I just made a trip to Jacksonville, FL to watch the Bulldogs play in the Gator bowl. If someone asked me if I was optimistic I would say yes about most things, but I did not see the Bulldogs winning 9 games this year. My predicted cap on the win total this year was 7 including a win in the bowl game. I give Tyler Blocker major credit for his prediction on the season. He said 9 wins before anyone and he was spot on.
Three points from the season and for the future.
1. Dan Mullen is one hell of a football coach. I have watched and played a lot of football, but I have never seen a coach change a team, program, and fan base the way Dan Mullen has over the last 24 months. The future of Ms State football looked really bad after the beat down in the Egg Bowl in 2008 under Croom. The AD at the time Greg Byrne made a great hire and after 24 months I can sit here and say I think Ms State can step on the football field with any team in the country and hold their own. I think the only teams they couldn't beat right now are Bama, Auburn, LSU, Oregon, and Arkansas. In 2 seasons I have watched Houston Nutt go through several qbs and every one of them has been worse in the end. I watched Chris Relf Saturday at EverBank Stadium not even be the same person he was 2 years ago. Dan Mullen has arguably done the best coaching job in his career on Chris Relf. The guy has turned into a quality college quarterback.
2. 2011 season for MS State looks like one that could be special IF we can replace Derek Sherrod. Ask the Black Bear fans about losing Michael Oher.. left tackles picked in the first round are special players. Ms State will miss EVERYTHING about Derek Sherrod. I am not forgetting about McPhee, Wright, and White because all three of those guys were great players along with JC Brignone. BUT that's the only 5 players state will lose. They are returning players like Chris Relf, Bumphis(didnt play in bowl game), Ballard, Perkins, fletcher cox, Heavens, Saulsberry, Addison Lawrence, Marcus Green, josh boyd, charles mitchell, etc, etc. The bulldogs have some talented players stepping on the field in 2011.
3. I will tell you one major difference between the fans at Ms State and TSUN that I have noticed this year. The young fans, age 35-40 and under, at Ms State are better fans because they have made a personal commitment. Almost every person I know that goes to Ms State games in my age group makes their own donations, buys their own tickets, has their own tailgates, and they truly love everything about game days in Starkville. Most black bear fans in that age group sit with their parents or use the tickets their parents buy for them, they go to their parents tailgates, stay in their parents condos, etc. The black bear fans may read this and say it doesn't make a difference or that isn't true but it does make a difference and is true. If you commit to something financially it makes you more passionate about it.
The fan base at Ms State is primed to explode. Donations are going to be coming into the Athletic office the next 8 months like nothing anyone has ever seen. Ticket renewals will be almost 100% with many people doubling and tripling their donations to the Bulldog Club. There will start to be a waiting list to get regular tickets. The tailgating will be bigger and better. TSUN BLACK BEARS KNOW THEY ARE IN TROUBLE AS LONG AS DAN MULLEN IS THE COACH AT MS STATE.
Hail State! Wally
Monday, January 3, 2011
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
Meatheads
Last night we played some meatheads in softball. When I say meathead I mean the people you look at and instantly think that guy has been taking steroids since birth. I am not the smallest guy by any stretch of the imagination and neither are many of the people on my softball team, but I am seriously glad I do not look like one of these guys. Walking around bowed up all the time can not be comfortable.
Guys like this take everything entirely too serious. I like to win more than most, but it is just softball not the world series. One of the meatheads on the team we were playing hit a homerun that was a legit homerun. It cleared the fence by at least 50 feet. Someone on our team jokingly said that bat can't be legal. The guy literally almost lost it over that comment. He was ruined for the rest of the game because the only thing running through his mind was kill because he is so jacked up. It was obviously a joke because if you look at the guy you can tell there is no way he does not have the strength to hit a bomb. With the way the guy reacted to the comment I feel sorry for people in his life i.e. girlfriend or wife.
There's several teams in our league that have a few guys like this and they are always the people I enjoy beating more than anyone else. I am quite sure that everyone else on my team agrees with me too. Our softball team is good because our entire team is made up of good athletes, not meatheads. Most meatheads arent good they are just big awkward looking, affliction wearing fat necks. Even if they were good I would rather go to a dance recital than play on the same team as one.
P.S. we beat the meatheads like we typically do.
