Super Bulldog Weekend begins today, and the Diamond Dawgs of Mississippi State University will be the main attraction as they play host to the Auburn Tigers in a three-game Southeastern Conference showdown.
Senior shortstop Matthew Maniscalco will be making his fourth appearance as a starter during the big weekend.
“Just to see all the people that come back into Starkville-all the alumni and all the people that come to all the events-it’s exciting,” Maniscalco said.
Maniscalco, an Alabama native, had heard very little about Super Bulldog Weekend in 2000 when he was a freshman.
“I didn’t know anything about it,” Maniscalco said. “I saw on the schedule they called it ‘Super Bulldog Weekend,’ but I didn’t think anything of it. I just thought it was almost like a senior weekend.”
The Bulldogs competed against the University of Mississippi that year and took two of the three games from the Rebels.
“When we played Ole Miss, we had over 13,000 there,” Maniscalco said. “It was really exciting to play in front of a great atmosphere that weekend.”
Some things that add to the atmosphere of Super Bulldog weekend include parties, crawfish, alumni and the Spring Football Game. According to Maniscalco, the players remain focused on their sport.
“I hope all the fans can go and have a good time, but our team doesn’t get into any of that,”Maniscalco said. “We don’t even care what goes on because we have a job to do. All we care about is winning.”
Freshman centerfielder Joseph Hunter of Tennessee will play in his first Super Bulldog Weekend, but doesn’t know what all the fuss is about.
“I guess I’m pretty ignorant about it because, to me, it’s just an Auburn weekend,” Hunter said.
Hunter heard that large crowds will watch the games this weekend, but the rookie says it shouldn’t bother him.
“I know that last year they had like 14,000 when Georgia came,” Hunter said. “I think it’s just another game. I don’t really pay attention to what’s going on in the crowd, anyway.”
Maniscalco added that the increase in fan support is good, but it shouldn’t affect the players’ mindsets.
“I’m really excited about seeing a huge crowd, especially on Saturday,” Maniscalco said. “But if you can’t get pumped up for games with five people watching you, then you’re not ready to play.”
This year, the two teams involved on the diamond are ranked in the top ten, and the series has even bigger SEC implications. According to Hunter, the players are embracing the challenge.
“I’m looking forward to it,” Hunter said. “I’ve got some friends who play for Auburn, and last time I saw, they were ranked sixth, and we were fifth, so it’s going to be a good series.”
Since the release of the latest polls, the teams have switched places with the Tigers (27-7, 9-3 SEC) at no. 5 and MSU (24-5-1, 9-2 SEC) taking the six spot. First baseman Matthew Brinson, a junior from Brandon, witnessed his first Super Bulldog Weekend as a red-shirt freshman.
“I never really got the chance to go to Super Bulldog Weekend,” Brinson said. “I heard about it a bunch, and my dad graduated from Mississippi State. He talked about it a lot, but I never got the chance to come up here and watch.”
“I knew Mississippi State had a good following, but 10, 11, 12,000 people for Saturday’s game was just unbelievable, and it was an exciting thing to be a part of.”
The Bulldogs haven’t lost an SEC series yet this season, but Auburn will likely be their toughest competition to date.
“Auburn’s playing great baseball right now, and they’re experienced,” Brinson said. “They’ve got three quality pitchers that we’re going to be facing on the weekend, and they’ve got some experienced hitters. It’s going to be a fun weekend.”