Deion Sanders’ presence at Jackson St. has revived HBCU football and ushered in a new era for the once-dominant and legendary programs in Black College football.
Not only has he signed top recruits, but he’s also brought more attention and dollars to the institution and the program.
Last Sunday Deion was featured on “60 Minutes” and this past weekend a sold-out stadium watched the Tigers celebrate homecoming with a 22-12 victory over Campbell. Playing in front of almost 52,000 fans, which included celebrities like Snoop Dogg and Rick Ross, Jackson St. remained undefeated. That led to one of the most significant announcements in program history.
The arrival of ESPN’s College Gameday in Jackson, Mississippi next Saturday.
On Saturday, October 29th, College Gameday will broadcast live from Jackson, MS before the Tigers’ game against Southern.
It’s the show’s first time in the city and its first appearance at an FCS school since visiting South Dakota State in 2019.
The 7-0 Tigers will take on a 5-2 Southern squad in what should be an exciting SWAC matchup.
Yet the show hasn’t even arrived in the city and the hate and ignorance are already spreading.
When College Gameday announced it would head to Jackson, many took to Twitter to put their ignorance on display.
One user photoshopped the Gameday Crew desk on a cracked asphalt street.
“No one wants this,” wrote another user.
“So college gameday gonna be lame this week huh?” trolled another user, and the negativity goes on and on from there.
And while there was plenty of support and enthusiasm for next week’s show, the trolling was hard to miss.
That illustrates the fact that college football, just like other sports, still has an ugly side when it comes to race.
Over 52,000 filled the stadium for the Tigers’ homecoming game. That doesn’t include the thousands who stayed in the parking lot to tailgate or those who flooded Jackson to experience what the Deion Sanders hype was all about.
That means thousands will show up when College Gameday turns on the lights next Saturday, especially because it’s the show’s first time in the city, and the show’s first appearance an HBCU school this season.
And if you know how HBCU games are, you’ll know that this will be anything BUT lame.
The fashion will be outrageous, the music will be loud and the frat lines will be stepping hard.
The Sonic Boom of the South will bring enough energy to shatter the concrete, the food will be more on point than those at many of the other stops College Gameday has made and the game should also be a good one.
It presents another opportunity for more to witness what Deion Sanders is building at Jackson St.
It could also add more support for the construction of a new stadium for the Tigers, which could ultimately help convince Deion to stay at Jackson St. in case other programs like Georgia Tech or Auburn come calling.
But most importantly, it creates an opportunity to harness the power of football, Sanders and ESPN to bring attention to what the city’s residents have endured through a water crisis and political corruption and fighting at the state and local levels.
So the hate trolls are bringing to College Gameday’s feed won’t change or diminish what will happen next Saturday in Mississippi.
Now let’s hope that their Governor, Tate Reeves, doesn’t interfere, something he’s done a lot lately in Jackson.
