Sweet tea, Graceland and Dixie
By Ken Burger
MEMPHIS — Sporting notes compiled while putting a frog down her back at the Carroll County picture show:
--You think you know a lot of people in the Lowcountry? Look through the list of people who Beat Burger every Friday and see how many you know.
--Ran into a South Carolina fan from Clinton who said the South Carolina town's motto is "where the tea is sweet and the T is silent."
--Quick, name USC's basketball coach?
--Georgia not only disappointed UGA fans by getting blown out at home by Alabama (41-30) last weekend, the Bulldogs let down college football fans everywhere who had settled in for a Saturday night of good old-fashioned SEC football.
--Speaking of Georgia, it appears that Nick Saban is UGA's new Steve Spurrier.
--One more thing about Georgia. UGA football will never, ever be the same without Larry Munson.
"Other arms reach out to me/ Other eyes smile tenderly/ Still in peaceful dreams I see/ The road leads back to you." "Georgia," Ray Charles.
Billie Joe
--At Ole Miss, they still play "Dixie," with feeling.
--At the end of each game at the University of Mississippi, they play Elvis on the big screen singing a touching rendition of the "American Trilogy — Dixie, Battle Hymn of the Republic and All My Trials."
--You couldn't hear it Saturday afternoon, however, because the USC band was playing the Gamecocks' fight song.
--A few weeks ago I asked, when did Mississippi become Ole Miss? The school in Oxford was founded in 1848, but obtained the nickname in 1896.
--Frank E. Everette Jr., Ole Miss '32, said it best: "There is a valid distinction between the university and Ole Miss even though the separate threads are closely interwoven. The university is buildings, trees and people. Ole Miss is mood, emotion and personality. One is physical and the other is spiritual. One is tangible, the other intangible. The university
is respected, but Ole Miss is loved. The university gives a diploma and regretfully terminates tenure, but one never graduates from Ole Miss."
--Between Memphis and Oxford, on I-55, you just happen to pass over the Tallahatchie Bridge.
"Seems like nothing ever comes to no good up on Choctaw Ridge/ And now Billie Joe McAllister's jumped off the Tallahatchie Bridge." "Ode to Billie Joe," Bobbie Gentry.
The King
--Elvis' home, Graceland, is a testament to what a sportsman he was.
--In his TV Room, the King could watch sports on three networks at the same time.
--Ran into Gamecocks fans Peggy and Jim Doby of West Ashley in Elvis' really nifty pool room.
--Don't forget that Elvis played a boxer in the movie "Kid Galahad" and a race car driver in "Spin Out."
--The Graceland property also includes a full-size racquetball court where Elvis played his favorite sport.
--Elvis also loved karate, an endeavor that led him to design his famous jumpsuits after the sports' karate uniform.
"A little less conversation, a little more action please/ All this aggravation ain't satisfactioning me." "A Little Less Conversation," Elvis Presley.
Reach Ken Burger at kburger@postandcourier.com or (843) 937-5598.
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ashleyriver (anonymous) says...
Another column attempting to lend color and humor to college athletics---I wish Mr. Burger would follow the correct procedure and attribute song lyrics to the writer. But the one note that did catch my eye was mention of the VISITING usc band playing through a traditional part of Ol' Miss football tradition which was the Elvis trilogy played before every game. I think those type interruptions classless and extremely disrespectful. I've seen visiting bands play through another university's alma mater----I've even seen visiting bands and fans interrupt pre-game prayers and the national anthem with the teams entrance. I understand that occasionally its a mistake in timing, but when a visiting team plays the same home team on the same field with the same pre-game program on a frequent basis, there is almost no excuse.
Why once, I even saw a visiting team run over and try to interrupt Clemson's famous pre-game entrance precipitating a series of events that eventually led to a huge brawl during the game. Unfortunately fot that particular visiting team, it lost both the fight and the game. And, because of the series of events begun by such a classless act, neither team got to go to a bowl.
Visiting teams need to be cognizant of a home teams long established traditions so that the same stupidity won't be visited on THEIR fans when the tables are turned. And the home team always needs to inform the visiting team of the relative time-table and pre-game program so the visiting team's fans and band can adhere to the process.
October 6, 2008 at 9:15 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Freehawk (anonymous) says...
Re: Much Ado About Elvis
Ashleyriver, pay attention: he said it was AFTER the game, not before.
Mr. Burger: And we are supposed to care about this, why? USC has just won an exciting and meaningful football game. The band is allowed to celebrate with its fans.
This was not their alma mater or the invocation. Elvis and those songs have no more to do with that University than the Confederate flag. Elvis, a Three Stooges medley, I don't care what it is. Play on, USC band, play on.
Mr. Burger, if you want to hear those songs and not the USC band, may I suggest YouTube.
October 6, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ashleyriver (anonymous) says...
How predictable some usc fan would defend their classlessness. Go ahead and ridicule everyone else's home traditions and you'll soon discover that payback is no fun at all.........and it doesn't matter whether someone's tradition is before the game or after the game.
