Number Two: THE GAME

One of the top 3 games in Ole Miss history will be number two on the list of the top 10 sports stories/memories of the past 4 years. It is not number one for an obvious reason. The 2003 Ole Miss football game against LSU was the most anticipated game in the history of Vaught-Hemingway stadium. A SEC Western Division Championship and a trip to Atlanta for the Championship Game were on the line. A 17-14 victory by the Tigers saw LSU win the outright divisional championship.

Any time LSU and Ole Miss get together for anything it is a fight, but this time it was special. A rivalry that dates back decades and has scence great battles throughout the years, the Tigers and Rebels were fired up to play this one. The week leading up to the game was the most exciting time in Oxford. No one cared about class and everyone was ready for The Game. A special pep rally was held on the Square the Thursday before the game. That was a sight in itself. Rebel fans from all over the nation came to town that week to be a part of the history. Students were camping out for extra tickets and tickets were being sold on Ebay for hundreds of dollars. It was like no other Ole Miss game in modern history.

Everyone was at the game two hours early to guarantee their seats. The stadium was rockin and then the infamous Hotty Toddy was played on the jumbotron. A message and video from Russel Crowe gave fans chill bumps. The moment had finally arrived and the game began. Early in the first quarter Ole Miss had LSU pinned deep inside their own territory. An Ole Miss interception return for a touchdown was followed by an outburst of screaming, cups flying, etc. It was the loudest the Vaught has ever been and probably ever will be. With the Rebels up 7-0, many Rebel fans thought it was finally our time.

After several a couple of LSU scores the Rebels were down 17-7 early in the fourth quarter. Eli Manning then led the Rebels on a scoring drive to cut the lead to only three for the Tigers. A couple of missed field goals by Jonathan Nichols and an Eli Manning slip in the forth quarter saw the Rebels lose the game in the final minutes.

I still remember and will never forget watching Nichols miss that field goal. He was supposed to be automatic and when he missed I lost it and knew it was not going to be our day. But it was no where near Jonathan's fault. The offense just could not find their A game for most of the day.

As the final seconds ticked off the clock and the game was over, the true Rebel faithful stayed in the stadium and just sat in the stands shocked by what they had witnessed. The game was an emotional roller coaster and it had just taken many years off of our lives. We all knew this was the team that could get us to Atlanta and we were just a play or two away from being there. My memory of watching John Herzog leave his seat and walk pass security onto the field to sit and watch the post game conference will last forever. It was a great day in Ole Miss sports history and one that we will never forget.