This is probably the hardest blog I’ve ever written, but I feel compelled to ask the question: Would Jesse Jackson have met with the Southern Miss Golden Eagles if they were in the Final Four as he did for Memphis?

I’m the last person to have a racial bias. On the contrary, I am a strong proponent that we just move on because racism will exist only as long as we let if affect our decisions. I won’t let it affect mine, which is why I am so pushed to write this. I hope that none of the EP members think less of me, but alas, if you do then you’re missing the bigger point.

Let’s forget for a moment what the current perception of Mississippi is. Jesse Jackson’s mentor Dr. King was assassinated in Memphis. Isn’t it strange that he would appear here and now? Why not meet with UCLA? Or Kansas? Or North Carolina? Why Memphis?

Despite having a white coach (they all do), Memphis is the only all African-American roster. Not a single white player on the team. UCLA and North Carolina do (and they happen to be pretty good), as does Kansas.

So, I ask again, would a Southern Miss team get the same treatment from Jesse Jackson?

Welcome to the real world! If you seek to differentiate, then you must accept that you’ll be treated different. I will still be pulling for Memphis because they are like us, a member of Conference-USA. Not because of the color of their skin. The sooner Jesse Jackson (and everybody else) clues into that, the better off we’ll all be.

What ever happened to rooting for the underdog?  I recently opened up an article by Pat Forde (not sure where the extra “e” came from) entitled - Wildest Dreams and Nightmare Scenarios for 64 teams.  Now, I’m the first one to know that Texas-Arlington is going to struggle against Memphis and that Mississippi Valley State has little hope against UCLA (also not sure how a Mississippi team ended up in the West).  But shouldn’t we give them a little more respect than that?

Or is the divide bigger than I think?

UAB came very close to beating Memphis this year.  And Southern Miss held their own.  So, why such a discrepancy between the 1st and 16th seed in a bracket of the NCAA Tourney?  Does a Mount St. Mary belong at “the dance,” while UAB goes to the NIT?

Obviously, the tournament games played in the next few days aren’t really “the dance.”  But are warm ups for the teams that will be playing for a championship.  As Pat Forde puts it, the underdogs get the nifty uniforms and sweats, the Mississippi Valley State band will wow them in Anaheim, and then, prayers go unanswered.

Still, I’ll be watching.  And Cheering for the upset of all upsets.

CoogFun
Rivals - Houston

Give ‘em a shout!

So, the argument gets ugly. Is Southern Miss a Mid-Major in all sports? This came to a head on our message board when a few papers, including the Hattiesburg American, questioned where our conference stands. Obviously many of our fans took offense. Even more aggravating to some of our fans, was that there was no plug for our game with the nationally ranked Alabama in the Jackson metro area. Southern Miss went on to blank the Tide, by the way.

Southern Miss has always been looked down on in the state of Mississippi. And honestly, it always will be. Not because of the performance on the field/court, but because of our performance around it. Frankly speaking, we don’t bring enough to the table. Attendance is poor (among the lowest in the conference). And I’m sure that equates to pure dollars. Dollars we put in and dollars we draw to the program from advertisers.

Gentlemen, until we pull the traffic, we are Mid-Major at best. And yes, traditional media will not give us our due. We had less than 3700 at tonight’s baseball game. I listened because I live over 2000 miles away. But how many fans sat right there in Jackson? How many fans were within 30 miles of Pearl and didn’t bother? Are they really fans?

Are you?

March 3, 2007 - Southern Miss (18-10, 8-7 C-USA) faces The Herd (12-17, 7-8 C-USA) in basketball at 4pm.

Marshall fans have multiple message boards (stop by and invite them over):

Herdfans.com

Herdnation.com

Scout - Marshall

Rivals - Marshall

I’ll jump to the chase, there was an incident between the fans (mostly students) and the coaching staff of UAB at the most recent Southern Miss basketball game.

Yes, the coaches should have just ignored the fans/students, but that is besides the point.  We are Southern Miss!  Our band is called “The Pride” for a reason.  We hold ourselves out as better than them.  Our slogan is “Anyone, Any Time, Any Place”.  Again, the inference is that we hold ourselves out as above the fear and hype.

To do anything but be respectful of the opponent’s fans, players, coaches and yes, the referees is beneath us.

On Saturday, we play our last, regular season game.  I hope the coliseum is packed.  I hope they are loud.  I hope the deafening roar that the fans and student’s make affects the Blazers.  But please don’t do anything to damage the respect that generations of fans before you built.

We are Southern Miss!  We are better than that.

The crowd of just over 3,000 watched and many of us listened (thank God for Yahoo! Sports), as Southern Miss pushed ahead in the second half to beat UTEP at home last night.  It is always good to defeat a conference foe, but this win was even sweeter given the way USM lost in El Paso the last time the two teams met.

The Eagles are playing very well as they approach the final stretch of the season, which is ideal going into the C-USA Tourney.  Hopes are high that the team will make a good showing and get a shot at the NCAA Tourney.  But short of winning the C-USA title, that might not happen.  In any case, excitement is building as Eustuchy has put together an exciting, young group that will only improve next year!

Go Golden Eagles!

We start with a C-USA win by the Lady Eagles over ECU.  Great win girls!

Next we have a loss by the Men’s Basketball team to Savanna State (last second shot gives them the win).

And finally, the one we’ve all been waiting for, the football team dominates Ohio in the GMAC Bowl.  The best news of this was the strength and performance of the defense, which hasn’t done as well this year relative to other years.  The offense made plays when it counted and put up some decent stats.  My vote for MVP would have to go to Jeremy Young.  He is beginning to show a seasoning and when he’s healthy, he’s a treat to watch.  Should be a good 2007 campaign for the Golden Eagles who will really only have gaps in the OL and DB to fill.  Stay tuned!

My hats off the the Men’s Basketball team!  Great win!  Looks like Coach E has really started to turn that program around.  Good news!  Here is a link to the story - http://southernmiss.cstv.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/010207aaa.html.