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Rivals on the field. Same team at home. 122 • SEPTEMBER 2023
Susan Marquez Fall brings cooler weather and the excitement of football season. Going to a game can be fun, but when the teams playing have an age-old rivalry, the stakes are even higher. Rob Juett (known to most as Rob Jay) and Tamica Smith-Juett met by chance in a restaurant. “I had just moved to Jackson from Birmingham to work at WJTV as a weekend anchor and reporter. It was a three-year gig, and my plans were to move back to Birmingham as soon as I was done,” Tamica recalls. Tamica was with her mother and daughter Maddie, who was three at the time. “Rob looked up from his meal and spotted me. He said, ‘I saw you on the news!’” Never one to get involved in her daughter’s relationships, Tamica’s mom remarked later that Rob seemed like a nice guy. “On the way out the door, he spoke to my daughter, telling her she could be his daughter.” Tamica didn’t pay much attention to the exchange until that night when she tuned into WLBT and saw Rob anchoring the sports desk. “I reached out to him and told him I would have been friendlier if I had realized he was a colleague.” The next year, Tamica wanted to go see the Battle of the Bands. “My cameraman told me to ask Rob, because he had access to tickets.” Reluctantly, Tamica called, and not only did she get the tickets, but they exchanged numbers, and the rest is history. They both knew from the start that they went to rival colleges. Rob attended Jackson State University, and Tamica went to rival Southern University in Baton Rouge. Both schools are among the most successful SWAC members. Attending Southern has been a family affair for Tamica, who is from Fort Wayne, Indiana. “When I was in the sixth grade I had a cousin who graduated from Southern. She always talked about her school. When it was time for me to go to college in 1990, I moved to Baton Rouge, then my two younger sisters followed me. Now my daughter is attending Southern and majoring in broadcast journalism.” Rob not only attended JSU, but he now works there in the position of assistant athletic director for broadcasting and video services. Because Rob is in the press box on game day, he and Tamica don’t sit together at the annual “Boombox Classic,” when the Jackson State Tigers meet the Southern University Jaguars on the gridiron. When in Jackson, the match-up takes place at Veterans Memorial Stadium. The home games for Southern are played in the A.W Mumford Stadium. No matter where the Jags play, you will find Tamica dressed in Columbia Blue and Gold. “She doesn’t make a lot of noise leading up to a game,” laughs Rob, “but for days leading up to it, she will start wearing her team colors.” Tamica says Rob actually buys her pieces of game day attire for Christmas. “It really is sweet of him to do that. I buy some of my own pieces, but I only buy them when they are on sale.” As for the “noise” Rob mentioned, Tamica admits there may be a bit of smack talking leading up the game. “It’s really more teasing than anything.” One thing Rob says he will do is to put Tamica’s Southern car flags on his car when he drives to Baton Rouge. “I think it may save me some grief after the game if things don’t go our way.” While they may not be aligned on football teams, both Rob and Tamica say they enjoy watching TV together. “We both love the news and movies,” says Tamica. “And popcorn,” adds Rob. As a matter of fact, both consider themselves to be popcorn connoisseurs. “I found a popcorn I really liked in Chicago, and Rob surprised me by ordering a big tub of it.” This year’s matchup between Jackson State and Southern University will take place September 9 at 6pm central time. It’s a home game for the Jags, so the Juetts will be traveling to Baton Rouge. When asked who they will be rooting for during the halftime show, Rob didn’t hesitate. “Without a doubt it will be the Sonic Boom of the South. I grew up watching them.” And for Tamica, it will be the “Human Boombox” all the way. But the truth of the matter is that it really doesn’t matter who wins. “I love all the teams,” says Rob. “I don’t hate any school. I just love college athletics, period.” And Tamica, who serves as the executive director of the American Red Cross of Southwest Mississippi, feels like she has already won. “Rob has been a wonderful husband for 16 years, and we are still going strong. He is a great guy.” Hometown MADISON • 123
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