Wally
Guys like this take everything entirely too serious. I like to win more than most, but it is just softball not the world series. One of the meatheads on the team we were playing hit a homerun that was a legit homerun. It cleared the fence by at least 50 feet. Someone on our team jokingly said that bat can't be legal. The guy literally almost lost it over that comment. He was ruined for the rest of the game because the only thing running through his mind was kill because he is so jacked up. It was obviously a joke because if you look at the guy you can tell there is no way he does not have the strength to hit a bomb. With the way the guy reacted to the comment I feel sorry for people in his life i.e. girlfriend or wife.
There's several teams in our league that have a few guys like this and they are always the people I enjoy beating more than anyone else. I am quite sure that everyone else on my team agrees with me too. Our softball team is good because our entire team is made up of good athletes, not meatheads. Most meatheads arent good they are just big awkward looking, affliction wearing fat necks. Even if they were good I would rather go to a dance recital than play on the same team as one.
P.S. we beat the meatheads like we typically do.
Wally
Monday, May 17, 2010
The South
Being from the South is a lifestyle and most people you meet will gladly sit down on their porch and tell you what they think about Mississippi or the South in general. Being from the South is all about God, friends, food, hunting, and sports. You can learn everything you need to know throughout life at a high school football practice or in a weekend at deer camp. People can say what they want about the South and our backwards ways, but we live life the right way. I do not agree with everyone from down here and there are many things I would change, but the feeling of a no holds bar good time is not one of them.
The South is about so many things, but the most important is the people. Quite frequently I come across people talking about southern gentlemen and what they think a southern gentleman is. A southern gentleman is friendly, not nice but friendly. There is a major difference between the two. He will always firmly shake your hand. He will compliment the women around him because it is the polite thing to do and most of the time it is well deserved. He knows everything there is about football and will be happy to tell you about it. He will drink scotch or whiskey or beer or all. He will hold the door for a lady. A southern gentleman will maintain his grace in the most trying times. He is just as comfortable at a 5 star restaurant as he is running a trot line on the Mississippi River. He will always respect his elders by being kind to them and using yes ma’am and yes sir. A southern gentleman is normally going to be a nice guy, but he is not a pushover.
When you hear people say someone is “so southern” it is usually meant as a compliment. I don’t think that is necessarily true when you say someone is “so northern.” Atleast not when someone from the South says it about someone. That is not to say there are not nice northerners, but people above the Mason-Dixon Line don’t take the time to enjoy life like southerners do. They seem to move at a faster pace, with their eyes on a goal and not on how they are living that day.
“To identify a person as Southern suggests not only that his/her history is inescapably formative but also impossibly present.” The above quote perfectly describes people from the south. We grow up southern and learn from our parents who grew up southern. Being southern is in our hearts and souls. This is never more prevalent than at a college football game. Some of the happiest and saddest times I have had in my life were sitting in the bleachers of a college football game. Simply put, there is something spiritual about tailgating, the game, and the after party. The after party is critical. I hear people all the time say “We may not have won the game, but we won the party.” When it all boils down to it that is all a fan can control. Some may say that’s what teams that regularly lose say. Maybe so, but who gives a damn. We had a great time with even better people.
Wally
The South is about so many things, but the most important is the people. Quite frequently I come across people talking about southern gentlemen and what they think a southern gentleman is. A southern gentleman is friendly, not nice but friendly. There is a major difference between the two. He will always firmly shake your hand. He will compliment the women around him because it is the polite thing to do and most of the time it is well deserved. He knows everything there is about football and will be happy to tell you about it. He will drink scotch or whiskey or beer or all. He will hold the door for a lady. A southern gentleman will maintain his grace in the most trying times. He is just as comfortable at a 5 star restaurant as he is running a trot line on the Mississippi River. He will always respect his elders by being kind to them and using yes ma’am and yes sir. A southern gentleman is normally going to be a nice guy, but he is not a pushover.
When you hear people say someone is “so southern” it is usually meant as a compliment. I don’t think that is necessarily true when you say someone is “so northern.” Atleast not when someone from the South says it about someone. That is not to say there are not nice northerners, but people above the Mason-Dixon Line don’t take the time to enjoy life like southerners do. They seem to move at a faster pace, with their eyes on a goal and not on how they are living that day.
“To identify a person as Southern suggests not only that his/her history is inescapably formative but also impossibly present.” The above quote perfectly describes people from the south. We grow up southern and learn from our parents who grew up southern. Being southern is in our hearts and souls. This is never more prevalent than at a college football game. Some of the happiest and saddest times I have had in my life were sitting in the bleachers of a college football game. Simply put, there is something spiritual about tailgating, the game, and the after party. The after party is critical. I hear people all the time say “We may not have won the game, but we won the party.” When it all boils down to it that is all a fan can control. Some may say that’s what teams that regularly lose say. Maybe so, but who gives a damn. We had a great time with even better people.
