Bandwagon Sidewalk Fans: STAY AWAY
Aug 30, 2014; Starkville, MS, USA; Mississippi State Bulldogs mascot during the game against Southern Miss at Davis Wade Stadium. Mississippi State Bulldogs defeat the Southern Miss Golden Eagles 49-0. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
I don’t have to describe the history of Mississippi State football to you. You already know it. If you’ve been coming to M&WN for any length of time there’s a good reason for it: you’re a lifelong Bulldog fan….or at least, at some point in your life you decided to be a State fan and ever since that day you have never wavered. You’re true maroon and it’s exactly why you’re so excited about the way the 2014 football season is going.
Then something occurred to me. It happened right after I watched this brief video:
I DON’T WANT TO TAKE ON SIDEWALK FANS.
I’m not talking about fans of MSU who didn’t go to school there. Bless your heart if you fall into that category because you’ve been through the ringer even though you could’ve chosen any school to root for.
I’m talking about fans like this – ones who are going to jump on the Mississippi State bandwagon because we’re ranked #3 in the nation.
I know this case is extreme, but if we are able to beat Auburn on Saturday and likely vault into the top spot in the AP poll there will be many more suddenly become MSU fans.
Not so fast, my friend.
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- SEC football standings after Mississippi State football steamrolled by LSU Tigers
- College Football Schedule Week 3: Under the Radar Games to Watch
We’ve all been here, patiently waiting for our day. We’ve endured loss after loss – heartbreak on top of heartbreak – to only keep coming back for more. We have loved Mississippi State for as long as we can remember and there’s no room for a herd of people who just want to pull for a winner on our bus.
It takes a lot to be fully loyal to MSU, and stick it out through thick and thin every year, every game, every play. Buy all the MSU memorabilia you want to, but don’t act like you’re a fan of the Dawgs.
I’m only 30 years old, so there are many more Bulldogs out there who have seen many more years of mediocrity than I have. But I can say that I loyally went to every home football game and even a dozen road games during my five years as a student as State, when MSU went a combined 14-44. That’s not just losing, that is having your face in the dirt and getting kicked in the back of the head losing. That was my experience at State but I still managed to leave so full of maroon, and with such a passing for MSU sports that my college roommate and I started this blog four years ago and have stuck with it long enough for it to become one of the two major MSU fan sites.
THAT is my experience. THAT is why I’m not so fond of Johnny-come-latelys. THAT is why I’ll enjoy every minute of being a State fan and clanging away with my maroon brothers and sisters who have been there every step of the way and supported the Bulldogs whether they win or lose. Those are the people I love – the ones that care more about the University than the scoreboard, and when that day comes that Mississippi State is champion of them all it will be sweeter for us that any other fanbase could imagine.
Get at the back of the line, newcomers. It takes a lot of scars to be TRUE MAROON.