Did you hear that? That was the Golden Eagles screaming and running across the field at the Screaming Eagles event!
More than half of the home side of the Rock Stadium was filled with USM students, faculty, and staff as they were pumped to get this football season started.
Screaming Eagles, which is annually held the night before the first football game of the season, gives freshmen and transfer students the opportunity to learn the chants that are shouted out at USM’s football games, to get familiar with the band, dance and cheer team, and get excited about the football game that would be held the next day.
USM students gathered in front of the goal posts while yelling out chants as they anxiously waited to scream and run across the football field. Once they all made it to the stands, they were able to receive USM t-shirts, and then be taught the chants.
There were performances by The Pride of Mississippi, the Dixie Darlings, and Southern Miss Cheerleading with the enthusiastic help of our mascot, Seymour.
In order to have eagerly geared up the students, these organizations rehearsed tirelessly while also practicing for the first game.
“We practiced from, like, 8 o’clock in the morning until 10 at night,” said LaDarrien Paten, who is a senior and plays trumpet for The Pride of Mississippi.
Long hours of practice were spent, but it resulted in an interactive crowd. There were hands waving in the air, students shouting the chants, and cheerleaders hyping the crowd up with smiles on their faces.
This year, the Screaming Eagles was noticed to have been quite different from previous years. Dakota McDonald, also known on campus as “Maddog,” has been attending Screaming Eagles for a few years now.
“This is bigger and better than the last time I remember it,” said McDonald. “It’s loud, which is good.”
This was followed by the event called Friday Night at Spirit Park. Beginning just two hours before the start of Screaming Eagles, this family-friendly celebration featured DJ Kujho and also had food truck vendors, which allowed the students to have a meal before running across the football field.
Screaming Eagles is done each year before the first football game. So, if you were not able to be in attendance of this celebration, or maybe feel like you missed out on something special, then you can keep up with future events, such as this, at southernmissotp (Southern Miss Orientation and Transitions Programs), southernmissfb (Southern Miss Football), and usm_lsi (Southern Miss Leadership and Student Involvement) on all social media platforms.
