Minutes after Ole Miss beat Mississippi State 31-17 in the 2014 Egg Bowl, Mississippi State coach Dan Mullen uttered words he’ll never live down.
“It sucks. I’m not going to enjoy it. I’m not going to be able to freakin’ sleep for about 365 days until they show up at our place next year,” Mullen said.
Ears peaked in the postgame interview room in the corner of Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. Journalists with a nose for news knew that was quote gold.
It didn’t take long for a snickering Ole Miss fan to create www.IsDanMullenTiredYet.com. The site is still tracking Mullen’s dearth.
A year later, Ole Miss beat Mullen’s Bulldogs 38-27 in Starkville and, of course, it took only seconds after the game for Twitter sarcasm and photoshopped photos of a bloodshot Mullen whose bedtime became another 12 months away.
Mullen didn’t look that tired when he completed the Boston Marathon following April’s Maroon and White spring game, so maybe he is slipping the occasional nap in.
What he can’t seem to stop slipping out are statements that, while probably are the right things to say, are being eaten alive by the half of Mississippi that cheers for the rested Rebels.
Earlier this month, a story from Logan Lowery in the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal quoted Mullen as saying: “I have no intention of ever leaving” Mississippi State.
It’s probably a pretty silly thing to say, but there is nothing wrong with the statement. No one knows what the future holds, and there would be nothing wrong with leaving if Notre Dame or Michigan came calling.
The problem is that the sleep comment has Mullen’s non-supporters itching for something to entertainingly ridicule.
This from 2011: “We will win a championship here at Mississippi State,” Mullen said. “We will win an SEC (championship) and we will win a national championship here at Mississippi State. It might be this year. Who knows? It might be next year. It might be the following year. It might take us 15 years, but we will win a championship for the people of Mississippi.”
Like the frustrated and fiery Mullen with the sleep comments after an Egg Bowl loss, that came after a frustrating home loss to LSU in 2011.
Championships should be the goal for every team in the country. Saying it with that kind of edge though is almost crazy.
Mullen doesn’t care if you think it’s crazy. If he did, he would stop saying such wild things in front of media members.
That is part of his charm. He believes it, and the charm lies in the fact that he doesn’t care if you do or not.
Now, cue up IsMullenLeaving.com and HasMSUWonAChampionshipYet.com.
