Brenen’s dash brings healing to grieving Mississippi State fans

How one dramatic finish against Arizona State gave Mississippi State fans a release after years of heartbreak.

Mississippi State Bulldogs head coach Mike Leach walks onto the field after the game against the Ole Miss Rebels at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium. | Matt Bush-Imagn Images

It’s hard to pretend to know how much of a cathartic relief Saturday’s win against Arizona State was for Mississippi State fans without actually being one of them.

Luckily, we have the internet and social media and Mississippi State fans weren’t shy about expressing their feelings.

Some started recording and let the emotions flow, like in this Facebook post from RTP Sports.

“I’m shaking man, shaking right now,” Randy The Plumber said. “I have waited so long to see Mississippi State be competitive. We have waited, and waited…What does (Jeff) Lebby have? Our coach died, man. And then some bad decisions got made. OK, it happened…oh my gosh, man…Mississippi State is back.”

Honestly, it feels wrong to try and quote the video here because the emotion doesn’t come through. Go watch the video and you’ll feel the emotion.

But there were some that put into words their feelings, like this person explaining why the field storming was an emotional release:

“We did not storm the field because we beat Arizona State, we stormed the field because 3 years ago our AD jumped ship and went to Auburn and then our beloved football coach died after leading us to a tremendous win in the egg bowl. We were forced to promote a coach not ready for the moment to hold on to our recruiting class. Everyone knows how that story ended. Then we hire an up and coming offensive coordinator and we win two games last year. This year our guys have been written off as the worst team and all they have done is continued to show up and fight each day. We stormed the field to tell our guys we have your back.”

Those two social media posts, as well as plenty of others, helped this writer understand the deeper meaning of the Bulldogs’ 24-20 win against Arizona State.

But, also, consider how the game played out.

Mississippi State built a 17-0 lead then saw the Sun Devils storm back (in all too familiar way) and take a 20-17 lead with less than two minutes to play and the Bulldogs without any timeouts.

Then there were a couple of 9-yard pass completions and one-yard scramble that left the Bulldogs facing a third-and-nine from their own 42-yard line.

What happened next, Brenen Thompson’s dash, was the perfect poetic ending to a game that healed some very deep wounds. (Publisher’s Note: Brace yourselves, he just used “poetic” in a sentence.)

Perhaps if William Shakespeare was still around, he could turn the last three years of Mississippi State football into a beautiful sonnet. Instead, your stuck with yours truly.

Mississippi State Wide Receiver Brenen Thompson (#0) during Gameday V. Arizona State University at Davis Wade Stadium at Mississippi State University in Starkville, MS. | Mississippi State Athletics

Brenen’s Healing Dash

Two seasons passed, and still the fans mourned,
Their Pirate’s loss still heavy to bear.
Their hearts would not rest till they stormed,
Like sailors reclaiming their rightful share.

The cowbells rang both loud and clear,
While the faithful never lost their hope.
But two seasons of sorrow were severe,
And their hearts still struggled to cope.

Then, a new AD and coach took the deck,
And the sails of hope spread wide in a breeze.
Yet a Devil rose with an intent to wreck,
Haunting the memory of a ‘Dawg on its knees.

But then, in a dash, Brenen flew by in a flash,
And the Sun Devils turned into ash.