It was the best we had to offer although the score indicated a big loss.

It was kind of a “win-win,” and it was all very enjoyable, except maybe the last three quarters.

The Texas Longhorns are a good team. Ole Miss, not so good, or “rebuilding,” as we like to say.
Best hit of the game had to go to an alert Mississippi State Trooper providing sideline security during the game. An enthusiastic student took it upon himself to go onto the field during a lull at half-time and “drop trou,” mooning the home team and half the fans assembled.

He managed to fake off a rather large “rent-a-cop” before, out of nowhere, came the alert Trooper, hat on head, to make a textbook tackle that immediately put mooney-boy on the turf.

Rumors abound that SEC Commissioner Mike Slive is considering suspending the Trooper for the next game due to the violent tackle.

They came, spent a lot of money, kicked our butts, had a good time and went home.

It was not like LSU, where they come beat you and then rub it in your face while wagging their rude tongues during the whole weekend.

My theory is that many Mississippians and Texans have a lot in common.

Like common ancestors.

As the country was growing through the early to mid 1800s, then again after the War of Northern Aggression, immigrants and refugees respectively and their descendants left the east coast states traveling through Tennessee, Alabama and Mississippi. Some settled, some moved on. Some were run out of town for horse stealing and such.

When undergoing the U.S. Army’s basic training in 1972, our group of Mississippians and a group of Texans bonded together like brothers. We apparently had the same values, same customs and we talked alike.

Another factor could be that the entire Baby Boomer generation grew up not knowing  we were watching moving pictures of the “wild west” made in Hollywood.  We grew up watching “Texas Westerns” that featured our cowboy heros. All young boys wanted to be Texas Cowboys.

So game weekend was a friendly affair with cordial visits among Southern relatives uniting for a sporting event surrounded by a multitude of social events and spirits.

Longtime Oxonians were leaving their homes in droves—renting them to strangers from Texas for the weekend. Even the banker’s daughter rented her Oxford home for a couple of thousand to Longhorn fans.

Of course, hotels all across North Mississippi were at capacity and airport space for the Texas fans to park their planes and jets became scarce, according to Panola County Airport manager cousin Uncle Jim Cole.

And accommodations had to be made for Longhorn Mascot Bevo, an 1,800 pound Longhorn steer who travels ahead of the team and found his way to the sidelines during the slaughter. (Oops! Poor choice of words.) He stayed at a ranch in Yalobusha County with at least four handlers catering to his every want. (See story, photo on page B1)

“Bet you’ve never seen a beefsteak that big,” quipped my new Texas friend wearing his 10-gallon hat pointing to the Longhorn mascot on the sidelines.

Texans are always bragging about how big things are in Texas. They grow pretty big running backs there, you know. Fast, too.

We walked toward the grove where over 10 acres of green space was covered with a sea of red and blue tailgating tents.Pointing to the area stacked with the tents and thousands of revelers enjoying the giant party I said, “Well, I bet you never saw anything like that in Texas.”

“Naw,” he said after spitting his tobacco juice in the Mississippi dust .

Then he added, “But I got a neighbor who could cater it.”

And, I bet he did.