#34 Memphis

Memphis, TN

Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium

August 31, 2019

Memphis 15 - Ole Miss 10 (ESPN Recap)

I do not like the city of Memphis very much. After 34 years without a trip to Grind City, I’ve been there twice in three months and have been more physically bombarded there than anywhere else I’ve ever traveled in the US. Beale street is overrated. It is difficult to get a meal that is not ribs or brisket. The Civil Rights Museum is powerful and worth a trip.

Liberty Bowl is a cool stadium, though the remoteness of it is not conducive to a great tailgate atmosphere. Pre-game, the memorable aspect was a mini-stage that had a superstar 15-year singer (Reagan Strange) covering today’s hits. She’s going to be famous someday.

Great defensive football game with the blue-collar chip on their shoulder of the home team wanting to win this border battle more than Hotty Totty. Not many game highlights other than the Memphis punter being quite good which led to a key safety later in the game. Second game of season and second game with a safety (despite ~5% chance each game). Didn’t make any friends at this one, but kudos to the sports information and media team for awesome video cutaways throughout the game of Memphis beating Ole Miss in prior match-ups. The crowd ate those up.

Loved seeing Ole Miss cover the early line of +7 despite their offensive ineptitude.