When I stepped on campus in 2003 as a freshman, I watched in awe as Eli Manning effortlessly threw touchdown pass after touchdown pass throughout the season. I’m sure every Rebel fan watched Ole Miss on their way to a 31-28 win over Oklahoma State in the Cotton Bowl. Oxford was almost in chaos that year during football season. Since then, I have watched my beloved Rebels amass only 13 wins in four years with over half of them coming from Memphis, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. Disappointment would be the understatement of the century. Want to know what an even bigger disappointment is? Watching students scream, “The South will rise again,” every time Dixie is played. If only they could take off the bourbon glasses for one second to stop and think about what they are saying.
I know if I were an athlete and the people who are supposed to be your friends, supports and part of the Rebel family screamed that at me, I would almost explode with pride and intensity before that next play. Wait … no. Not at all. I honestly can’t even fathom how that would make me feel.
How can you call yourself a fan when you intentionally yell things that hurt our athletes, our chances of winning and our reputation?
Students are ambassadors for their respective schools. Certain Ole Miss students, however, are doing a great job of making Ole Miss look ignorant and hateful. When people think of Ole Miss, I want racism to be the last thing to pop into their heads.
Chucky Mullins is known for the saying, “It’s time.” Well, it is time: time for change, time to win and time to group back together as one fan base like I saw in 2003 with Eli at the helm. Yes, I know Jevan isn’t sporting the No. 10 and Powe hasn’t even strutted his big butt on the field yet, but you HAVE to feel like we are on the verge of something special. I’m just happy to be around to watch it take place.
As a former student, I’m going to ask the student body for a favor. Not a big one … Just substitute ‘Rebels’ for ‘South’ when Dixie is played that first time on August 30 as Ole Miss beats the hell out of Memphis. Maybe our athletes won’t hang their heads and wonder how some “fan” can be so cruel. Maybe when they hear, “The Rebels will rise again,” they will stick their chest out, hold their heads high and go knock the crap out of someone on the other team.
They will know that we are here for them and have complete faith that they will get the job done. They will look into the student section and see their peers cheering for them, not for the rise of the old South. Fans are supposed to pump their athletes up, light a fire under them and make them feel invincible. Screaming the “South will rise again” does the exact opposite.
Whether the students realize it or not, they control the atmosphere in Vaught. Sure, the 60-year-old couples on the 40-yard line can stand up and cheer, but it’s the students who make the noise. It’s the students who make those checks at line impossible to hear for opposing offenses because they are screaming, “First down, Ole Miss,” so loud you can hear it in Batesville.
I want our athletes to feel that we will rise again. That we haven’t given up; that we know we are going to win.
I can’t wait for that first time Dixie is played and Ole Miss fans can scream at the top of their lungs that “the Rebels have risen.” It won’t be after we beat Memphis or after we make Petrino cry for mercy and beg to go back to the NFL. I don’t know when, but when it happens, all Rebel fans will know. If we scream it loud enough, maybe the rest of the SEC will too. So let’s join together for this upcoming season and show our team, our university and the rest of the world what we really are. Proud, united and loud.
Mike Wallace said, “Ole Miss will shock the world this year.”
So, the only thing left to ask is: Are you ready?
The Rebels will rise again
Published: Friday, August 29, 2008
Updated: Friday, August 29, 2008
Top 10 Reasons Why It's a Dumb Idea to Say
“The South Shall Rise Again”
During From Dixie with Love/Slow Dixie
10. It's not a tradition. Ask anyone who graduated from Ole Miss before 2003 if they said it when they were here.
9. It makes no sense. The South has already risen. The last two US presidents are Southerners, our regional economy is strong, and we lead the country in culture and in sports. And surely you don’t think bringing slavery back is moral or ethical, right?
8. It's not a tradition. It is not worth trying to make it a tradition. Like having celebrities lead Hotty Toddy on our huge video board, any "new" tradition should make other schools jealous when they visit.
7. If you are determined to say it, the band may eventually have to stop playing the song. Is a dumb non-tradition worth that?
6. It's not a tradition. "Hotty Toddy" is a tradition. Why waste your vocal cords on anything other than "Hotty Toddy"?
5. Whenever Ole Miss gets national attention, we need good things associated with Ole Miss, not bad. Why do something people will use against us? Do you think seeing yourself saying it on YouTube would make you look smart or dumb?
4. It's not a tradition. The Grove is a tradition. One of the Top 10 sports experiences in the WORLD according to Sports Illustrated. Our standards for "traditions" are high.
3. Be honest with yourself. You know that you or someone you know says it because African-Americans may not like it or it may hurt their feelings. Does saying it make you a better person, or a lesser person?
2. It's not a tradition. Ole Miss IS tradition, and everything about Ole Miss means to choose class, not crass.
1. It makes you look like a redneck. Who else on the planet but rednecks say "The South Shall Rise Again"? Why does Ole Miss have to be the defender of all that is redneck? Leave stuff like this to Mississippi State. (Wouldn't it fit much better if MSU said it? Isn't that reason enough not to say it at Ole Miss?)
THE REBS.. WILL RISE AGAIN !!