" aspect. And the fact they price gouge our fans anytime we play them in Hattiesburg. However, playing them was IMO a good idea on at least a limited basis- every 4-6 years or so is fine. For those that don't remember we didn't play USM for 24 years after playing them every year for years. And what did we hear during that time at least once a year. "MSU is scared to play us". Wasn't really true. But that's what they said. They would always point out that they beat some good MSU teams in 1980 and 1981 with the Nasty Bunch. So finally I think because of Mark Keenum we played them again starting in 2014 and in one of the biggest underrated moments of MSU football history we clobbered them 49-0 and it honestly could have been worse had Dak not thrown an INT in the end zone and we screwed up a run a fourth and 1 from the goal line. That game and then the one next year in Hattiesburg where MSU won convincingly again- changed perception. Same this year too. You don't hear USM fans talking about how MSU is scared of them anymore do you? But the real key is winning pretty easily which has again- shaped perception and moved MSU solidly ahead of USM in the state.
That finally brings me to Ole Miss which is our biggest rival for obvious reasons. Personally I think rivalries are good things and I think if you have one you should acknowledge it because if you don't- you just look kind of stupid. Especially after you say it's not a rivalry- and then you rush the field like you did in 2012. Or the time you hired a coach after winning in 2017. Or the time you fired the same guy for losing the Egg Bowl in 2019. That being said- I think focusing on the rivalry has been a good thing for MSU. Now that doesn't mean that we can't have or should strive for other goals and that 6-6 with an Egg Bowl win is something we should be satisfied with at all. I'm not saying that. We can and should have goals that for things like 10 wins but winning the Egg Bowl always should be A goal. The reason being is because IMO we can't really say it's OUR State if we don't win it regularly. The Romans lost some battles here and there. But they usually won the war. Winning the overall war on the field in state along with winning other games to go to bowls and increase our profile is how we raise the bar for ourselves. That's why I think if we started to downplay the rivalry ourselves it would be a huge mistake. But to MSU's credit we haven't made that mistake yet. So let's recap the battles to see how we're doing in the war. I'm starting in 2009 because that's when the Our State campaign began but honestly I could go further back and we would still have an advantage going back into the Felker era.
2009- MSU win
2010- MSU win
2011- MSU win
2012- Ole Miss win
2013- MSU win
2014- Ole Miss win with players that they bought. When people are losing the war they call in mercenaries sometimes.
2015- Ole Miss win with players that they bought.
2016- Nick Fitzgerald win
2017- Ole Miss win while intentionally hurting our QB while acting ridiculous.
2018- MSU win
2019- MSU win
So we're 7-4 during that time and at no point in that timeline is Ole Miss anything better than tied with us. Two of those wins they cheated their ass off. One was legit. One they had to hurt our QB and have everything go right to squeak out a three point win. I'd say that we're winning the war and what that has done is it has created in state pride for MSU and help make us THE University in the state of Mississippi. And that in turn has helped us acquire better players in state which has helped elevate our football program on a national level. And I see MSU keeping on doing that and overall having a very bright future.
See y'all in Nashville!