Westboro Baptist Church Comes to Oxford

Well, I never thought it would happen, but then again it makes about as much sense as an antelope flying an airplane... but the fine people of Westboro Baptist Church will be making an appearance in my hometown of Oxford, MS this week to protest football idolatry. Yes, you read that correctly... Ole Miss is now the Football Capital of the World. I guess that'll show Bama! and Florida, LSU, Georgia, Texas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Michigan, Ohio State, Florida State, Oregon, and arguably USC and Notre Dame. But seriously, with the release of The Blind Side, the 2009 brand new Sandra Bullock drama that just hit theaters worldwide, Ole Miss has elevated football to religious heights. I guess that's what we get for having such a great recruiting year. Hotty Toddy!

Oxford has not had a good week, though. Court proceedings are ongoing at the Federal Courthouse in Oxford for a man who allegedly tried to frame a bipolar Elvis impersonator for the attempted ricin poisoning of President Obama, Senator Roger Wicker, and a Mississippi judge. So of course, there's a media circus in town. And you can find news coverage on a very sad story here - I can't bring myself to write about it.

But there's something about Westboro Baptist that's really entertaining... in a blood boiling way. Wouldn't it be such a fun musical? A big, gay Westboro musical. With drag queen tap numbers? The Fag Hag Rag? Soul-searching ballads, and of course lots of high belting? We could really go to church with this one. I mean, why not? Could you imagine what the creators of The Book of Mormon could do with this? Perhaps this interview can be a scene...

Of course, this is one of those "happy in my head" ideas, though... any thoughts on a title? All I can come up with is Westboro Side Story.

Unfortunately I will not be in Oxford to welcome the Westboro Baptisters to my home. But, thankfully, I have plenty of friends who will be going out to greet their entourage, and I'm sure my friends will take good care of them. Hell, my brother might even hook them up with some corn whisky. Perhaps they can come to North Carolina next and protest basketball idolatry.