Everyone, remember that loss to Jacksonville State back at the beginning of the 2010 season?
It was the beginning of the downfall of Ole Miss football under Houston Nutt, and it was also my first game as a student here at Ole Miss.
It wasn’t my first Rebel football game though.
I had been to plenty of Ole Miss games growing up. I remember the good times with Eli Manning behind center and the bad times with Ed Orgeron on the sideline. All I wanted was for Ole Miss to be good when I got here, and well, you know the rest of the story. Nutt and the Rebels went 4-8 during my freshman year and 2-10 during my sophomore year.
Then, I turned my attention towards basketball. Maybe they would do things no one expected.
Nope. But hey, at least they were competitive.
Then, along came baseball season.
I had been going to Ole Miss baseball games since 2004. I knew, at the very least, that the Rebels would be in a regional somewhere, but again, nope. It was the first time the Diamond Rebs missed postseason play in eight seasons.
It was arguably the worst freshman year someone could have; and honestly, it wasn’t that surprising.
In eighth grade, I transferred to a school that was favored to win the state championship in basketball. Well, they were upset by a Cinderella-type team in the semi-finals.
In high school, our football team went to the state championship game two years in a row but lost. Both years, I only went to the state games because I was in Oxford watching Ole Miss.
It kind of became a joke. I was a jinx, and I was the reason Ole Miss was losing.
Then, came a big change.
Hugh Freeze was hired as the head man for the Rebel football squad, and Ross Bjork took over for Pete Boone as athletics director. There was finally some new, fresh life in the Ole Miss athletic department.
In year one with the duo at the helm, Ole Miss somehow was invited to a bowl game and finished 7-6. Then, this past season rolls along, and they do one better by posting an 8-5 record. In between all of that, Freeze signed the best recruiting class this school has ever seen.
In basketball, a man by the name of Marshall Henderson came along and guided Ole Miss to its first NCAA Tournament berth since 2001.
The baseball team still wasn’t where they were when super regionals became the norm in July each year, but they were competitive. And now this season, they look to be a lock to host a regional, barring a late-season collapse and could even get into national seed consideration.
Things are finally heading in the right direction for Ole Miss sports, and it’s been fun watching the turnaround.
Now that I’m graduating, Ole Miss can take that next step.
Football is on the horizon of one of the most anticipated seasons in some time coming in the fall. Basketball will have some good talent, and the new arena will be built. And, baseball is on the brink of something they haven’t done since 2009.
And if they get back to being in a place to break the door down and go to Omaha, it won’t be me holding them back.
It’s been a fun four years, and I try to only focus on the good memories.
The LSU football game this year was my favorite game as a student.
For basketball, the win against Kentucky my freshman year will always stay with me.
And for baseball, nothing can beat Bobby Wahl scoring the game-winning run on a tapper from Senquez Golson to beat No. 1 Florida, right?
But really, I can’t thank everyone enough for reading my stories and sharing your thoughts. It’s been awesome getting to bring you the latest coverage with Ole Miss sports, and it is something I will genuinely miss.
But now, everyone can rest easy.
The jinx is finally over.
