This Saturday, I traveled to Tuscaloosa, or T-Town as it has been annoyingly nicknamed by the locals, to see the Bulldogs lose a close game. It is always tough to lose to a bitter rival in hostile territory, especially when you are forced to endure the onslaught of annoying “traditions” the Crimson Tide offers for in-game entertainment.
Along with the usual “Roll Tide” chants and excessive houndstooth garb, something far more ridiculous was provided for halftime and even time-out entertainment. A rap group named 63 Boyz treated everyone to an original song called “Bama Anthem,” in which they rap about hanging out in the stands and spin outrageous rhymes off the same phrases ripped from Alabama chants.
When halftime began, they sprinted out with mascot Big Al to awkwardly dance around the dance team and perform some of their other material. The mini-concert even ran long, delaying the start of the second half. For those who were blown away by the performance, the stadium announcer enthusiastically invites everyone to purchase their album after the game, which is sold in the arena.
Despite the disappointing outcome of the game, I was at the very least able to take solace in the fact that Mississippi State does not take part in anything quite as bad as that relevant hip-hop-culture-meets-school-spirit charade. However, I couldn’t help but think about other annoying sports traditions.
In an opinion piece which ran in The Reflector last semester, it was suggested which we start singing along to “Don’t Stop Believing” in unison at football games. Alabama does this with “Sweet Home Alabama.” I hate it there, and I would surely hate it here. It doesn’t quite make sense to me for the fans to sing a cheesy ’80s love ballad to the players on the field. Perhaps we are supposed to encourage them to believe in themselves with the poetry of Steve Perry. More likely, it would just annoy everyone trying to watch a football game. We already have things we chant or sing in unison, such as the fight song, which was, interestingly enough, not penned by a 1980s rock star.
How about playing “Zombie Nation” all the time at football games? That is exciting, right? Everyone jumps up and down, and it is supposed to be intimidating or something. However, it is not at all intimidating, and even if it were, everyone else does it already. This is one unfortunate thing our school has adopted (hopefully not for much longer).
These songs are almost as bad as the wave, which could be the worst sports tradition ever. No one actually likes the wave, but it always seems to start anyway. It is sort of like watching a bad sitcom rerun in the middle of the day. No one actually enjoys it that much, it just kind of happens. Is there anything worse than being angry that you are getting destroyed late in a game, and hearing the distinct moan meaning the wave is coming? Is the two seconds I spend thrusting my arms in the air supposed to help me forget that my team is losing?
None of these things should ever be part of MSU’s football games. We have relevant and storied traditions, such as cowbells. If it takes the wave or a sing along to interest you in football games, perhaps football just isn’t for you. I would hate for MSU football games to devolve into horrific musical acts or scarcely-appropriate singalongs.
Derrick Godfrey is a junior majoring in economics. He can be contacted at [email protected].