Football gets social with end zone #

Here’s one way to get fans to share love for the home team: Turn the school's rallying cry into a giant hashtag.

Mississippi State did just that. In what's believed to be a first, the school painted a massive “#HAILSTATE” in their end zone before taking on their biggest rival this Saturday, Ole Miss.

Mississippi State’s athletic director, Scott Stricklin, who's very active on Twitter himself, told Mashable the idea to paint the school's motto in the end zone was pitched during a weekly marketing meeting. When someone said "why not turn 'Hail State' into a hashtag?" the response was "ohhhh."

“We want to wrap our arms around the casual fans and this is just one way we’re getting our name out to people who might not have any affiliation with us at all,” Chad Thomas, the MSU athletic department’s marketing director said.

That’s a pretty realistic expectation, since the "Battle for the Golden Egg" as the game is known, is televised and the hashtag is sure to get a lot of eyeballs. Smart, guys!

Although, there is a potential backlash. With the swap of just one letter, you could turn the hashtag into a cheer for the Ole Miss Rebel fans: #FAILSTATE. The Bulldogs better put up a good fight this weekend or risk being embarrassed for the rest of the season (or longer) …

What do you think: Will this trending topic start a potential trend in college football or maybe even the NFL?