Posted on 09/30/2005 2:14:56 PM PDT by somniferum
Starkville, Miss. — There’s really no way to describe this place. How do you describe nothing? Think of it like this: Alongside this far-flung outpost, Auburn, Ala., seems as big and bustling as New York, N.Y.
In a way, it’s nice that Mississippi State plays football. Without the mid-sized stadium rising above this low-slung burg, you’d miss Starkville altogether and go motoring off into Arkansas. With gas the price it is, who can afford such an overshot?
Other means of transport are problematic. You can’t fly into Starkville itself. You have to land at the ambitiously named Golden Triangle Regional Airport, which sits 20 miles east on Highway 82 and is no beehive of activity itself. The Georgia cheerleaders arrived on a 50-seat plane Friday night, and one among their number was heard to ask, “Where are the other terminals?”
And someone said: “There are no other terminals.”
Georgia doesn’t play here often — Saturday marked only its fifth visit ever — and for that everyone can be most grateful. It’s a long haul to a flyspeck town to face a program so devoid of glamour that its signature is the cowbell. If you’re a Georgia fan and you made the trek, you deserve a big wet kiss from the beauteous UGA VI. (Who, owing to “travel difficulties,” didn’t make it himself. Smart dog.)
Even State fans didn’t seem to hold much hope for this game against the nation’s No. 7 team. The stadium, which seats only 55,082, was conspicuously unpacked. (Attendance was announced as 49,903.) To be fair, remnants of Rita had spawned tornado watches in the area, but the first 2 1/2 quarters were played in nothing more than a brisk breeze. Then it rained. Then it stopped. Then it rained again.
The whole night had a weird feel to it. The isolated setting made this seem less an ESPN showcase than a high school game played under Friday night lights in the middle of absolutely nowhere. And the game itself was nothing special, either.
Georgia did as Georgia usually does against an overmatched opponent: It played well enough to get ahead but not so well it could put State away. It passed more often than it ran — will there ever again be a game where these Bulldogs just try to pound somebody? — and D.J. Shockley was good enough to throw for 312 yards but not so good he could produce more than two touchdowns. Two missed field goals and three Red Zone fizzles kept the score theoretically close. It was 14-3 at the half and 23-10 at the end, and never was there a doubt that Georgia was the superior side.
After four games, there is some question as to how good Georgia really is. The Boise State rout seems now to say more about Boise than about the Bulldogs, who a week later couldn’t put away a South Carolina crew that Alabama subsequently thrashed. The temptation is great to suggest the Bulldogs are wildly overrated, but if they win in Knoxville two weeks hence — and they could — we’ll all feel silly for yielding to it.
The cold truth is that Georgia has played four games against teams it should have beaten and has, to its credit, beaten all four. In a time when Louisville, touted as a BCS team, can be humbled by South Florida, holding serve is impressive in itself. By making it through September, Georgia has positioned itself to play for the SEC East title and a BCS berth. In its first month without David Greene and David Pollack and Thomas Davis and Brian VanGorder, Georgia has kept it going.
And if there was no majesty in this dismissal of middling Mississippi State, there was at least this sweet reward: When their business was finished, the Georgia Bulldogs got to leave. The stark reality of Starkville always looks nicest when viewed via the rear-view mirror.
LOL!
Aren't you a mess tonight. ;o)
lol
You are too funny tonight.
You are too funny tonight.
It's the lizard spit!!:>)
LOL
Well, at least it works for something.
"How do you describe nothing?"
Nothing = this newspaper article
This guy is a real ASS. Perhaps he would like to introduce himself around the next time he comes out of his ivory tower and ventures in to Starkvegas.
If this jerk had bothered to ask one of the ESPN guys what makes the trip to Starkville so good, he might have been introduced to Little Dooey's BBQ. A couple years ago, I heard Corso and company rave on national TV about Little Dooey's for several minutes. You can't buy that kind of publicity.
Yeah, it's a small town, Mr. Bradley. What about it?? It's a wonderful town with charm and grace unlike any you have ever experienced. It's a place where the folks say "good morning" to strangers and really mean it. It's a place where men hold the door for ladies -- not because they are ladies but because we are gentlemen. I'm sure it's a foreign place to people like you but that's ok -- we don't need your kind around these parts anyways.
And I dare you to ridicule the cowbell to a Bulldog fan's face. Your buddies in your grand metropolis of Hotlanta would find it real funny that your farts had a ring to them.
So come on down to Starkville again. And this time, be sure to drop in at Little Dooey's or one of the other fine local establishments and introduce yourself next time. If you're real damn lucky nobody will remember you--cuz if we do, you might not find us so accomodating to you. And if the Starkville folks don't remember you, come on over to Columbus and look me up...I'll remember.
For now, you can kiss our big hairy flyspeck @sses, you arrogant SOB.
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