LSU vs. Ole Miss 2011: Hotty Toddy Not as Affective on Tiger Fans These Days

The LSU Tigers and Ole Miss Rebels have had great moments throughout their history of encountering one another, but this rivalry is fading.

Back where I come from, this rivalry means the world to folks all around the area, because I was raised on the border of Louisiana and Mississippi, right on the Mississippi River. Well, at least I can remember it used to mean the world.

From Billy Cannon’s Halloween run in 1959 to the 2006 overtime thriller to LSU’s clock management blunders in 2009, this game has almost always been a tight one.

Even last year’s game was only decided by seven points. But this year, the folks back home just aren’t as into it. I believe there’s a number of reasons for this, but the most obvious reason has to be the state Ole Miss football is in right now.

They’re not just bad right now, they’re downright terrible. If you lose to Louisiana Tech at home by 20 points and you play in the SEC, you need to re-evaluate things, and the Rebels are doing just that.

On the rare occurrences that I’ve been able to make a trip back home this year, folks are more worried about that Arkansas Razorbacks game the following week rather than the Ole Miss game this Saturday. And for good reason, those Razorbacks are extremely dangerous and can provide problems for any defense with the skill set they have at wideout, even LSU’s.

But I can remember a day where every person in Vidalia, La. and Natchez, Miss., would be talking up the game like it was the national championship, especially the week before.

There were bets made, and people’s reputations put on the line. What the entire college football world doesn’t understand is this rivalry used to be up there with all the other great rivalries in the country. Okay, maybe it’s not Alabama/Auburn or Ohio State/Michigan, but it’s up there.

Casual college football fans generally don’t know this because the media really never played up this rivalry. This rivalry was never well documented, but both fan bases knew it was there, and each hated the other team’s guts.

And no matter how good both teams were, both teams generally gave their best efforts when they played each other. Chances are the game was going to be barn-burner.

I remember my first time going to Tiger Stadium as a little boy, and LSU fans were chanting “go to hell, Ole Miss.” I looked up to my dad and asked why they were chanting that because we were playing Alabama, and my dad just looked at me and said, “that’s the rivalry.”

Now this rivalry is cursed with an absolutely horrendous name, “The Magnolia Bowl,” and it seems to lose more muster every year to me.

Maybe it’s because of Dan Mullen’s ability to resurge Mississippi State fans and target Ole Miss as public enemy one. Or maybe it’s because the Tigers have had classic showdowns with Florida and Auburn over the past couple of years, and don’t make me bring up the importance of beating Nick Saban’s Alabama team.

Maybe fans are still just as into this game as ever before, and I’m the one who’s undermining this rivalry now that I’m part of the media. That could very well be true, but I just don’t see this game as a must-win like I used to. Of course, every game is a must-win nowadays, but 10 years ago if you went to the Sugar Bowl and lost to Ole Miss, you still lost your bragging rights.

It just doesn’t feel that way anymore, and with another inevitable blowout in sight, I can’t help but think ahead to the “Battle of the Boot” the following week.