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Thank God for Mississippi!
by Brother Rogers
Thank God for Mississippi! Neighboring states once used that phrase tongue-in-cheek, but Mississippians know the joke is on them. Our state continues to shine on the national stage and is a source of pride for those who live here.
In September, Michael Grimm, who was raised in the swamplands of Hancock County, was declared the winner of the NBC show, “America’s Got Talent.” His smooth singing and promise to help his grandparents recover from Hurricane Katrina helped him win the $1 million prize.
Earlier this month, Vicksburg native and Brandon resident Patrick House won the $250,000 grand prize on “The Biggest Loser,” an NBC reality TV show where contestants compete to lose weight. The Delta State University business graduate lost 181 pounds to beat two other finalists from New York and California.
On Monday night, four Madison Central High School graduates finished as the runner up in NBC’s “The Sing-Off,” a national TV a cappella singing competition. Their band, Street Corner Symphony, is now based in Nashville but continues a long tradition of Mississippians succeeding in the music business, from Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters to Elvis Presley and Faith Hill.
In a state where Friday night football is a sacred ritual, South Panola High School’s football team was proclaimed the national champions with a No. 1 ranking in USA TODAY’s final Super 25 poll for 2010. Since 2000, the previous No. 1 teams have come from California, Texas, Florida and New Jersey.
We Mississippians have long known that a state that produced the likes of Walter Payton, Marcus Dupree, Jerry Rice and Brett Favre is a powerhouse of high school football talent. Now the rest of America is reminded that any conversation about the best in the nation must include our state.
And it’s not just football. USA TODAY ranked Sumrall High School’s baseball team No. 1 in the nation in June.
Check today’s New York Times Best Seller List to find Mississippi author John Grisham again in the top five with his new book, “The Confession.” Plus he’s featured in the December 26 issue of the New York Times Book Review.
In the late 1980s, when I was a student at Princeton or simply “up north” as my grandmother used to say, I would tell my classmates, “Select whatever career you want, but if you want to be the best, you better hope someone from Mississippi doesn’t pick your career. That’s because Mississippians always rise to the top.”
Last summer I took my son Andrew on a day trip along Highway 82 in the Delta. We started in Greenville at the local history museum and flood museum, continued on to Leland’s Jim Henson Museum featuring Kermit the Frog and finished at the B.B. King Museum in Indianola.
On the way home, Andrew said, “To be such a small state, Mississippi sure has made a big contribution to American life and culture.” “That’s right son,” I replied. “That’s why we made this trip.”
And that’s why at Christmastime, when we count our blessings this year, we can all say with pride, “Thank God for Mississippi!”
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works for the Stennis Center for Public Service.
Thank God for Mississippi! Neighboring states once used that phrase tongue-in-cheek, but Mississippians know the joke is on them. Our state continues to shine on the national stage and is a source of pride for those who live here.
In September, Michael Grimm, who was raised in the swamplands of Hancock County, was declared the winner of the NBC show, “America’s Got Talent.” His smooth singing and promise to help his grandparents recover from Hurricane Katrina helped him win the $1 million prize.
Earlier this month, Vicksburg native and Brandon resident Patrick House won the $250,000 grand prize on “The Biggest Loser,” an NBC reality TV show where contestants compete to lose weight. The Delta State University business graduate lost 181 pounds to beat two other finalists from New York and California.
On Monday night, four Madison Central High School graduates finished as the runner up in NBC’s “The Sing-Off,” a national TV a cappella singing competition. Their band, Street Corner Symphony, is now based in Nashville but continues a long tradition of Mississippians succeeding in the music business, from Robert Johnson and Muddy Waters to Elvis Presley and Faith Hill.
In a state where Friday night football is a sacred ritual, South Panola High School’s football team was proclaimed the national champions with a No. 1 ranking in USA TODAY’s final Super 25 poll for 2010. Since 2000, the previous No. 1 teams have come from California, Texas, Florida and New Jersey.
We Mississippians have long known that a state that produced the likes of Walter Payton, Marcus Dupree, Jerry Rice and Brett Favre is a powerhouse of high school football talent. Now the rest of America is reminded that any conversation about the best in the nation must include our state.
And it’s not just football. USA TODAY ranked Sumrall High School’s baseball team No. 1 in the nation in June.
Check today’s New York Times Best Seller List to find Mississippi author John Grisham again in the top five with his new book, “The Confession.” Plus he’s featured in the December 26 issue of the New York Times Book Review.
In the late 1980s, when I was a student at Princeton or simply “up north” as my grandmother used to say, I would tell my classmates, “Select whatever career you want, but if you want to be the best, you better hope someone from Mississippi doesn’t pick your career. That’s because Mississippians always rise to the top.”
Last summer I took my son Andrew on a day trip along Highway 82 in the Delta. We started in Greenville at the local history museum and flood museum, continued on to Leland’s Jim Henson Museum featuring Kermit the Frog and finished at the B.B. King Museum in Indianola.
On the way home, Andrew said, “To be such a small state, Mississippi sure has made a big contribution to American life and culture.” “That’s right son,” I replied. “That’s why we made this trip.”
And that’s why at Christmastime, when we count our blessings this year, we can all say with pride, “Thank God for Mississippi!”
Brother Rogers is a guest columnist for the Starkville Daily News and works for the Stennis Center for Public Service.