Is there any wonder the rest of the world has such a low opinion of gamecock football history and tradition--such as it is. It just astounds me and most of the rest of the college football world that gamecock fans aren't the least bit troubled about this sort of stupidity.
October 6, 2008 at 11:04 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
2manyusernames (anonymous) says...
Predictable is some "other school" fan who has the audacity to make an assumption about class when they weren't even present and have no idea that it happened 10 minutes AFTER the game was over and after the team prayer in the middle of the field.
Was it class when most of the Ole Miss team walked off the field w/o shaking hands with the Gamecock players?
Was it class that of the 5000 fans that were in the stadium when the Elvis songs were being played that 4500 were Gamecocks. I guess the "tradition" was not important to the other 53,000 Ole Miss fans that left the stadium prior to that "tradition". I was there.
Ironically, Class is not hammering another fanbase about being classless. Maybe this fact is lost on some people. Find something more constructive to do rather than hide behind a keyboard and hate on people and fanbases. Life is bigger than "football history and tradition" or using phrases like "astounds me" and "stupidity"--such as it is. But if you need to hate...go ahead and hate on me.
October 6, 2008 at 11:50 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rebel1 (anonymous) says...
just add another river to the list of idiots that you dont respond to. The only thing he cares about is bashing USC and since they looked good and won he has NOTHING. Get a life
October 6, 2008 at 12:38 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
ashleyriver (anonymous) says...
Oh, I see, one is "classless" when one points out someone else has displayed classlessness by interrupting one of the traditions another school must hold dear. If you'd like to dispute that, then speak to Mr. Burger who was the one who mentioned it in the first place....and if indeed there were other instances of lack of class on the part of the home team then they should be chided for doing so as well. Sportsmanship is a vital part of the game. Amazingly, players on rival teams usually seem so much more ready to move beyond all that once their playing days are over--unlike a large segment of their individual fanbase. One expects a usc fan to defend the dubious actions of their band and fanbase despite the fact they know in their hearts those actions were in poor taste.
Rebelyell---I'm nearly speechless. You state that I'm on the "list of idiots not to respond to" and yet you constantly respond to any and every comment any Clemson fan makes. You will NEVER see me commenting on the beat articles on usc games---------yet you comment on nearly EVERY piece in the Post&Courier that involves Clemson or Clemson games. You are a hypocrite as well as the second biggest moron on this board....barely above sbs920. Try getting an education so you'll be able to read and comprehend....you sure as heck didn't get one WHEREVER you went to school
October 6, 2008 at 2 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
rebel1 (anonymous) says...
Rebelyell---I'm nearly speechless. You state that I'm on the "list of idiots not to respond to" and yet you constantly respond to any and every comment any Clemson fan makes. You will NEVER see me commenting on the beat articles on usc games---------yet you comment on nearly EVERY piece in the Post&Courier that involves Clemson or Clemson games. You are a hypocrite as well as the second biggest moron on this board....barely above sbs920. Try getting an education so you'll be able to read and comprehend....you sure as heck didn't get one WHEREVER you went to school...........................................................................hey dummy, I guess I'll break my own rule. You make it to easy. 1) its rebel1 not rebel yell 2) since its been 7 days ago that I posted and it was about the 2 qb's at usc and not about puttykats. Now, no matter what you post that is wrong(kinda like your USC facts)Im done with you. Get a life
October 6, 2008 at 8:17 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
2manyusernames (anonymous) says...
"One expects a usc fan to defend the dubious actions of their band and fanbase despite the fact they know in their hearts those actions were in poor taste"-ashleyriver
No. There was no reason to believe that this so called event was a time to display class, no class, was "dubious" or "in poor taste". The USC players were done with praying in the middle of the field and went to the corner of the stadium and celebrated with the fans and the band. Ken Burger made a statement that you couldn't hear Elvis on the big screen (which may or may not be an Ole Miss tradition that people hold dear save those 500 Ole Miss fans that were milling about) and I took that as a compliment to how well the USC fans traveled and how excited our team was to get an SEC victory on the road.
You interpret that as classless. We have a difference of opinion as to what a college football atmosphere must consist of and when a celebration can in fact happen. In my opinion, (you know, because I was there) there was no need to interpret that or conclude that it was classless. Maybe Burger meant it that way and probably did considering his smug attitude towards USC.
Please look in the mirror and stick to cleaning up your own program before lobbing cheap shots at USC and passing judgement on something that you are not qualified to judge. Jealousy is not becoming.
October 6, 2008 at 8:43 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Nonsense (anonymous) says...
I do not think that the Elvis thing is part of Ole Miss' tradition - and I agree that there were not many Ole Miss fans around when it was done. What was part of Ole Miss tradition was playing Dixie about five times, and practically all the USC fans stood up and clapped for that, which I think was pretty good sportsmanship. I know, I was there. The Ole Miss fans were gracious after the game in The Grove, and I don't think they really give a hoot about Elvis. Of course ashleyriver is wrong about the fight a few years ago too - so we'll just call him delusional and stupid.
October 7, 2008 at 1:12 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
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