The Egg Bowl was played Wednesday on the Mississippi State campus and for time first time ever, it didn’t matter who won or lost.
Ole Miss won on the scoreboard, 23-17, yet the partisan, standing-room-only crowd cheered anyway. When two Ole Miss players ran across the field after the final play flashing the Rebels’ trademark “Fins Up” sign, the Bulldog crowd laughed and cheered and applauded.
Why not?
Unlike the meeting which will take place in Oxford between these two old football rivals, Wednesday’s game had not tinge of acrimony. Good plays were celebrated on both sides. The MSU cheerleaders and members of the university’s pep band celebrated Ole Miss scores with the same enthusiasm they exhibited for Bulldog scores.
One team “won,” of course. But both teams left the field in a celebratory mood.
By now, you have probably figured out that this was no ordinary Egg Bowl.
The inaugural “Unified Egg Bowl” was staged by Special Olympics Mississippi. The flag football game featured Special Olympians with intellectual disabilities playing alongside university students from both schools. The game also served as a fund-raiser for the state’s Special Olympics organization. Fans of both schools could make donations in their schools’ name. Overall, the event raised $12,465. MSU won the donations battle, $6,250 to $6,215.
Every player received a medal and Ole Miss was awarded a trophy for having won the game. The teams will meet again next year at Ole Miss.
No Most Valuable Player award was presented. I would argue it was a 12-way tie with the award going to Ole Miss players Jesse Wims, Teddy Underwood, Joseph Tate, Don Arata, Daniel Arata and Ben Rogers and Mississippi State players Luke Robinson, Jay Brioces, Damian Ford, Jason Smith, James Perkins and Bill Holden.
These Special Olympians put on a show Wednesday. Heck, I’ve seen actual Egg Bowls that weren’t this entertaining. For anyone over the age of say, 40, who has ever had a family member or friend with severe intellectual limitations, Wednesday’s game must have been a great encouragement.
There was a time when people like Luke Robinson or Jesse Wims would have led lives mostly out of public view on the unchallenged theory that such people could not function in the mainstream. They couldn’t learn, went the conventional wisdom and therefore could not participate in most of the things our society takes for granted.
Fortunately, that has changed. We continue to be amazed at what these people can do if they are patiently taught and provided some accommodations.
The result opens the door to a happy, fulfilling and meaningful life that includes a full range of life experiences, not the least of which is playing sports.
“Oh my gosh, Luke was up at 6 this morning, ready to play,” said Connie Robinson of Brandon, whose son, Luke, just turned 34 years old. “I can’t even begin to tell you how much this means to him. He’s been in Special Olympics since he was nine and absolutely loves sports.”
Mary Wims lives in Horn Lake and is the mom of 15-year-old Jesse Wims. She said her son has been “walking on clouds” for more than a week.
“We had a practice last week and (Ole Miss coach) Hugh Freeze and some of the Rebel players were there,” Mary said. “It was after midnight before I could get him in bed that night. And this morning, he was up at 5:30. Normally, I have to drag him out of bed. Not today.”
That sort of excitement proved contagious.
“I can’t remember having so much fun,” said MSU senior Ben Hester of Atlanta, who volunteered to play on the MSU team. “I really never had been around any Special Olympics kids, but I can tell you, it was a great experience. I think I probably got as much out of it as they did. You know, you are always happiest when you are helping make other people happy.”
The presence of the MSU cheerleaders and pep band certainly added much to the event.
“When we got here, Jesse saw the cheerleaders and heard the band and Jesse was just thrilled,” Mary Wims said. “He said, ‘Mom, this is a real game!'”
It was, indeed, a real game.
If you kept the score by smiles, it may have been the best Egg Bowl ever.
Slim Smith is a columnist and feature writer for The Dispatch. His email address is [email protected].
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 40 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 40 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
