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They say it's over.

They say it's done. See ya. Gone the way of that Ole Miss mascot Colonel Reb.

They say we don't get to look down our noses at our little Mississippi brother any more. They say he's grown up big and strong, with a better sense of who he is and who he wants and needs to be. Maybe riverboat gaming paid the way for a shinier outlook. Or maybe it was just that thing that matters the most around these parts:

Football.

Mississippi, for now, anyway, is very clearly No. 1. (and No. 3) in college football. Alabama has to settle for No. 4 (and No. 5).

And what do they say? "So much for 'Thank God for Mississippi."

Bless their hearts.

I know they gave us Elvis. And the blues. And Faulkner and Eudora Welty. But I dug out the numbers. And TGFM, let me tell you, is alive and well.

Is Alabama now trying to catch Mississippi.

Mississippi is the No. 1 poorest state, according to the U.S. Census. Alabama is 5th. And we actually feel good about that.

Mississippi is the No. 1 least healthy state, according to America's Health rankings. Alabama is the 4th most unhealthy. People are dying for you to know that.

Mississippi is the No. 1 fattest state and Alabama has finally huffed and puffed and made it out of the top - I mean bottom - 10. We'll gloat when we catch our breath.

Mississippi unfortunately is also the No. 1 worst state for healthcare quality, according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. Alabama is 11th worst. Which stinks because...

Mississippi is No. 1 for cases of gonorrhea, and for chlamydia too. Alabama is 3rd in both cases. Who's laughing now, with your "crooked-letter, crooked-letter I?"

It's getting hot in here, but that's not what it's about. Mississippi, as it turns out, has the No. 1 ranking for the highest humidity of any state. Alabama has only the 3rd-highest humidity, which will still make you sweat.

Ok, Ok. Not all of Mississippi's rankings are bad ones.

Mississippi does have the No. 1 lowest cost of living, according to the Council for Community and Economic Research. Which is great. Alabama is 14th.

Mississippi ranks No. 2 in charitable giving, according to the Chronicle of Philanthopy (trailing only Utah). Alabama ranks 3rd.

We can both buy a shirt dirt cheap and give it to you right off our backs.

But Mississippi is also the No. 1 worst among failing states for average student ACT score, and for percentage of students who pass AP classes. Alabama comes in No. 6 worst and No. 8 worst in those categories.

Mississippi is No. 2 in teen births, while Alabama was 15th. Mississippi ranked No. 2 in most murders in 2012, according to the FBI. Alabama ranked No. 3.

But Mississippi certainly doesn't outrank Alabama in everything.

Alabama ranked 3rd for gun violence, while Mississippi was 5th, according to 24/7 wall street.

Alabama ranks as the 6th-worst state in which to retire, according to Bankrate.com. Mississippi ranks 15th-worst. Both states rank in the bottom 10 for business, according to Forbes.

Bless all our hearts.

Sure, Alabama can still say "Thank God for Mississippi" if it makes us feel better. It still - by the numbers -- applies. But let's face it. It might be more honest to simply thank God for football, and for giving hearts, because that's what we know.

But if we - Alabama and Mississippi alike - don't stop taking solace in those who have it worse than we do, if we don't start trying to really see and solve our own problems, we're both going to need a new saying:

"God help us all."