Quick! It’s a True Maroon quiz.
The third quarter of the game has just started, and the Bulldogs are up by 20 points. 
You:
A. Cheer for your Dogs like a crazed fan, swinging your cowbell maniacally and screeching “DEEE-FENSE!” as if attempting to break the very sound barrier, itself.
B. Take a merry photo of you and your bestie and post it to Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and every other existent social media (after giving it a cool Walden filter and hashtagging #hailstate). 
C. Continue to sit in the bleachers, munching your $5  nachos and trash talking all that Ole Miss stands for.
D. Leave.
If you chose a, b or c, you have passed the test! You can now proudly call yourself True Maroon and continue your daily life with newfound confidence in how awesome you are.
For those of you who chose d, we need to have a little chitchat. I understand sometimes our team is not living up to its potential. Sometimes our boys just need someone to light a fire under them. They can’t kick it into gear, no matter how much you exasperatedly shout, “C’mon! I could’ve made that tackle!” This experience is truly heartbreaking to any fan, and I, myself, have had to walk solemnly out of Davis Wade stadium after reaching my cowbell dent threshold.
But when we are winning…
When we make that interception and rush down to the Red Zone… Even when we just fight our way to first down… That feeling is unsurpassable. The team isn’t winning. WE, as a whole, all of Mississippi State University, is winning. Every man, woman and child in that stadium is WINNING.
How could you just walk out and leave that feeling behind? Yet, every year, I watch the mass exodus of fans pouring out of the bleachers around halftime, once the fans feel our victory is ensured. Imagine how it must feel to be a football player watching that same evacuation. 
These boys work tirelessly to prepare for the day they come out in front of thousands and leave everything they have on the field to win for us. That should be encouraged, applauded.
Isn’t there some accomplishment you’ve wanted people to recognize? Perhaps, you’ve been working every day to perfect your performance on the bagpipes. Finally, the day is here and you’re performing in the local talent show. You’re absolutely killing it. Everything you’ve worked for has come down to this moment, and you are so happy to be able to share your forte with the world. Wait. Is everyone… leaving? You’re not finished! Come back! They’ll miss your rockin’ bagpipe finale! 
Everyone has realized you’re doing well. The chance of you slipping up now is highly unlikely, so why stay?
THIS is the mentality of leaving midway through a winning game.
And this idea could be applied to any other situation. Maybe you’re a wizard at ping-pong. Perhaps you have broken all Twinkie-eating records in the tri-state area. Maybe you’ve trained your pet iguana to do the Macarena. Whatever the case may be, I don’t believe you would want people to walk out mid-game/Twinkie-oozing bite/scaly-booty shake.
So I challenge you: stay at the game until that clock runs down to zero. Cheer when your football team rushes over to the student section afterward, raising their helmets in salute. 
Loudly sing our alma mater along with the swaying cheerleaders. (It doesn’t matter if you don’t know the words; they’re right there on the massive jumbotron.) And walk out with a smile on your face and pride in your heart. 
Because you are True Maroon.