Many thought the Mississippi State-Ole Miss rivalry, well over 100 years old, reached its height in last fall’s Egg Bowl, when both football teams were ranked for the first time since 1999. That may be, but the feud hit a low point on Thursday, courtesy of the Bulldogs’ baseball team’s new warmup tops:
The shirts bore a logo celebrating “StarkVegas,” a popular, if decidedly ironic, nickname for Starkville, where Mississippi State is located, about a two-hour drive south of Oxford, home of Ole Miss (remember that detail).
It’s a pretty garish look, but maybe the kids are into it, and according to the Jackson Clarion-Ledger, around the logo are several upside-down phrases with special meaning for the team, including “Hail State,” “Dudy Noble” (a legendary Bulldogs coach after whom the baseball field is named), “Starkvegas,” and “Left Field Lounge.”
Another one of the upside-down phrases? “F–k the school up north.”
Well, alrighty then. Not surprisingly, once word got around about the F-word, the shirts didn’t last long. Mississippi State athletic director Scott Stricklin apologized for the profane attire, although he seemed to imply that the manufacturer, adidas, was at fault.
For its part, adidas issued its own apology (via the Clarion-Ledger):
“We apologize to Mississippi State, their student-athletes, fans and alumni for this error. The Bulldogs’ baselayer graphic today featured old artwork that was never presented to the university. This graphic does not reflect our brand values nor those of Mississippi State. We take full responsibility for this error and wish Mississippi State the best of luck during Super Bulldog Weekend.”
However, some observers felt that it was pretty unlikely that adidas alone would have come up with that detail.
Whatever the case, it’s hard to imagine how anyone thought that phrase could have gone undetected. If nothing else, the shirts were easily loud enough to have been heard from Oxford.
(H/T Red Cup Rebellion)
