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Tigers brace for trip to rowdy Mumford
None of JSU's current players have played at Southern's home stadium
10:06 PM, Sep. 13, 2011
Written by
Ross Dellenger
Sam Washington remembers many things about his trips to Southern University's A.W. Mumford Stadium - the water and food being thrown his way, the walk from the bus to the venue's entrance, where Southern fans would "post up at you," he said, thrusting his chest out.
One memory, though, stands out: the gunfire he heard while standing on the sideline as a Jackson State freshman during the 2005 game.
"I can remember it like it was yesterday," he said. "It's just like that: They don't like us, and we don't like them."
Jackson State (2-0) returns to rowdy Mumford Stadium on Saturday for the first time since 2007 and just the third time since 1998.
Current JSU players who have played at Mumford? Zero.
Former JSU players who can recount wild stories about their trips to Mumford? Lots.
It's a tough environment when Jackson State comes to town, they say, especially the last two times the Tigers made the trek to Louisiana's capital city.
In 2007, tires on one of JSU's buses were slashed, and in 2005, a shot was fired outside the stadium. It's not the first time this hate-filled rivalry series has experienced gunfire.
A gun was fired inside the stadium during the 1996 game. Players and coaches from both sides dropped to the field until order was restored.
Days before the 2007 game, JSU coach Rick Comegy, who had never coached in a game at Southern, said he heard "horror stories" about visiting teams playing in Mumford and expressed concern about taking his family on the trip.
The coach was reprimanded by the SWAC and apologized.
This week, he was more cordial. "It really wasn't what I heard," he said, referring to the 2007 trip. "They treated us with open arms and great kindness."
Washington, a former JSU defensive end, remembers it differently.
"Coming out on the field, fans are going to talk trash to you, have babies throw trash on you, pour water on you," he said.
Vincent Dancy, a former JSU safety who has risen from a graduate assistant to the Tigers safeties coach this year, played at Mumford before the visiting team had a locker room at the stadium. "They put us in some coliseum," he said.
Dancy and the JSU football team had to walk from the coliseum to Mumford through thousands of fired-up Southern fans. Dancy and others have shared their stories with current JSU players who have yet to experience the madness.
"I heard that their fans do a lot of cussing and throwing stuff," receiver Marcellos Wilder said. "I want to see. I'm excited."
The atmosphere, though, might be more docile than in the past. Southern fans haven't shown up like they used to, partly because the team has lost 12 of its last 15 games. The Jaguars (1-1) were picked to finish last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division.
The announced attendance at last week's 21-6 victory over Alabama A&M was slightly more than 9,000, about a third of the 25,500 capacity at Mumford.
http://www.clarionledger.com/articl...rowdy-Mumford?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports
None of JSU's current players have played at Southern's home stadium
10:06 PM, Sep. 13, 2011
Written by
Ross Dellenger
Sam Washington remembers many things about his trips to Southern University's A.W. Mumford Stadium - the water and food being thrown his way, the walk from the bus to the venue's entrance, where Southern fans would "post up at you," he said, thrusting his chest out.
One memory, though, stands out: the gunfire he heard while standing on the sideline as a Jackson State freshman during the 2005 game.
"I can remember it like it was yesterday," he said. "It's just like that: They don't like us, and we don't like them."
Jackson State (2-0) returns to rowdy Mumford Stadium on Saturday for the first time since 2007 and just the third time since 1998.
Current JSU players who have played at Mumford? Zero.
Former JSU players who can recount wild stories about their trips to Mumford? Lots.
It's a tough environment when Jackson State comes to town, they say, especially the last two times the Tigers made the trek to Louisiana's capital city.
In 2007, tires on one of JSU's buses were slashed, and in 2005, a shot was fired outside the stadium. It's not the first time this hate-filled rivalry series has experienced gunfire.
A gun was fired inside the stadium during the 1996 game. Players and coaches from both sides dropped to the field until order was restored.
Days before the 2007 game, JSU coach Rick Comegy, who had never coached in a game at Southern, said he heard "horror stories" about visiting teams playing in Mumford and expressed concern about taking his family on the trip.
The coach was reprimanded by the SWAC and apologized.
This week, he was more cordial. "It really wasn't what I heard," he said, referring to the 2007 trip. "They treated us with open arms and great kindness."
Washington, a former JSU defensive end, remembers it differently.
"Coming out on the field, fans are going to talk trash to you, have babies throw trash on you, pour water on you," he said.
Vincent Dancy, a former JSU safety who has risen from a graduate assistant to the Tigers safeties coach this year, played at Mumford before the visiting team had a locker room at the stadium. "They put us in some coliseum," he said.
Dancy and the JSU football team had to walk from the coliseum to Mumford through thousands of fired-up Southern fans. Dancy and others have shared their stories with current JSU players who have yet to experience the madness.
"I heard that their fans do a lot of cussing and throwing stuff," receiver Marcellos Wilder said. "I want to see. I'm excited."
The atmosphere, though, might be more docile than in the past. Southern fans haven't shown up like they used to, partly because the team has lost 12 of its last 15 games. The Jaguars (1-1) were picked to finish last in the Southwestern Athletic Conference Western Division.
The announced attendance at last week's 21-6 victory over Alabama A&M was slightly more than 9,000, about a third of the 25,500 capacity at Mumford.
http://www.clarionledger.com/articl...rowdy-Mumford?odyssey=tab|topnews|text|Sports
