This week, the General (Jim Stephens) and I took a recon trip into Florida to scout out a potential place to stay for the FSU game on Labor Day.
After making several wrong turns we finally ended up in Daytona Beach. Daytona seems to be the perfect place to hang out prior to knocking off the Seminoles and starting the season with a huge win.
On the way back to Oxford we stopped in Gainesville for the second round of Ole Miss-Florida basketball 2016. The game lived up to expectations. We came close, but no cigar. However, you can see the tremendous improvements with this team each and every time they take the court. We left the Florida campus with our heads held high.
While at the game, we met several Rebels who (along with us) were greatly outnumbered. Bob and Gail Rimer, St. Petersburg,, were among the Rebel faithful. Gail graduated from Ole Miss in the late 70s. She was a Rebelette for four years and a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority. Bob and Gail had previously been on a Rebel away game to Memphis (for Roundball), however this was their first true SEC road game. They attended six football games this year including the Sugar Bowl.
We asked the couple what they like most about Ole Miss sports. They replied: “the camaraderie with the fans.” They were fortunate to run into all of their seat mates (those who sit near them in Vaught-Hemingway) to have a great unplanned gameday experience in New Orleans. They are forecasting the Rebs to go 9-3 this year with the toughest games being against Bama, LSU and Arkansas.
Another Reb we encountered at the game was Jamey Diggs. Jamey lives in Orlando and is a Commercial Sales Manager for Ferguson Ent. covering N and Central Florida. Jamey was in the class of 1994 and is a member of the Central Florida Ole Miss Rebel Club in Orlando. This was his first ever Ole Miss road game for basketball. Jamey predicts the 2016 football Rebs will also finish 9-3. I asked him to compare this recent recruiting class to the one of three years ago. Jamey gave this year’s class a ‘nine’ compared to an ‘eight’ for Laquon’s group.
The General and I had such a great time, we have decided to include another Rebel trip for basketball in our 2017 road warrior travel plans. You just never know who might run into!
Steve Vassallo is a HottyToddy.com contributor. Steve writes on Ole Miss athletics, Oxford business, politics and other subjects. He is an Ole Miss grad and former radio announcer for the basketball team. Currently, Steve is a highly successful leader in the real estate business who lives in Oxford with his wife Rosie. You can contact Steve at sovassallo@gmail.com or call him at 985-852-7745.
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