Nice post from an Ole Miss fan that is making the email rounds.

coach66 · Sep 11, 2010

This weekend's games in Starkville and Oxford were the manifest of very different actions by two rival schools and the results in the stands and on the field were emblematic of the direction of the programs.Let's start in Starkville . Since he stepped foot on campus, Dan Mullen has centered the vast majority of his attention and the attention of the fanbase on Ole Miss. We laugh at him and them and tell them how stupid they are for caring about one game any more than the others, or especially sacrificing performance in the others. Mullen has called us @$@!, put a countdown clock in the locker room and otherwise motivated the players, staff and fanbase to beat Ole Miss.Let me let you in on a little secret that no one inside our fanbase seems to recognize....Mullen isn't doing this because Ole Miss is the only game that matters. He's not doing this because he'd rather beat Ole Miss than other schools, and he's not doing it because he thinks 5-7 with a win over Ole Miss is better than 7-5 with a loss to Ole Miss.He's doing it because he understands his fanbase and has used this approach to UNIFY his fanbase. The MSU fan nation is 100% behind the Mullen regime and is working in lock-step with the regime, the athletic department and the university to do whatever they can to assist. What are the results of this?On the field, to date, not much. However, despite having 8 losing seasons in the last 9 MSU set an attendance record last year. Despite their 9th losing season in 10, they set a season ticket sales record this year. Despite the disparity of the program over the last decade and despite a low-level D1 opponent coming in on opening weekend, they followed the wishes of the regime and sold out Davis Wade stadium, all dressed TOGETHER in white. The MSU fanbase is unified---and this can be very powerful in fundraising, recruiting, etc.Now let's look up North to Oxford .Our fanbase is as divided as any major athletic fanbase in the country. Over the last 40 years our fanbase has fought against integrating the football team, getting rid of the Rebel Flag, getting rid of Colonel Reb, getting rid of FDWL--and I'm not judging the opinions of the different people. However, during each one of these fights, there have been people on one side of the issue or the other. Each of these fights has resulted in further splintering our own fanbase--AND FOR WHAT?Each time one of these fights takes place, alumnae and donors threaten (and may even follow through with) to withhold their donations, threaten to quit purchasing season tickets, demonize the people on the other side of the issue (whichever side that may be)---FOR WHAT?Is the integration of the football team more important than the football team? Is waving a flag more important than the team for whom you are waving? Is having Colonel Reb on the sideline more important than the team he is supporting? Is singing FDWL/TSWRA more important than the team you are in the stadium to support?We've fought other, less important battles as well from uniforms to gameday atmosphere, to alcohol in the grove/stadium to the attire to wear to games, and many many others. For some reason our fans are dead set on infighting over relatively insignificant issues and all of this further divides the fanbase.When our administration asks us to wear a specific color to show unity in support of our program, we put our own desires above those of our football program.The Empty Space at Ole Miss--from Houston Nutt to Pete Boone to Dan Jones and, to an extent, to Khayat before. From Gerald Turner and Warner Alford and so on have not only done virtually NOTHING to try and unify the fanbase; each of them have instigated the "debate" over many of the issues that have continually divided our fanbase.In fairness, it's very difficult for a Chancellor to be the "mouthpiece" of a unification effort in the same way Dan Mullen has at MSU, and Khayat did more to unify the UNIVERSITY than any chancellor in my lifetime. Unfortunately, he would not let his passion and determination resurrecting the University spill over completely to athletics. It's also difficult for an AD to say the type things that provide a rallying cry for the fanbase, but the AD can certainly be involved in the efforts and 100% supportive of them by his staff. The coach is probably the most important person in this battle, and the only coach we've had in our lifetime that even began to fight the battles necessary to unify the fanbase was Tuberville. Tuberville understood the potential in Oxford , but also could clearly see the roadblocks to success.As he tried to use the rallying cry of returning to our days of dominance, he wasn't able to get that message out louder than the message of what would have to change in order to get there. He came close to doing it, but ultimately bailed because it simply wasn't worth the effort any longer.It has been said many times before, but the results on the field will always be equal to the tolerance of the fanbase. You see that happening at MSU right now as Dan Mullen created the expectations and the rallying point of beating Ole Miss. However, if Mullen remains at MSU after they go to a bowl game this year, he will begin to demand that the MSU fanbase expect more than beating Ole Miss. He already has them unified so he simply has to raise their expectations because he knows that expectations breed results.Until Ole Miss fans realize this fact about themselves and decide to come together IN SUPPORT OF OUR PROGRAM, then we will continue exist in mediocrity. Until our coaches and administration understand how to assist in this process, they will have to battle the continual in-fighting that has dragged our program down for the last 40 years.We need more mature fans and we need more visionary leadership. The leadership will not come until the fans demand it--in unison, and the fans won't demand it in unison until they put all of their other cares surrounding the program to the side and replace it with only one care--the success of the program on the field.So in the stands this past weekend in Starville, you had a sellout crowd, all dressed in unison, stay for virtually the entire game to watch the dismantling of Memphis and potentially the coming out party for their first great QB.In Oxford , you had a multi-colored fanbase, leaving 6,000 empty seats at kickoff, leave the stadium in droves at halftime. You had less than 20,000 fans in the stadium as our football team tried (and failed) to stave off the most improbable upset in at least 37 years of Ole Miss Football.Last edited Today 10:46 AM by PinewoodRebSent via iPhone

DesotoCountyDawg · Sep 11, 2010

[No message]

MississippiHeavyMetalDawg · Sep 11, 2010

King Jackie understood it the best. That's why King Jackie got a standing ovation from me during the Memphis game.

I impresseed that he typed that novel on his iPhone.

Nice post from an Ole Miss fan that is making the email rounds.

coach66

Junior

DesotoCountyDawg

Heisman

MississippiHeavyMetalDawg

Redshirt