Southern Hospitality and a Texas Win

By Leslie Cedar in Blog on September 18, 2012 at 11:12 am | No Comments

More than 100,000 Rebel and Longhorn fans swarmed The Grove last weekend, a 60-plus year tradition on the Ole Miss campus. This was a sight to see for the many Texans that traveled for hours, only to be welcomed by warm Southern hospitality.

It was a sea of red, blue, and burnt orange mixed with some of the finest tailgate setups (chandeliers included) that would give even Longhorn fans a run for their money. But the Texas Exes were not to be outdone—we hosted about 500 alumni at an outstanding tailgate of our own.

The event featured Oxford’s famed City Grocery market and restaurant chef John Currence. John was named the 2009 James Beard Best Southern Chef and was a winner of Charleston Food and Wine Festival’s Iron Chef Challenge.

The chef’s talents truly shined on Saturday. He treated us to his mouthwatering chicken and dumplings and savory shrimp jambalaya. John joked that he posed for more pictures that day than he has in an entire year.

The tailgate would not have been complete without the help of Love Cannon, a local Mississippi band, who rocked the house and even included some Texas songs in their repertoire.

In the end, the Longhorns prevailed on the field, but I would like to especially thank the kind people of Oxford, Mississippi, who made us feel right at home.