The Southeastern Conference essentially told Mississippi State “you win” Friday when it agreed to a “compromise” proposal allowing Bulldog fans to ring their obnoxious cowbells “at appropriate times.”

Basically, the conference gave up trying to police MSU faithful. If you can’t beat them, join them.

Is it going to makethe team play better? Probably not.

All it’s really going to is make opposing fans mad.

But really it shouldn’t even do that. Cowbells have always been a part of going to a game at MSU.

I remember as a kid going to a game there where two guys in front of us rang their bell incessantly, even pounding it on their chairs in digust, until the clapper somehow came out of it and hit someone in the head a few rows down.

I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, honestly. They’ve always had cowbells and will continue to have them, only now they have the conference’s support “at appropriate times.”

You can’t tell a fan when to make noise and when not to, and thinking you can is ignorance.

So the stadium will be a little louder. Big deal. Us Alabama fans are used to that.

Mississippi State has the second smallest stadium in the Southeastern Conference. This just helps level the playing field a little bit.

Brian Tynes is sports editor for the Selma Times-Journal. He can be contacted at brian.tynes@selmatimesjournal.com.