The curse of Mississippi State football revealed its ugly head in Week 1.
I stayed for the entire South Alabama game, but I have to admit that the primarily reason for that was that I was sitting in the shade the entire game. But of course, I also wanted to hang around to see if MSU could somehow find a way to put the game away. When the Jags scored to make it 20-14, I floated the idea of losing 21-20 to a guy sitting near me. In fact, my exact words were “this game has a 21-20 feel to it.”
I watched us move the ball in position for potential game winning late in the game, hoping we would make it, but knowing in my heart of hearts we probably wouldn’t , because, well… it’s State football.
That’s what my buddies and I always say when we lose, particularly when we lose to someone we should not, as happened this past weekend, or whenever we let one slip through our fingers that we should have won. We’re all in our 50’s, are lifetime Bulldog fans and we’ve seen a lot. And while we’ve have a great deal of success under Dan Mullen, those bad ole days of State football are never too far from our minds.
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After watching the final field goal predictably doink off the left upright, we trudged back to our tailgate spot disappointed and angry, but more than anything, philosophical. Everyone who’s within a decade or two of our ages has seen this rodeo before, and in the case of some of us, many, many times. And once you’ve seen it happen a few times, you learn to not let it completely ruin your weekend.
I love Mississippi State with my whole heart. I grew up a State fan, spending all my growing up years in Starkville going to every athletic event I could. My Dad went to State. My brother went to State. My aunts and uncles went to State. I graduated from State with a degree that has enabled me to always be employed making a decent salary.
In short, I’m about as Maroon as they come. But as much as I love MSU, I’ve had to endure a fair share of heartache from being a fan of Mississippi State athletics. Because for all of the success we have achieved athletically, there has been an even greater amount of heartache to endure, particularly on the football field. That’s why we joke about “State football” – because it’s given us way more grief over the years than satisfaction.
Is MSU headed for a losing season in 2016? I surely hope not, but it wouldn’t surprise me either. And if it happens, I’ll take it in stride because it won’t be the first time. We’ll continue to buy tickets and make 6-7 weekends every fall the center of our social lives attending Mississippi State games, because that’s what we love to do.
Even a prolonged period of losing is unlikely to deter us. We’ll go to the games anyway, make Bulldog Club contributions and always cheer for the Bulldogs. And why do we do this? It’s simple – we’ve been afflicted by the curse of State football.