HATE WEEK: TENNESSEE

The Tennessee Volunteers were once regular opponents of the Ole Miss Rebels. In fact, the only teams in the SEC that Ole Miss has played more often than Tennessee are Vanderbilt, LSU, and Mississippi State. HATIN' on Tennessee is, therefore, an Ole Miss tradition that we at the Cup are proud to resurrect. So, to prime the tank for this week's festivities, let's have some storytime.

In 1969, the Ole Miss Rebels hosted the No. 3 Tennessee Volunteers in Jackson. During the prior season, the Vols beat the Rebs 31-0. Leading up to the game, Steve Kiner, Tennessee's all American linebacker, was asked by the media how he would handle the Ole Miss offense, which someone had likened to horses. "Hee-haw," Kiner replied. "Them's not horses, them's mules!"

The week of the game, Tennessee fans took Kiner's remarks and ran with them, dropping leaflets - as in from an airplane - on the Rebel football team during practice. They read "Archie who? Archie mud." and "Wreck the mules." Tennessee didn't think our Rebels had a chance.

Well they were wrong to doubt Archie Manning and the Rebels, and they were doubly wrong to provoke them as they did. That season, Ole Miss beat Tennessee 38-0. The mules won big, and "Archie who?" had been answered.

Clearly, Ole Miss and Tennessee have a very long history of HATE. That continues this week. Remember...

We are at war with Tennessee. We have always been at war with Tennessee.