You Hated Starkville’s GameDay? Sorry, Not Sorry
Oct 11, 2014; Starkville, MS, USA; General view of the exterior of the stadium before the game between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Auburn Tigers at Davis Wade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Spruce Derden-USA TODAY Sports
For the first time in the history of the landmark television broadcast that is College GameDay, the program made its way to Starkville, Mississippi in anticipation of the big showdown between Mississippi State and Auburn. The Mississippi State fans had the time of their lives. It didn’t go over so well for fans that weren’t Mississippi State fans. Here is a sample.
Gameday should ban all artificial noisemakers just like everyone has already has worst Gameday ever #Cowbell #CollegeGameday
— Coach Ross Bankston (@CoachBankston) October 11, 2014
This Cowbell feature could be worst of the season on Gameday
— Pick Six Previews (@PickSixPreviews) October 11, 2014
And we definitely need less cowbell on Gameday
— Philip Mackie (@bmac3) October 11, 2014
Yeah, not going to apologize for that. One of the reasons that College Gameday has become such an iconic show is that it celebrates and embraces everything that makes the school that they take the show to. The cowbell is an iconic symbol to Mississippi State and our fans, and if you asked Mississippi State fans to hold back on that when the biggest show in college football rolls in to town would be like asking water to stop being wet.
Do you know why I loved the Starkville GameDay? Because everyone hated it, but we loved it. We love our cowbells. We love Jonathan Papelbon. We love who we are, and don’t care one bit what anyone else thinks about us.
Feel free to call us whatever name you choose because of our cowbells. Feel free to think you’re better than us. Feel free to do whatever you want. If we really wanted your opinion on our fandom and our traditions, we would ask for them. Last time I checked, we didn’t ask.
Yes, the Gameday show is ultimately a football preview show, but you should lay some of the blame for not being able to hear at the feet of ESPN. They knew the cowbells would be out in full force, and they could have taken measures to make sure that the noise wouldn’t interfere as much with the sound. Move the fans back, bring in sound soaking material, something. They are the unquestioned leader when it comes to sports broadcasts, if they didn’t have the forethought to think that the cowbells might interfere with the sound a little bit, then I would like to know who is running that place.
So feel free to whine and complain about our traditions all you want. People tend to get mad when you beat up on their favorite team.