Tailgaiting before the NCAA college football game in Oxford, Miss., Saturday, Oct. 19, 2013. (DM Photo/Tyler Jackson)
As I woke up Monday morning, I turned on ESPN like I usually do, and I saw Hugh Freeze being interviewed live on the set of “Sportscenter.”
It was your typical interview. The questions were the same.
“How will your team this year stack up in the SEC West?”
“Is this the year that Ole Miss breaks through and gets to Atlanta?”
One quote from Freeze caught me in particular, however.
“We need to get College Gameday to the Grove.”
Since 1993, when College Gameday did its first ever road show, the show has never been to Oxford.
It blows my mind. How has the most notable college football pre-game show never been to the best tailgating site in the country?
It doesn’t help that the Rebels haven’t been relevant in the SEC since Eli Manning last played quarterback in 2003.
We all remember the Houston Nutt, Jevan Snead hype in 2009, but that doesn’t count.
The quality of football teams does factor into the decision for being the host site for College Gameday, but it shouldn’t be the deciding factor.
The Grove in Oxford, Mississippi, at The University of Mississippi is the best potential host site for College Gameday. Better than any other school in the country. It’s obvious why.
Our tailgating scene is the prime standard of college football tailgating. Dubbed as the “holy grail of tailgating sites” by Sporting News, and “the mother and mistress of outdoor ritual mayhem” by the New York Times, there’s nowhere else to enjoy the pre-game festivities of a college football game.
There is nothing better than seeing the Mississippi magnolias, elms, ancient oak trees and the finest green grass in the state covered with thousands of tents and Rebel fans dressed in their Sunday best outfits.
The tents are filled with fine kitchenware, chandeliers, dollies and fine china with some of the best food and drinks you can find in the South.
The smell of the barbecue and traditional Southern foods such as fried chicken, mashed potatoes, stuffed eggs and much more will quickly make your stomach happy.
It’s also true when they say the best looking girls are in Oxford, Mississippi. Just throwing that out there.
The random yelling of the school chant is something that gives me goose bumps every time, at least for me. If you have a pulse, you should feel a tingle down your spine when you hear the question, “Are you ready?”
It’s a sea of red and blue when you come to the Grove on a Saturday afternoon in the fall. No other moment shows Rebel pride better than the “Walk of Champions.” The Ole Miss football team is dropped off at the “Walk Of Champions” arch on the east side of The Grove and they walk down the brick path through the Grove as they are surrounded by fans on both sides of the sidewalk. It’s a tradition unlike any other.
When I turn on “College Gameday” every Saturday morning, I see the usual suspects hosting the show: Alabama, Ohio State, Notre Dame, LSU, Michigan, USC, Oregon, Auburn, Florida, Florida State, Texas. The list goes on and on.
All of these programs mentioned are some of the most storied programs in the country, but doesn’t it get old going to the same universities every year?
I know Ole Miss hasn’t been one of the best teams in the country recently, but Hugh Freeze is building something special in Oxford. At SEC Media Days, Hugh Freeze said his third year as head coach of the Rebels will be “all in, relentless effort.”
The opportunity is there for Ole Miss to host “College Gameday.” Alabama, Auburn, Tennessee, and Mississippi State are all at Vaught-Hemingway stadium this season. The exposure will be there.
If there is any year where Ole Miss can be the perfect host site for the show, it’s this season.
So come down to Oxford, ESPN. We’ll have our barbecue, gameday tents and red Solo cups waiting for you.
