Taylor Bennett and her father Mike before she became an Ole Miss Reb. (Courtesy: Taylor Bennett)
I grew up in a sleepy town where the air is humid, food is fried and the same families have reserved pews in the First Baptist Church for decades. The cicadas sing every night at dusk and lightnin’ bugs play hide-and-seek among the oaks and pines jutting outside of the city limits. It’s a small Southern dream town where fall congregates around football, food and family— the trifecta of living.
What’s unique about Picayune, Mississippi is we’re located right on the border of the Louisiana/Mississippi state line. I’ve always considered our town a melting pot of the best of Southern culture – the embracing arms of Mississippi combined with the boisterousness of Louisiana. If you google my town name, you will find it listed as a “metropolitan suburb area of New Orleans.” What could be better?
Of my upbringing, there are only a few complaints I’ve had regarding my tiny town, and my biggest complaint is I grew up in the midst of “Tiger country.” Picayune is located just 100 miles from Baton Rouge, and for as long as I can remember, the colors purple and gold have permeated my senses. My entire family and even my extended family are LSU fans. I know all too well the roar of Death Valley and the exuberant culture that surrounds Louisiana State University, and even though I was born into the pack, it never felt quite right.
My sister was the first in our family to break the mold. She wanted to come here, to Ole Miss, and despite disappointment, my dad begrudgingly accepted it, still holding out hope that I would attend LSU. My first visit to Oxford, I was in eighth grade and was enchanted by the familiar yet distinctive life that was Ole Miss football, because it’s not easy to understand. We do not have a dynasty of championships or hundreds of professional players to boast as alumni. We do not boast a massive stadium or even campus, for that matter. What we have is different from every other large SEC school that crowns the South— true spirit and true love for the family that has been created at this University.
Buried in a troubled and proud past, we’ve managed to culminate an entire world in Oxford. Not once have I heard of a person that didn’t love spending time in Oxford. Dripping in culture, Ole Miss is an entity in its own right. One does not simply come to Oxford and leave empty-handed, and just like Ole Miss football, it’s hard to get enough.
I came to the University of Mississippi as a freshman in 2012. It’s given me four emotional years sitting amongst the crowd in Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. During my time, I’ve stormed the field twice— the 2012 Egg Bowl and the 2014 Alabama game. I’ve seen incredible recruiting classes and the emergence of the iconic Hugh Freeze. I’ve experienced emotional trauma by way of the 2014 loss to Auburn and this year’s loss to Arkansas, yet I cannot truly say I regret becoming a Rebel.
When I announced my college decision, I knew there would be repercussions. I was harassed by family, friends and classmates for going to a school where there’s not been any recent National Championship titles or a program that’s the mecca of sports for its state. My dad couldn’t proudly tell his friends he had a daughter at LSU, but it didn’t bother me because I was going somewhere where I belonged.
When I call Ole Miss home, I feel it with my entire being. I couldn’t imagine being on a fairground instead of in the Grove on game day mornings. I don’t want a massive concrete structure like Death Valley, because I prefer the coziness of our Vaught-Hemingway. There’s an exclusiveness that comes with being an Ole Miss fan that only other fans will recognize. Despite the heartbreak and the hype and always being good, but never being the best, we bleed red and blue.
An insurmountable spirit ripples through the fan base, and it’s hard not to love something that gives you so much in return. You cannot become a bandwagon fan for Ole Miss. We are not No. 1, and even though our program struggles sometimes, we’re on our way.
My dad was embraced by our spirit little by little and the inevitable has happened. My dad will be on the right side of the stadium Saturday cheering on the Ole Miss Rebels. I understand why someone would support LSU, but I do not believe they know what it’s like to truly and completely love a program without the yearly allure of championships.
Saturday’s game against LSU will be an opportunity for Ole Miss to show the SEC that we are not to be trifled with. We have the chance to become great, only if we allow ourselves to. I don’t want my last game as a student at Ole Miss to disappoint, because I’ve never loved anything as much as I love my University. My name is Taylor Bennett and I am an Ole Miss Rebel.
