- There was no Golden Egg trophy in the beginning. Bragging rights were enough.
The not-always friendly rivalry, but much revered annual slugfest, between the Mississippi State Bulldogs and the Ole Miss Rebels (or Landsharks, according to College Football network) happens today on the Ole Miss campus with kick-off at 2:30 p.m. ABC will carry the sold-out game, but the festivities, partying, and high-octane trash talk will start hours before.
The Grove will be a semi-orderly community of tents where the food, as well as the Southern hospitality, is plentiful. Everyone is a friend before kick-off. The Holy Grail of tailgating, the Grove at Ole Miss never disappoints. Casual tailgate themes with paper plates and no-fuss disposable aluminum serving pans stand beside tents with tablescapes straight out of Southern Living magazine. Hundreds of flatscreen TVs surround heirloom silver trays and chandeliers.
Clearly, fans on both sides have put some thought into the appropriate fashion for the day. That’s just a Southern thing, I am sure. Dressing to the nines is no longer mandatory as, once upon a time, fraternity guys wore coats and ties, and girls wore their Sunday best, heels included. These days, there are a lot of jeans and cowboy boots on both sides. However, many Ole Miss faithful can still come up with a Vogue-worthy casual ensemble seemingly with no effort. And honestly, many Bulldogs shun the jeans and come up with their own versions of classy haute couture.
Team colors, however, are an essential fashion consideration. This year, Ole Miss fans are instructed to wear navy. Mississippi State fans will deck themselves in maroon. Such a tradition makes for great TV when the camera pans the stadium!
Few historic contests come close to the rabid competition and the sheer over-the-top passion that roils the atmosphere. Friends and family have been known to stay mad with each other for weeks over the perceived bad-faith sportsmanship exhibited on the gridiron when these two face off. The victor claims the coveted Golden Egg trophy while the loser licks their wounds in embarrassment and plots their inevitable future revenge.
Even in 1901, at their first meeting on the field, the game was delayed for forty minutes over the eligibility question. One of State’s players had played for Ole Miss the previous year, and there was disagreement over whether he should be allowed to compete. Ultimately, the player in question did not play. Even so, Mississippi State (known as the A&M Aggies at the time) demolished the Red and Blue by 17 – 0. FYI, Ole Miss did not become the Rebels until 1936.
Despite Mississippi State’s dominance in the early years, Ole Miss leads the series with 63 wins to State’s 57 wins. There have been six tied games. The annual matchup has been played on Thanksgiving Day 31 of 121 times, and six of those in the past ten years. This year’s Black Friday performance is a first, the result of network decisions.
There was no Golden Egg trophy in the beginning. Bragging rights were enough. But in 1926, ending a 17-game losing streak, the elated victorious Ole Miss fans stormed the field in Starkville, intent on taking down the goalpost. Mississippi State players, protecting their turf, weaponized wooden chairs, splintering them over the heads of the invading enemies.
A bi-partisan committee decided this behavior was unacceptable. Thus, the Golden Egg Trophy became a more civilized way to acknowledge the victor. The traveling trophy would reside each year on the campus of the winning team. Such a reward would eliminate the temptation to vandalize. At least, that was the intent.
For the next 50 years, the contest was dubbed “Battle for the Golden Egg.” The term “Egg Bowl” was the clever designation by The Clarion-Ledger and Jackson Daily News Sports Editor Tom Patterson, who in 1979 was tasked with generating enthusiasm for the annual contest when both teams had particularly lackluster seasons and were bowl ineligible. His brilliant plan pumping up the hype in his sports section the week before and creating a multi-page spread the morning after firmly established “Egg Bowl” as the official term forever. There were some happy copy editors everywhere over the compressed title!
Stories and Trivia
In the spirit of fun facts within the Mississippi family who love both schools, enjoy a few stories and a bit of trivia here.
1. From 1973 through 1990, Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson hosted the annual game. Both Ole Miss and Mississippi State had stadiums too small to accommodate the crowd that turned out to root for their team en mass. Since then, both schools have considerably expanded their stadiums and figured out how to enhance the home game experience with extra attractions — memorabilia auctions, activities for the youngest Bulldog and Rebel fans, and the consistently successful band concert during the tailgate.
2. Coach Dan Mullen, who shepherded the Bulldogs from 2009 till 2017, refused to refer to the Ole Miss Rebels by any name other than “The School Up North.” The hatred was so real that the in-house game schedule listed Ole Miss on their schedule as “TSUN.” Needless to say, the rivalry grew more intense.
3. The legend of the cowbell is a great one. The distinctive clang has been designated “the longstanding visual and auditory symbol of the Bulldog pride.” The story goes that during a 1930’s contest between MSU and Ole Miss a cow strolled onto the field in Starkville. MSU won that game, and forever after, the cowbell was a good luck charm. In recent years, the SEC has established rules that restrict deafening cowbell enthusiasm. You won’t hear cowbells at Vaught-Hemingway today!
4. The Ole Miss Walk of Champions is a Game Day tradition bringing the Ole Miss nation together as fans line the brick lane through the center of the Grove to cheer the football team en route to the stadium. Begun in 1985 by former quarterback and defensive back, Coach Billy Brewer, the procession starts two hours before kick-off. If you want a high-five with your favorite Rebel and a glimpse of the famous labrador, Juice Kiffin, stake out your spot a half hour before the team appears.
5. The most bizarre story ever was the 1983 matchup when the schools shared abysmal rankings. With a score of 24 – 23 in the game’s final seconds, Mississippi State attempted a 26-yard field goal, which should have been a lay-up. It appeared to be just that until a sudden 40-mile-an-hour wind gust took the perfect kick and sent it backward and crashing downward, preserving Ole Miss’s victory and causing some to ask, “Is God an Ole Miss Rebel?” Probably not, but still you have to wonder if He likes football games, too, and is keeping it real on both sides!
Marilyn Tinnin
