This isn’t a matter to be settled by the Egg Bowl or a spring baseball series. There’s bigger fish to fry on this question than intercollegiate athletics.
Oxford vs. Starkville. Starkville vs. Oxford. Which is the better small town for living and raising a family?
I ask because it seems to be a consistent matter of contention, at least in myriad media outlets, the grand jury for such inquiries.
About once a month, the hometown of one of our major state universities is chosen by a website for some honor like “Best College Town,” “Best Place to Retire,” or “Best Access to Healthcare for Seniors.”
Starkville, whose vibrant downtown represents one of the most recent and dynamic transformations of its kind across the South, has garnered perhaps the most significant sobriquet issued lately, this by USA Today for the second straight time: “Best Small Town in the South,” chosen among towns with populations under 25,000 “that exemplify Southern hospitality, history and charm.”
Oxford folk must be reeling at the news. Rated behind Starkville as the No. 2 “Best Small College Town” has to hurt.
However, Oxford this year was named No. 4 “Best Public Square.” The top three squares must be flawless to beat out Oxford’s Square, featuring its 1872 courthouse, a bronze sculpture of novelist William Faulkner, one of the most photographed sites in the village, and Square Books, a preeminent American bookseller.
Mississippi has another special college town in Hattiesburg, home of the University of Southern Mississippi, but the much larger “Hub City” isn’t part of this argument.
Hattiesburg has myriad virtues the others don’t have — easy access to the rest of the world, for one. It’s hard to reach Starkville or Oxford. Maybe that’s their charm.
All Mississippians should be proud of these cities as settings for academia, literacy, athleticism, kinetic creative arts and livability in general, including culinary excellence. Each has stunning food and beverage scenes. I wouldn’t dare try to rate them in that arena.
Mississippi is a hamlet of less than 3 million people, certainly the smallest population-wise of the states represented in the Southeastern Conference region.
Bringing the SEC into this discussion is relevant. When I remind people in Georgia that Mississippi is one-third its size, yet is able to compete with that Goliath in many areas, including college athletics, they get all indignant.
Then I remind them that Ole Miss soundly whipped their Bulldogs, 28-10, this past season — the same Bulldogs who competed in the college playoffs, losing to Notre Dame.
But this is about our two university towns. Notice that other major SEC towns haven’t been chosen “best” in any competition of this sort, to my awareness. There’s reasons for their omissions.
No, this almost always comes down to Oxford and Starkville. Seemingly everybody wants to live in one of them, or to visit regularly.
If you doubt that notion, check the real estate and rental property prices in both locales.
Cheery “Chamber of Commerce talk” emphasizes each town’s cardinal virtues:
“Once an insult, Starkville has proudly turned ‘StarkVegas’ into a tribute. Much has gone into that, but noted SEC analyst Paul Finebaum hit the spot years ago when he told The New York Times about Starkville: “
‘Never been to a place where people seemed so genuinely happy to have you there … At times, it’s overwhelming — but in a kind and pleasing way.’”
Then, “Oxford is a community whose heart is rooted as much in the promise of its future as in the richness of its past. Roots run deep here, where people are as passionate about SEC sports as they are about their favorite author. It is truly the people who will win your heart and cause you to stay.”
—- Mac Gordon, a native of McComb, is a retired newspaperman. He can be reached at macmarygordon@gmail.com.