Wally
Thursday, September 3, 2009
College Football
College football is a sport like nothing else. I will not lie I love football in general whether it is high school, college, or the NFL, but there is just something truly special about college football. The passion, the pride, the traditions, and the pageantry are second to no other sport. Your team represents you, your state, your alma matter, and your youth. College football is built on loyalty. True fans do not flip flop between schools or conferences. Simply put if you are a Mississippi State fan you do not like Ole Miss or Alabama and if you are an Ole Miss fan you do not like Mississippi State or LSU. If you are fan of one of the above schools you never pull for Ohio State, Texas, Oklahoma, USC, etc because they go against everything the SEC stands for.
There is no argument that the SEC is hands down the best college football conference. Really there is not even a close second. There is no 1A and 1B when it comes to talking about the best football conference. You have the SEC then you have everyone else. The Southeastern Conference is just another level of football compared to the Big 10, ACC, Pac-10, etc. College football in the South is part of who we are.
When I think about college football versus the NFL I make one major comparison, attendance. Think about this: Which sport has 16 stadiums that average more than 80,000 in attendance? The NFL has one. Which sport has four stadiums that average six figures in attendance? It isn’t the NFL. Not only do the fans attend the games, but they come hours and hours before and stay just as long after. Traditions pull people of all walks of life together and give them a common ground and bonds the hearts of players and fans. Without traditions, we’d just be watching a group of men chase a funny shaped ball. We probably wouldn't be watching at all. Because of traditions, when you watch a college football game, you’re watching history. People are at the game because they care. On a fall Saturday afternoon in the south you don’t even have to ask where people are because you know they are watching football.
Over my time I have been lucky enough to witness some very special football games. Most of the games I was not even a fan of one team or another I was just there as fan of the game and the atmosphere. I have seen flyovers that brought chills to my entire body, kickoff returns that made an entire stadium shake from people jumping up and down, and last second field goals that made 95,000 people go completely silent. I have seen players absolutely dominate a game and players just fall apart from the pressure. Both are amazing sites in their own way.
The greatest part about college football is that it is completely unpredictable. One play will never work like another, one series will never be like another, one game will never be like another, and one season will never be like another. Yes, at times the outcome will be the same, but the games and seasons are each their own story. Every year it seems like I anticipate college football season more and more, and it never ever lets me down. It will always be there the first weekend of September with more excitement than it had the year before. That is why I love college football and always will.
There is no argument that the SEC is hands down the best college football conference. Really there is not even a close second. There is no 1A and 1B when it comes to talking about the best football conference. You have the SEC then you have everyone else. The Southeastern Conference is just another level of football compared to the Big 10, ACC, Pac-10, etc. College football in the South is part of who we are.
When I think about college football versus the NFL I make one major comparison, attendance. Think about this: Which sport has 16 stadiums that average more than 80,000 in attendance? The NFL has one. Which sport has four stadiums that average six figures in attendance? It isn’t the NFL. Not only do the fans attend the games, but they come hours and hours before and stay just as long after. Traditions pull people of all walks of life together and give them a common ground and bonds the hearts of players and fans. Without traditions, we’d just be watching a group of men chase a funny shaped ball. We probably wouldn't be watching at all. Because of traditions, when you watch a college football game, you’re watching history. People are at the game because they care. On a fall Saturday afternoon in the south you don’t even have to ask where people are because you know they are watching football.
Over my time I have been lucky enough to witness some very special football games. Most of the games I was not even a fan of one team or another I was just there as fan of the game and the atmosphere. I have seen flyovers that brought chills to my entire body, kickoff returns that made an entire stadium shake from people jumping up and down, and last second field goals that made 95,000 people go completely silent. I have seen players absolutely dominate a game and players just fall apart from the pressure. Both are amazing sites in their own way.
