My friends, I had not intended to discuss this controversial subject at this particular time. However, I want you to know that I do not shun controversy. On the contrary, I will take a stand on any issue at any time, regardless of how fraught with controversy it might be. You have asked me how I feel about Masoli. All right, here is how I feel about Masoli:
If when you sayMasoli you mean the devil's quarterback, the poison scourge, the bloody monster, that defiles innocence, dethrones reason, destroys the home; if you mean the man that topples the Ole Miss Rebels from the pinnacle of righteous, gracious living into the bottomless pit of degradation, and despair, and shame and helplessness, and hopelessness, then certainly I am against him.</p>
But, if when you sayMasoli you mean brilliance, theexcellent plays that are seenwhen good Bulldogs get together, that puts a song in their hearts and laughter on their lips, and the warm glow of contentment in their eyes; if you mean Christmas cheer; if you mean theNew Year's bowl gamesthat puts the spring in the old gentleman's step on a frosty, crispy morning; if you mean the quarterback who enables a man to magnify his joy, and his happiness, and to forget, if only for a little while, life's great tragedies, and heartaches, and sorrows; if you mean thatquarterback,who promotes the sale of tickets and donations to the Bulldog Club and MSU Foundationof which pours into ouruniversity untold millions of dollars, which are used to provide education for our children, then certainly I am for him.</p>
This is my stand. I will not retreat from it. I will not compromise.1</p>
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1My apologies to Jeremiah Masoli as well as Judge Sweat and his famous "If by Whiskey" speech.