Hell Over #HailState?

My social media correspondents in the heart of the SEC country tell me Scott Stricklin and Miss State are "catching hell" as the fans on talk radio are "in a near riot" over the AD's decision to put a hash tag in the endzone for tonight's Egg Bowl with Ole Miss.

One of them points out to me that "football is a product" and shouldn't be messed with. A gentle rejoiner here: in the SEC football is entertainment, valued at a level in the TV and media business only exceeded by the NFL. Last time I checked, if you have a product, you want to sell it. And if it's entertainment, sell it online.

If this reasoning follows, You shouldn't be messing with traditions. Oh say like a red-white-and-blue Razorback on helmets and on the field of War Memorial for 9/11? Or golden helmets for LSU on national TV? Or "throwback" uniforms at Florida or Georgia?

Hey kids, anybody wanna install the wishbone for this weekend? It is Thanksgiving. Let's be traditional.

If it is true that significant numbers of fans are upset at Stricklin, I bet he'll listen. Those fans, however, need to consider that bringing State to a higher national profile is the goal. This is the same guy that saved the cowbell from extinction at the hands of the SEC, arguing it was a tradition that must be respected. (Maybe he should put a hash tag ON cowbells . . . )

From a PR stand point, I go back to yesterday's blog. This is a stroke of genius, and not just for the "hip" factor of the hash tag.

You want some old school traditional thinking? How about the great PR standby - any publicity is good publicity. Didn't former LSU legend Dale Brown once utter a line something like "just spell my name right" in connection to that?

Tonight's game is less than meaningful. The Ole Miss coach is already fired. State's fate was cast by some earlier close losses. What gets the country thinking about this game?

A well-planned publicity move. The Hail State endzone was already in the works. Adding the "#" to it just made it a national, and slightly international, story,

Bottom line: just like all those crazy new jersey looks and NIKE Pro Combat helmets that other schools have tried, this will be one of the greatest things ever at MSU if the Bulldogs come out tonight and beat the crap out of the Rebels. if they lose, it will be the worst idea ever, hated and reviled. Hey Razorback fans, remember those Apex uniforms with the giant Hogs from the mid-90s? Loser team, people HATED the jerseys. Bobby Petrino could come out tomorrow in all black, and if UA beats LSU, they will want to change the school colors.

So in the words of the late Al Davis - #JustWinBaby.