Pup-ular Candidate for Ole Miss Mascot: Juice Kiffin

By Allie Moore

IMC Student

Is it time to let Juice loose as the official Ole Miss mascot? There could be two answers to that question: “yes, he’s Oxford’s favorite pup,” and “no, we are just asking to get bullied for having, yet again, another mascot.”

When Ole Miss head coach Lane Kiffin bought a golden Labrador from Wildrose Kennels, it was time for him to step out of the limelight and let his pup shine.

As for the 2022 season, no one is talking about the Lane Train anymore because now… the Juice is loose.

Obviously, he is adorable, but his witty engagement on Twitter is what really put him in the spotlight. He constantly makes every Ole Miss football tweet about himself (rightfully so) and loves to bark back at other teams and famous dogs as well. 

Why should he be the new Ole Miss mascot? One, he has completely captivated the hearts of Ole Miss fans. The people love him as he has been tagged in many Instagram posts and stories, and he is constantly shouted out in the Twitter mentions. 

Two, everyone expects him to be there leading the pack (pun intended). For me, I knew that Juice was going to be at the Walk of Champions, at pregame festivities and possibly even on the sidelines during the game. Not only was I right, but he was there front and center, except when he got scared of the fireworks when the team ran out on the field the team.

Could this be controversial? Probably, but do we really care? I mean we have had multiple mascot changes, so what is one more. 

Also, we have really leaned into a “Troll Miss” mentality where we don’t really care what people think as long as we are having fun. This is something that Ole Miss’ brand has leaned into since Coach Kiffin entered, and Juice definitely emphasizes that.

I am positive that the maroon-wearing school down below will have something to say about the mascot change, again, or that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But I don’t underestimate Juice in a Twitter war, and he is definitely way more lovable than their dog.

Time to start writing petitions and putting votes in now because Juice deserves to scratch out the unofficial mascot title in his bio and put “official.”