The greatest part about college football is that it is completely unpredictable. One play will never work like another, one series will never be like another, one game will never be like another, and one season will never be like another. Yes, at times the outcome will be the same, but the games and seasons are each their own story. Every year it seems like I anticipate college football season more and more, and it never ever lets me down. It will always be there the first weekend of September with more excitement than it had the year before. That is why I love college football and always will.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Things that bother me 1 (Bad Drivers)
Bad drivers are going to be my first topic of discussion under things that bother me. This series is going to either be three or four parts. After this topic I will talk about better things. The first thing I am going to mention about this is that I am a very aggressive driver. Many people will not understand what I am talking about with some of my comments, but the ones who do will know exactly what I mean. Never will I say I am a perfect driver, but I sure as hell am a lot better at it than most people on the road. I will come back to this next comment many times throughout my blogging. If you don't like what I write then I have a solution for you don't read it. Simple enough so here we go....
Most people are good drivers that know the laws, where they are going, and the common courtesies of driving and to those of you I tip my hat. I drive a lot with work and run into all these situations regularly. Anyone else who drives a lot will understand why this is my first topic of discussion under things that bother me. If you have any other bad driver examples please let me know because I am sure I will agree with you on it. Be Safe!!
Peace
Wally
People who pull out in front of someone and go 5-10 mph below the speed limit. I have narrowed down why people do this to a few things. 1. They just don't see you. If someone pulls out in front of me and honestly just did not see me I can get over them driving like they are on a Vespa(Motor Scooter). 2. They think you are going too fast and need to slow down anyway. This reason is garbage. My dad always would say "They were probably going too fast anyway." No dad they were probably just a person with stuff going on in their life that didn't want to get stuck behind you going 30. 3. The driver can not judge distance. Numbers 2 and 3 are not acceptable.
Slow drivers in the left lane on the Interstate. This makes me want to ram the back of the car and knock them off the road. I have no problem with people who want to go 60 on the Interstate as long as I am not driving with them, but why on earth do some feel the need to drive 60 in the fast lane. This is not acceptable, and I really think cops (Scum) should start enforcing this.
People who do not know how to or won't use a cruise control. A perfect example of this is letting someone pass you who then gets in front of you and slows down to a speed that is slower than you have been traveling the entire time. You then have to pass them back. After a few minutes this person will decide they want to go fast again where upon they will pass you and once again slow down forcing you to pass back. This is ridiculous. I don't care if you want to go faster than me, slower than me, or the same speed but make up your damn mind.
People with no sense of direction or preparation. If you do not know how to get somewhere ask or go to google maps. Don't ride around just hoping you will find the place you are going. There's too many roads to just get lucky and run into the place you are going. If you are taking a vacation and are not sure where exactly you are going then print a map. There's ten free websites that will give you step by step directions. Getting lost in today's society is really unacceptable because of the technology that is given to us. If you use all the tools provided and still get lost you probably just need to ride with someone.
People who obsessively use their horns. Come on please stop this. The only time I use my horn is when I am honking at someone to say hey. My first example of this is the lady that delivers mail to my house. If she has a package that won't fit in the mailbox she comes into the driveway and honks her horn 10 to 20 times. If we did not hear the first three then we are either not here or are not coming out. Honking 10 times is overkill. I can hear her going all of the neighborhood honking like a crazy person. My second example is when someone is honking to say F U to another driver. Instead of honking just roll your window down and yell at them. Hiding behind your horn is weak. Give them the real effect and yell.
This part does not go along with bad drivers, but most of the time it involves being on the road. Cops who think they are a king make me want to throw up. The first thing I will say is that I do know cops who are great people that this paragraph is in no way related to. I even have many relatives who are in law enforcement. Over my time I have had many dealings with cops that have taught me a lot about them. Most cops are sorry people. They have never had a life because no one liked them as they went through high school/college. If they had a life they would in most cases understand what is going on and be more lenient in their dealings with people. Hell if they had a life they probably wouldn't even be a cop in the first place. Cops who hide out and write people tickets are a joke. How is this protecting society?? Sitting up in the woods with your lights off where the speed goes from 65 to 55 to 45 in less than a half a mile is a speed trap. Now days I immediately think the worst of a cop when I first meet them. They don't respect regular people so why should I give them my respect. I will steal a line from a Corey Smith song to finish this paragraph. "for every cop who thinks his badge is a crown. This song is for you and I'll never bow down" Corey Smith "Fuck the Po-Po" go listen to it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YPc8FYA6D8
Most people are good drivers that know the laws, where they are going, and the common courtesies of driving and to those of you I tip my hat. I drive a lot with work and run into all these situations regularly. Anyone else who drives a lot will understand why this is my first topic of discussion under things that bother me. If you have any other bad driver examples please let me know because I am sure I will agree with you on it. Be Safe!!
Peace
Wally
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