Education, health, you name it. People will shrug and say, "This is Mississippi," expecting it to be the last in everything good and first at all things bad.
Last week saw much debate over what is courageous or heroic in terms of who deserves an award. The argument started when ESPN announced that Caitlyn Jenner would receive this year's Arthur Ashe Courage Award at the ESPY Awards later this summer.
Mississippi State hasn't lost since last season's unnerving tangle with the Crimson Tide, and when the two teams mix it up again this Saturday, it will mark 364 days since MSU has last tasted defeat.
When Mississippians start doing this together thing, we quickly find that the culture around us starts changing. We suddenly believe we've got this, we can solve problems, we're as good as anyone else and, by damn, we can even win stuff—hearts and minds, respect, awards and maybe even a national championship or a Heisman.
William Shakespeare wrote in "Henry IV": "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown." This quote seems to apply to Mississippi State University as the team learns to live with the No. 1 ranking in the country.
