Rammer Jammer

Once again we hear "The Ole Miss Cheer" (as it was called when I was a student) used the wrong way. The correct way is (for LSU; substitute in the team nickname or mascot as appropriate)

[buh Buh buh] Hey Tigers!

[buh Buh buh] Hey Tigers!

[Buh BUH Buh] Hey Tigers!

We're gonna beat the hell outa you!

Rammer jammer, yellow hammer, give 'em hell Alabama!

You can hear the current version in the following clip.

So, what's wrong with that?  It was played after the game.  And we did not "beat the Hell outa" them.  It was a good win, but it would be more accurate to describe this as a narrow escape than a beating.

Think about the legend of Babe Ruth calling his home run.

It doesn't even really matter if this is what happened or not; it makes a great story, and we want it to have happened.  But what makes it a great story?

1. He called it first and then did it.  If a baseball player hit a home run, then pointed in the direction the ball had gone to clear the wall, he would be a jerk, the benches would clear in a brawl, and the next time he appeared at the plate the pitcher would throw at his head.
2. He didn't call a bunt by pointing at the ground, or a sacrifice fly by pointing at an outfielder.  He set himself up to succeed or fail according to the standard of the most any batter can do:  a home run.
3. He did this in the World Series.  Doing it against a last-place team in the regular season just would not be the same. 

Along the same lines, I propose the following rules for the Ole Miss Cheer.

1. It should never be played when Alabama is ahead on the scoreboard, nor at any time during the fourth quarter.  Our opponents should have ample opportunity to shove those words back down our throats, or it isn't much of a boast.
2. It should only be played against 
• serious conference rivals -- Tennessee and Auburn any year, Florida and LSU lately;
• teams that are ranked ahead of us in the polls;
• teams that are ranked in the top 10, even if they are ranked behind Alabama; and
• teams that are rivals in the record books, such as Notre Dame, Southern Cal, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, even if they are not ranked (these teams will have the chance for revenge later, trust me).