By Win
If LSU and Alabama face each other in a rematch for the National Championship, which is the likely scenario at the moment after Oklahoma State fell from grace with their loss to Iowa State Friday night, then the game should be played at Mississippi Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson. Yes, my hometown Jackson, the Crossroads of the South, is aptly named. Especially under these circumstances as it is equidistance between Baton Rouge and Tuscaloosa.
A rematch for the National Championship in New Orleans between Alabama and LSU would surely produce one of the biggest party atmoshpheres the city has ever seen. And even as a Mississippi State fan but only living an hour away, I am confident that I would find a way to be a part of it. However, national championship games just should not be played in the home states of either of its participants. I felt the same way about the Rose Bowl determining the national championship when USC played in it and the Orange Bowl deciding the national championship games when Miami played in during the 80’s and 90’s. If this was LSU playing in the Sugar Bowl that would be different.
Jackson would be the perfect neutral spot for an LSU and Alabama National Championship Game. It is roughly 174 miles from Baton Rouge and 185 miles from Tuscaloosa. That is only slightly farther, if that, from Oxford and Starkville. With their close proximities, each school already has a strong fan base in Jackson that rarely holds back in its towards Mississippi State and Ole Miss during football season. And while Mississippi State and Ole Miss have produced some big wins against Alabama and LSU they have usually been on the losing end, with many of those road victories by the Crimson Tide and Tigers coming in Jackson before the Bulldogs and the Institution of Higher Learning formerly known as the Rebels moved all of their home games to campus. So, see a National Championship game in Jackson between Alabama and LSU would be like a home game for each program based on their successful track records at Veterans Memorial Stadium.
There is also the likely argument that Jackson does not have the hotel capacity for the huge overflow of fans coming into town. No problem. While Mississippi may not have the college football success that Alabama and LSU has experienced, we certainly don’t take a backseat to our neighbors when it comes to Southern Hospitality. I am confident that Jacksonians would open up their homes to Alabama and LSU fans as if they are foreign exchange students from far away lands, which is how we kind of view them anyway.
Another concern would be that Memorial Stadium would not be able to handle a game of this magnitude and that it does not have enough seats. Both of those points are overblown. Let me remind the naysayers that an invite to the Poulan Weedeater Independence Bowl in Shreveport has been at stake by the outcome of many Egg Bowls that were played at Veterans Memorial Stadium. So, Jackson obviously knows how to handle big time college football.
In regards to seating, the seating capacity for the Mercedes-Benz Superdome where the game is scheduled to be played is roughly 72,000. The 1984 SWAC Showdown between Mississippi Valley State and Alcorn State University had a crown in excess of 65,000 that also included yours truly, so that is really not much of a difference. Sports media representatives from across the country descended on Memorial Stadium in this rare Sunday afternoon college game to cover an All-American wide receiver for the Delta Devils named Jerry Rice who happened to get shut down that day by Alcorn’s own All-American cornerback Ike Holt in the Braves 42-28 victory. So if the Egg Bowl doesn’t do it for you with MS Veterans Memorial Stadium’s ability to handle big time games, consider that contest.
When it comes down to it though, all that is really needed to play this game is a 100 Yard Field and MS Veterans Memorial Stadium has that covered too.
Tide and Tiger fans: Should you finish the remainder of the season without any further losses, where would you like to play in the BCS National Championship Game?
Jacksonians: Do you have a spare bed room?
