Unlike the streets of Washington, D.C., the University of Mississippi and city of Oxford will not be crawling with National Guardsmen on Saturday when Lane Kiffin and LSU arrive at Vaught-Hemmingway Stadium. Louisiana governor Jeff Landry joked in interviews ahead of the Top 10 clash that the team would need that level of protection considering the amount of animosity Rebels fans showed Kiffin when he left them to lead the Tigers this offseason.
"I'm thinking about having to send him in on an F-16 and maybe the team on a C-130," Landry told ESPN. "Security is going to be really tight. You know, we might need the National Guard out there to protect our team. I think it's going to be an interesting weekend."
Instead, Oxford Police Chief Jeff McCutchen will be utilizing alternative resources, including horse-mounted patrols and importing law enforcement from New Orleans and Mobile to boost numbers on the ground.
“I feel like it will probably be one of the biggest crowds that any of us have ever seen, and so you take that into consideration,” McCutchen told WTVA on Monday. "The optics are there to make people feel safe."
Local news also spoke with fans who are reinforcing the idea Kiffin is going to be met with pitchforks and torches as soon as he steps foot on campus. The extra law enforcement presence probably isn't a bad idea.
Lane Kiffin-Ole Miss beef could get somebody hurt during Top 10 clash
We all know college football is a religion in SEC states, but there comes a point where folks have to realize it's just a game. Despite any deemed personal transgressions, it's just a ruthless business too. The way Kiffin executed his decision to leave Ole Miss for LSU was unsavory, to say the least, but it shouldn't rise to the level of anybody doing anything drastic to get revenge.
Let the football do the talking and claim vengeance on the gridiron. There's no reason for some fraternity pranksters to pull a stupid stunt during the team arrivals or for opposing fans to resort to fisticuffs in the stands. The SEC, of all places, should've learned its lesson from past overzealous actions.
For example, in 2011 an Alabama fan called into radio host Paul Finebaum's show to proudly admit he poisoned Auburn's famous 130-year-old oak tree at Toomer's Corner. The man confessed he used an herbicide to poison the oaks after the Crimson Tide's loss to the Tigers in the 2010 Iron Bowl just weeks before. The tree couldn't be saved and was eventually replaced.
Let's please not escalate from horticultural terrorism to something more serious over a football game. Ole Miss is prepared to keep people safe, but fans should keep the level of animosity to clever signs, aggressive chants and possibly a significant upset on the field.
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