Ole Miss 'Rebels' - Are you kidding me?

So today the Ole Miss student body will vote on whether 'they' should be apart of the process to replace the Ole Miss mascot. My understanding is that they are only considering the replacement of the over-stuff "Colonel Reb" character that was dropped 7 years ago after increased complaints from alumni and athletic department leaders. They are not voting to replace the association with the 'rebel' concept! That, my friend, is my 'are you kidding me?' statement!

In my opinion, and this may make Ole Miss fans hate me, the entire Rebel association and concept should me revamped. Not only does this concept hurt recruiting in athletics, it hurts recruiting of new students period. While many of the kids that are of college age don't care what the rebel term and flag stands for, their parents do.

The state of Mississippi as a whole still has a HUGE image problem throughout this country. Don't believe me, just walk-up to any one of your friends and family, and tell them you are thinking about moving to Mississippi and see what they say. This association with Rebels only fosters this image issue. I'm not blaming Ole Miss for the states image issue, I'm simply saying this backwards thinking only contributes to it. Embracing a new concept at the University of Mississippi would go along way in telling the country that we have moved on. Bottom line, the Rebel and its animated mascot should go!
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