I was only 11 and had never even heard of "Mississippi State" before that. My dad had a friend who was getting a masters at Auburn, and we got tickets to the game. I thought that since they were playing a team from Mississippi, we'd be seeing Ole Miss. I was wondering why the team had Maroon helmets instead of blue, and someone told me they were "Mississippi State, not Ole Miss". Oh, really?
The main things I remember from the game:
-Jordan-Hare was cold as a *****'s heart on one side of the stadium, but when we walked to the other side it warmed up about 30 degrees.
-Sitting near the student section, the marijuana smoke was thick. No wonder I didn't see my 12th grade brother in the second half.
- After Auburn kicked an extra point, someone wearing a red (or maroon) jersey caught the ball, then proceeded to run out of the stadium.
- I was rooting for Auburn because my dad's friend was an Auburn grad student at the time.
The first game I saw where I was rooting for State was 1980, when State beat Auburn 24-21, partly because former high school teammate Jerry Gillikin stuffed Joe Cribbs on 4th and goal.</p>