My First Ole Miss Basketball Game

Last night, I visited the "Tad Pad" for the first time to take in the Ole Miss/Mississippi State game with Brittany, her parents, and her grandfather. Her dad and grandfather are Mississippi State guys, and me and Brittany are obviously Ole Miss fans, and who knows who her mom was rooting for. Here are some reactions from the game last night:

(1) I didn't realize how fierce the rivalry between Ole Miss and Mississippi State really is. I have never been to an Egg Bowl game, so I've never really seen what its like, but it really is intense. Neither side has particularly classy fans, but neither is cleverly disrespectful (read: Penn State or Maryland) either, so there is an abundance of harsh language and cringe-worthy comments coming from fans of both sides. There was also a scuffle between the players on the floor, which I hoped would escalate into a fight. It did not. Double technical fouls though, which was enough to calm the bloodlust for a few days more, I guess. Anyway, it was fun to see how heated both sides got about their equally unranked 17-7 teams. I love good rivalries.

(2) Mississippi is damn fast! I've been an ACC fan forever (arguably the best basketball conference year in and year out -- don't argue with me, its my blog) and I was really impressed with Ole Miss's speed. They have big men who scramble and move like they are much smaller, and they play frantic basketball for the entire game. Granted, this was a much bigger game then usual, so the intensity might have been dialed up a little bit more than normal, but they still impressed with their tenacity and speed.

(3) The "Tad Pad", Ole Miss's home court, is small. I was 2 rows from the back, and still felt like I had pretty good seats. I'd recommend catching a game there, even if you get into it late and have "bad" seats. They're all pretty good.

(4) My prediction: although Ole Miss won last night, I'd probably put my money on Mississippi State making the tournament over them. Something about the way Ole Miss plays made me feel like they have a considerable amount of spottiness left in them. They could beat any team in the country, but they could also lose to anybody on any given day. Thats the nature of a young team, and I think that Ole Miss might just fall a little short this year. Tough pill to swallow when you start 13-0.

(5) The crowd loved the game. But they loved this guy being there even more.