Celebratory props have become increasingly common in sports in recent years. These props are often special helmets or objects used to celebrate an outcome, like a home run. Ole Miss jumped on the prop train and got a stormtrooper, a fictional soldier in Star Wars, helmet earlier this season.
“We were in Florida, and I think we hadn’t scored for like 17 innings or something like that,” First baseman Will Furniss said in the press conference after the Rebels defeated in Auburn in game two of the super regional. “I think it was Hudson Calhoun, Terry Hayes and Wil Libbert. They were in a bookstore — maybe a Target. It wasn’t a bookstore, that would have shocked me too. They bought a stormtrooper helmet for like $100. They split it and they gave it to our offense.”
Pitcher Taylor Rabe helped Furniss remember some of the details, interjecting who bought it, where it was from and how much it cost. Furniss said that the helmet has been helpful for Rebel bats.
“Ever since then we just decided that we could start hitting again, so we just kept putting it on, kind of became a prop,” Furniss said. “I think Tennessee has the hat and Georgia has the chain or mask and we have the stormtrooper helmet.”
The first sighting of the helmet was after Judd Utermark’s two-run homer to tie Florida in the ninth inning of game three on April 4. The Rebels went on to score five runs in the inning and take the series.
Calhoun got head coach Mike Bianco to put the helmet on after the game. Bianco spoke about it in the press conference.
“Well, really I felt no choice — I had to put that on. Hudson Calhoun brought it out in front of it seemed like 500 Ole Miss fans and so you got to put it on,” Bianco said. “I put it on in Gainesville (Florida) and so I think they thought it was alright to do after that.”
Notably, Bianco has only seen the first Star Wars movie and some of the second one.
He remarked about the props in today’s game and is glad that fans get to see that side of the team.
“That’s one of the cool things about college baseball,” Bianco said. “They spend so much time with one another to have these little quirky things that they think are so cool. Whatever that is. Handshakes and different things. It’s neat that there’s so many of you out there that get to take pictures and know about it. This has been going on for 30-40 years — just nobody ever knew about it. The last 10-15 years, there’s cameras and video everywhere so it’s been pretty neat.”
