Respect The Bell

Six years ago this fall Thomas “Mule” Henderson Jr was a average freshman at Ole Miss. Considered brayingly funny by many of his friends he looked forward to getting his degree in radio communications and becoming a salsa DJ.

Mule and a group of friends showed up with cowbells for his first football game. Some how during the game he was struck repeatedly by cowbells. This is not a uncommon occurrence at Vaught Hemingway Stadium according to unname sources, although it seldom requires more than a dozen stitches and wearing hearing aids for the rest of their life.

In Mules case the injuries went much deeper. He spent 83 days in a coma and has been slow to recover his braying since of humor said his mother Shannon “Clover” Henderson. In fact she said, “Mule is a totally different person since his injury.” He has lost his desire to be a Salsa DJ and now is planning on being a lawyer and is a Alabama fan. These changes have been heartbreaking to his family said Shannon. His father Thomas ” Big Mule” Henderson said “to see your only son not follow in your bell ringing footsteps and give up his life long dream and settle on being a lawyer is gut wrenching.”

Shannon and mothers who have had similar experiences with loved ones started MFRCR Mothers For Responsible Cowbell Ringing five years ago. Although they faced overwhelming odds they managed to convince the SEC to force Mississippi to either control the cowbell ringing or cowbells would be banned.

Ole Miss has responded to the SEC by setting up Respectthebell.com. Which promises to bring about total chaos in the stands as Mississippi fans are the rudest in the SEC and would rather quit spitting than quit banging their cowbells.

Both the ACLU (The American Civil Liberties Union) which says using a cowbell at a football game is as American as owning a gun and the NACBM (National Association Of Cowbell Banging Musicians) which says beating a cowbell while playing music is part of their culture have filed law suits against the SEC.

Unlike most years fall promises to be an exciting time in Mississippi.