When Lindsey Dunn woke up Saturday morning, she definitely did not expect to be known as “Sad Ole Miss Girl” by the end of the day.
After Ole Miss’s tragic football loss to Alabama on Saturday, countless Rebel fans were understandably upset. Reactions ranged from tearful to furious, and ESPN shared a few seconds on-screen of a girl decked out in powder blue with her hands above her head, clearly disappointed in the game’s turnout. That girl is Lindsey Dunn, a junior accounting and managerial finance major from Dyersburg, Tennessee, and she happens to be a huge Ole Miss football fan.
Dunn’s day started with a late arrival to the Grove, and she spent time at several tents before heading to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Her boyfriend was with her, and Saturday’s game was his first college football game, which made the event even more special. Dunn sat with her parents during the game, and the group was surrounded by Alabama fans, something that would prove to be important later in the game.
At the beginning, Dunn kept her cool.
“We were doing really well in the first half. I was really pleased with it,” Dunn said.
She explained that she stayed faithful to her dear Rebs going into the game and hoped that they would pull through with a win.
However, as the game progressed, her disappointment culminated to the graphic that was shared on ESPN, and later several Twitter and Vine accounts as “Sad Ole Miss Girl” during the fourth quarter. Dunn said it was hilarious to watch the replay and see those Alabama fans that surrounded Dunn and her family reacting ecstatically to the Alabama lead while Dunn pensively stared ahead.
This game was especially important to Dunn because as a junior, she has witnessed Rebel victories over Alabama since her freshman year. In fact, she watched students rush the field after the first win against Alabama in 2014, a moment she described as a huge show of support to our football team.
In high school, Dunn held the Most School Spirit title, and it is clear that carried over to college.
“I didn’t think that this would be my claim to fame, but I’m happy that it accurately depicted how I felt at that moment,” she said.
Dunn still has high hopes for the Rebels’ next Alabama match up, but until then, she is enjoying her 20 seconds — or rather six seconds — of fame as “Sad Ole Miss Girl.”
