There used to be a sign on the wall inside the Jackson Mississippi airport that greeted passengers as they got off the plane and made their way into the terminal. The sign proudly proclaimed "Welcome To Mississippi -Yes, we can read. A few of us can even write".

The sign featured pictures of some of my home state's great authors like Tennessee Williams, Eudora Welty, John Grisham and William Faulkner.

What do classic and critically acclaimed authors have to do with tailgating at Ole Miss? A lot actually. It was Faulkner, who once lived in Oxford near the Ole Miss campus, who said

" To understand the world, you must first understand a place like Mississippi"

That understanding is on brilliant display on fall weekends in the tiny town of Oxford. Ole Miss is about tradition. Just like the Cajuns have their traditions so do Rebel fans. One of the greatest traditions is tailgating in The Grove. To get a spot on that hallowed ground before an Ole Miss home game is hard work.

Students are allowed to start claiming spots in The Grove at 6:30am on Friday mornings of game weekends. Many students earn money from local businesses by skipping class and sitting around The Grove waiting for 9:30pm to come. Quite often students work in shifts to maintain a presence near the "walk of champions". After all with all these darn Ole Miss lawyers floating around, possession is more than 9/10ths of the law.

9:30 is the magic hour on Friday Night when you can start bringing in tables, tents, chairs, and other tailgating equipment. To see the masses descend upon the grove in the dark with headlamps, headlights, torches, and lanterns is like watching the Walking Dead coming over for tailgating. In the darkness a city is born.

To experience tailgating in The Grove is a great tradition in college sports. Although it is personally distasteful for me to say anything good about the other university in Mississippi I will give Ole Miss some props. The food is good, the people are warm and friendly, the atmosphere is over the top, and it's a very unique approach to a game day picnic

.http://youtu.be/6CwVqqCWL38

More From 97.3 The Dawg