The easiest job in the world

It must be nice to get paid for writing articles about why Ole Miss and Mississippi State should play Southern Miss in Football. You can churn out 300-400 words without even thinking and come up with hyperbolic headlines like "No downside to MSU-USM football game."

Credit Patrick Magee of the Hattiesburg American for taking the idiocy to a new level though. Typically the argument revolves around the Rebel or Bulldog fan mentioning a lack of desire to subsidize the Golden Eagle football program with the USM fan responding with a witty retort such as "Naw, you're skeered to play at the Rawk!" But not according to Magee:

Some fans make the argument that there would be an explosion of bad behavior by fans if USM played the two SEC schools on the football field. I’m not exactly sure where this idea comes from. While I realize it’s a different sport, I was courtside for the Ole Miss-USM basketball game last year in Biloxi and there were no punches thrown or even moderate bickering between the two groups.

Seriously? That's why you think that Boone and Templeton/Byrne have avoided playing USM... bickering amongst fans? And then this closing sentence...

A simple look at the situation reveals there is no downside of the schools meeting in football. It will only generate even more excitement surrounding the sport in an already football-crazy state.

... shows how disconnected from reality Magee really is. From a Southern Miss standpoint, I'm sure that's enough to get the hair standing up on their arms. If he could step outside of his black and gold for a minute, he'd find out that this fantasy land that USM fans and media have created - the series is what both fan bases want - is just that... a fantasy. There are very few Ole Miss or State fans I know that want a series to happen. The reasons have been reiterated on this site and others time and again and aren't worth getting into again.

If only Magee and other USM-canned-rhetoric regurgitators would take the same hint.