Mississippi State dusting off cowbells, prepared for return to full capacity football

Sep. 2—STARKVILLE — Lynn McAlpin's cowbell has lost some of its shine since 1968, but this Saturday it regains a chance to fulfill its purpose.

McAlpin's cowbell is from when she was a freshman at Mississippi State, but her fandom stems even further.

She grew up with her brother and sister cheering for Mississippi State and attending games her entire life. She earned her bachelor's and master's degree in Starkville. She watched her husband Jim play football for the Bulldogs.

When her parents couldn't take her to a game, she'd be in her bedroom listening on a transistor radio.

Maroon and white is what she knows best, so she can tell when something is off.

Last season, things were off.

With crowds inside Davis Wade Stadium at about 25 percent last season, the tradition of Mississippi State football was not what she grew up watching.

McAlpin was among those 13,000 fans attending games, but instead of her usual seats, her and her sister sat near the goal line with nobody around.

"I felt like I was at a spring game,' McAlpin says.

The cowbells didn't ring at the usual ear-splitting levels.

'Hail State' wasn't echoing from The Famous Maroon Band, despite Mike Leach bringing in an air raid offense expected to give the band its cue more than ever before.

"It was awful," McAlpin says. "What I missed the most was the band."

That was the reality of 2020: the pageantry of college football was taken away.

'Jump Around' blared through cold Wisconsin nights with only ESPN sideline reporter Holly Rowe there to take part. BYU welcomed Coastal Carolina for a top-20 matchup in one of college football's most picturesque stadiums — Utah's mountains in the background — with 5,000 people there to witness it.

One didn't need to be in attendance to see what was missing. Search MSU highlights from 2019 versus 2020.

The sounds of the cowbells is incomparable.

This season should be a return to normalcy — vaccination and COVID-19 rates pending each day — with Mississippi State allowing full capacity inside Davis Wade Stadium starting Saturday against Louisiana Tech.

McAlpin will be there with her cowbell, which has been dotted with stickers over time. An M-Club Alumni Associate sticker from her husband takes center stage currently as she and her 12-year-old grandson prepare to attend a Mississippi State football game together for the first time.

"I'm looking forward to sharing an experience with him that I've had since I was 12 years old," McAlpin said.

State fans got a sense of what Saturday can be like this summer when crowds returned to usual sizes during MSU's run in the College World Series.

Jacob Chancellor grew up with Ole Miss parents and an Alabama brother, but he his MSU allegiance stems from attending State baseball camps.

Chancellor, who won't be attending Saturday's game but will be at Davis Wade Stadium at some point this season, took a riskier route to joining Bulldog fans in Omaha this year.

He wanted to attend but was hoping to find someone to help control the financial burden. He turned to Twitter and asked if anyone would be interested in driving up with him and splitting costs.

In came Erick Kendrick, and the two found themselves bonding on a trip that saw thousands of MSU fans celebrating a national championship.

Chancellor — like McAlpin, who also attended the CWS — got a look at the energy and the desire for a return to normalcy that will translate to the football stadium this weekend.

"One of the things that really draws me to college football is the roars of the crowd and the gameday atmosphere," Chancellor said. "Last year was real strange, but it was still my Dogs so I watched."

Normalcy for MSU football stems beyond fans, cowbells and bands.

"It's kinda a return to normalcy this year with State being picked last in most everything," Chancellor said. "That gets my juices flowing."

Leach didn't get the full Davis Wade Stadium experience on gamedays in his first season as State's head coach, but he remembers how tough of an environment it can be from his assistant coaching days at Kentucky (1997-98).

MSU went 15-9 in those two seasons including nine AP poll appearances, giving Leach a sense of what the atmosphere can be like in Starkville when success is attained.

"We're all looking forward to that," Leach said. "Hopefully it's a good, fulfilling year."