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This story originally appeared in the Jackson Free Press. It was added to the Mississippi Free Press website in 2025.
Note that any opinions expressed in legacy Jackson Free Press stories do not reflect a position of the Mississippi Free Press or necessarily of its staff and board members.

Back home after having Frank’s biscuits for lunch, Todd plops down in front of the TV. “Look, Ole Miss is about to beat Florida. And they’re ranked No. 6,” he says, excitedly. Mississippi State alum that I am, I start watching the TV screen in a rather bored fashion. Suddenly, I realize that the man I love and who has routinely cheered for State with me is rooting for Ole Miss. He even supported my team against his alma mater, Texas A&M in the bowl game a couple years back (he knew I’d be hard to live with if State lost). Now, though, he’s betraying me? What the ….?!? “Well, they’re the Mississippi team. We’ve got to root for Mississippi teams. And they’ll tear down the goal posts.” I’m starting to realize that my Texas man is truly becoming a Mississippian — except, well, you can’t root for both State and Ole Miss. Not in the same lifetime. He oughta know that; he’s from a football state. When’s the last time Mr. A&M cheered on Texas, eh? I keep shooting him dirty looks through the end of the game, even as Ole Miss students rush the field. Later, I will hear that Texas Tech beat A&M today. Well, then.

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I reserve the right to root for State if and when they decide to show up for a football game. In the meantime, I’ll hoot and hollar whenever I see a good game. So, here’s to Ole Miss’ defense — great game and congrats on a fine win. Plus (he says, working the domestic bliss angle) there’s a fine logic at work here. Say State wins the Egg Bowl — if so, that’s considerable redemption of an awful season, given that they would, in effect, be beating the team that beat Florida. Clang-clang-clang! (Virtual cowbell.) Does the logic follow over yonder to Tejas? Si, senorita bella. Am I rooting for Texas over Tech? Yup. Even though I ain’t no fan of T-sips. If A&M beats Texas at Thanksgiving, then it would salve the pain of a 1-point loss today. That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

Founding Editor Donna Ladd is a writer, journalist and editor from Philadelphia, Miss., a graduate of Mississippi State University and later the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, where she was an alumni award recipient in 2021. She writes about racism/whiteness, poverty, gender, violence, journalism and the criminal justice system. She contributes long-form features and essays to The Guardian when she has time, and was the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the Jackson Free Press. She co-founded the statewide nonprofit Mississippi Free Press with Kimberly Griffin in March 2020, and the Mississippi Business Journal named her one of the state's top CEOs in 2024. Read more at donnaladd.com, follow her on Twitter and Instagram at @donnerkay and email her at donna@mississippifreepress.org.