What started out as a simple letter to the Ole Miss football team has turned into something much bigger for 8-year-old Conrad Kidder.
Kidder is a third-grade student from Magnolia Heights School in Senatobia. His mother, Callie Calhoun Kidder, graduated from Pillow Academy in 2003, so there are many family members who still reside in Greenwood.
Conrad and his classmates in Sarah Murphy’s class at Magnolia Heights were given the assignment of writing letters to the Ole Miss team before its first-round College Football Playoff game against Tulane on Dec. 20. (The Rebels won 41-10 and will play Georgia Thursday in the quarterfinals).
The reason for the letters was to give a boost to the football team with so many distractions — including coach Lane Kiffin resigning — before the playoff game.
Conrad’s letter was addressed more to quarterback Trinidad Chambliss and not the entire team. He came up with one phrase that has circulated through websites such as Forever Ole Miss, Mississippi Sports, Mississippi News and The Grove.
The phrase he put in the letter was “Sling That Thing.”
“He did this at school; it’s what he wrote. Nobody helped him come up with it,” said Callie Kidder. “We’re not sure if Trinidad saw the letter, but we know it’s been reposted all over.”
The young Kidder is a die-hard Ole Miss fan. He started attending football games in Oxford at a young age, and his mom made sure he had ear muffs on to block the noise.
“My teacher, Ms. Murphy, is a big Ole Miss fan, and she asked all of us in the class, even Mississippi State fans, to write a letter to the team, and I decided to write mine to my favorite player, and he’s the quarterback,” said Conrad. “I came up with this all by myself. I haven’t met him yet. I had an indoor soccer game when they played Tulane, and we went to Pizza Inn after my game and watched Ole Miss play there.
“We’re going to the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. I’m looking forward to that trip. I hope I have my jersey with that phrase on the back,” continued Conrad, who turns nine on Jan. 23.
“He’s (Chambliss) got to throw three or four touchdowns and play really well for us to win. I bet he will. I think we can win if they try hard.”
- Contact Calvin Stevens at 662-581-7234 or cstevens@gwcommonwealth.com.
