I am an alumnus of Mississippi State University and I grew up in Fayetteville, AR, home of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks. My parents are not sports fans by any stretch. Dad used to watch baseball occasionally, having grown up listening the St. Louis Cardinals games on a transistor. We always followed Razorback basketball. I can still remember several exciting games in the NCAA Tourney with Sidney Moncrief and the crew. There's also the matter of Larry Bird almost single-handedly beating Arkansas on the way to his National Championship.
When I arrived at State in the late '80's, our hoops team wasn't that good & student tickets were FREE! As my college career went on, the team got better, but the tickets were still free. I can probably count the number of home games I MISSED on one hand, the entire 4 years I lived on campus. I did happen to miss one memorable 4 overtime game against Ole Miss because I had a project due.
This year, our team once again is not very good. I can't quite put my fingers on it, but an SEC season-opening win against Arkansas has been followed by 7 straight SEC losses, 6 by double digits. We're a young team, I get that, I think we start 4 freshman. At some point though, these kids have to grow up & have some self-respect and actually beat a team. 1-6 Auburn visits "The Hump" on Saturday. Let's hope we can get the job done then, but somehow, I am not optimistic. I can usually sense when I team is on the cusp on doing something, and I don't get that vibe here.
I love college basketball season, but there's not much joy in Mudville this year for State fans. I have a trip to Vegas scheduled for Final Four weekend, but we're coming back Saturday, so I'll miss those 2 games & won't be able to bet on them! Not that I'd put a ton down, anyway, but still!
I guess there's always next year when our 4 freshman are 4 sophomores...
