Over the weekend, I took a little trip to The School Beneath Us for some good ol’ Jason Mraz and SEC football. The weekend overall was a success (minus the few moments of terrible behavior from their fans), but dear God I hate those stupid cowbells.

And you should, too.

They’re loud. They’re obnoxious. They’re just downright tacky. I don’t care if you won a game once in the 40s because some cows wandered onto your field, you quite possibly could be the laughing stock of the SEC.

However, I do understand that a tradition is a tradition, just like how Baton Rouge smelling like corn dogs will always be tradition. If those little cow kids want to keep animal accessories a tradition, hell, let them.

After thirty someodd years, they are finally allowed to legally have the bells in their own stadium again. Of course every State fan is ecstatic to have them back, and I can’t blame them; they don’t know any better.

However, for months and months now, we have been hearing about the new cowbell rules and the massive amounts of money the university will have to spend if their students break these simple rules.

They can ring the bells during breaks, such as time outs, before the game and after the Bulldogs score. That’s it. That’s all.

Ford has even provided them with an icon in the upper right-hand corner of their jumbotron that tells them when to ring and when to yell, in case the three rules were too complex for comprehension.

Now, the things are annoying, and sitting in the stands for the 45 minutes before kickoff were brutal, but I expected it to end when the game started.

How naïve I was.

Every second they weren’t screaming obscenities mixed in with maroon, white and fight (the only words they seem to know for fight songs) they were waving those large metal bells with such a fury.

We banned flags on sticks because the sticks were “weapons.” Sticks. Yet they are allowed to drunkenly swing about metal. The logic in this world.

Anyway. Constantly, those bells were ringing and ringing. Every few minutes something about “Respect the bell; ring responsibly” would come on the screen. And every time it did, just like children do, they would ring them louder and harder than before.

This story sounds so familiar, doesn’t it?

A year ago, “From Dixie with Love” was taken away from us because we children couldn’t control ourselves. One of our most beloved traditions was destroyed and we could have stopped it, but we chose to attempt to defy the administration and make our stance known.

Well, news flash: our stance sucked, and I want our song back.

If the State kids can’t learn to behave as well as you can with such a horrific instrument, take them away. We learned our lesson, and we regret continuing the chant against the administration’s will.

After thirty years, Mississippi State has given their fans what they have been begging for, but they seem to have forgotten why they lost the privilege in the first place.

The memory of FDWL in the Grove on those crisp fall afternoons is still fresh in our minds. We not only remember and miss the tradition, but we are the people who lost the tradition.

Give us a second chance, Sparky and the Ole Miss administration. Give us a trial run, if nothing else. Let us prove that we have the school’s best interest in mind and will represent her with all the dignity and class we are known for.

We are losing our traditions left and right, and all the other schools mock us for being racist (not to mention our lack of mascot). Prove them wrong; bring back the song. If we can’t have anything else, at least give us the chance to try.