Mississippi State is slated to play its first game since the death of former head coach Mike Leach on Monday, and the team will honor Leach during the game. The Bulldogs revealed they will wear a helmet with a pirate flag as a logo, instead of the usual school logo, in the ReliaQuest Bowl against Illinois at Tampa, Fla.
Throughout his career, Leach earned the nickname The Pirate, in part because of his unique personality and in part because of his affinity for pirates. As teams have been honoring Leach during this bowl season, several have used the pirate flag as the symbol to show their respect for the influential coach.
The Bulldogs could have skipped the bowl game while mourning their head coach, but the team was adamant that it wanted to play in the game.
“Mike would be pissed if we didn't play,” a source told Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger in December. “The bowl game is at a stadium with an actual pirate ship in it.”
It is, in fact, fitting that Mississippi State will be playing in Raymond James Stadium, home of the Buccaneers. That is a stadium that literally has a pirate ship in one of the end-zone concourses as an accessory.
No. 22 Mississippi State (8-4) plays Illinois (8-4) at noon ET on Monday.
