You're killing me, Brent! :-)

:-)
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I am an Iowa fan, but will root for Big 10 teams in bowls (except for Ohio State) because it raises the prestige of the conference if they have a good turnout in the bowls.
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I'll give you a take, but like others have said, you won't understand. And to borrow from you, flame suit on here as well...

First of all, I don't root for everyone in the SEC as there are bitter rivalries that have existed since long before my birth. Many teams in the SEC--I couldn't care less if they lost every game, but I do respect their programs and what they do and have accomplished. And when so many of those teams consistently do well it makes us all look good. And we are good. We're the best. Insert old saying--to be the best you have to beat the best.

That being said, this question generally comes from fans whose teams and conferences blow. How could you, as a fan of a team that blows, in a conference whose teams blow, be proud of that conference? You can't. And that's why this question even comes up. Jealousy and reality.

And to say there is no Southern Pride invloved would simply be a falsehood. Southerners, stereotypically and wrongly, get looked down upon by the rest of the country. You can argue that all you want but it's true and you know it. You WILL NOT look down upon us for our college football. And we will let you know that.

Why aren't we proud of ALL Southern schools? Hell, we just let Vandy hang around because somebody in the bunch needs some brains. :-)

I'm gonna stop here... and I almost deleted this whole post. I could write a dissertation on it, but like has been said before, you wouldn't understand.

:-)
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I'll be the first to say it.

At very minimum 50% of college sports "fans" aren't fans at all. ESPN's brought about a whole new hybrid of fairweather fan. I give the SEC credit where credit is due. They get good coaches, they recruit better than anyone else, and their fans are die hard about football.

However, to root for Alabama when you're supposedly a Florida fan is nonsense. Alabama just mopped the floor with Florida. Who the hell would want to support Bama because "they're in the SEC and it's my responsibility to root for my conference!" ?? I think there was a guy in another thread here who was actually from Gainesville :-):-) cheering for Bama.


I wouldn't be caught DEAD ever supporting Oklahoma, Tech, or any other Big 12 school. Supporting your schools conference in bowl games and MNCs (because it's good for your conference) is treasonous.
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Bite me!!!:-)

I like girls!!!
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Just to clarify my position. I don't have a problem either way with someone rooting for their conference (or not). I just don't buy the explanation that it's "southern pride". The way I see it, to accept that explanation, those fans should be rooting for all teams from the south - not just the ACC.
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I understand your point Peter, and with me it certainly isn't "all about Southern Pride". But mainly within the SEC, the members are the flagship universities of their respective states and their red-headed step-brothers.

Florida State was a girls school actually invited to join the SEC at the last expansion. But then again, Auburn, still is a girls school. :-)
Geogia Tech used to be in the SEC but left, as did Tulane and Sewanee.
Miami deserves to be flattened like the Orange Bowl was.
I'll pull for a lot of other Southern schools in neutral games if I have to pick a side.

I guess it just comes down to "either you're with us, or you're against us". Or something. And again, you're not going to understand so go have a smoke instead and leave us to our crazy idiosyncracies.
:-)
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And that's the rest of the story :-)
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I guess you are baiting me for an argument....The SEC is the best conference in the south. It is comprised of the best teams, athletes, and coaches. It is for this reason that I support the SEC. It is a conglomerate of the best the south east has to offer. BTW I wouldn't expect anyone from California to understand southern pride.

:-)
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It's not that way in the ACC. We have plenty of southern pride, but Carolina fans sure won't pull for Duke fans. State fans sure won't pull for Carolina.
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Ah, but I do. That is an explanation I understand.
I'm not baiting you for an argument.
As for your last statement, that is based on ignorance. While I live in California, I am not from California. Where someone is from does not preclude their ability to understand something. And I certainly wouldn't generalize that, as a southerner, you wouldn't understand that.
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Just because you don't understand it doesn't make it nonsense, Travis. :-)

I have been a Gator fan for 28 years, I saw Alabama whip Florida in the SEC Championship game, and I still rooted for Alabama to beat Texas. Partially out of pride in the SEC, partially because I didn't want to hear the Texas fans, if they won, think they could beat Florida by virtue of beating Alabama.

I save all my hate for Florida State, who I consider the bitterest of rivals, and for Michigan, because I don't like them. I don't have to hate Alabama just because they beat Florida in '09. :-)
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You know us southerners... jus clinging to our guns n religion. :-)
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I think it is, with one exception. Everybody tends to pull for everyone else, except the Tarholes. And the most Tarholes don't root for Duke.

I, for one, am an ABC'r. Anybody But Carolina. (that goes for NFL too!) :-)

I totally understand rooting for your conference teams against other conference teams.
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:-)

I'm the guy u were alluding to. Born and raised in Gainesville, Florida, am a senior at the University of Florida and yes in fact, was rooting for the Alabama against Texas just as much as I was rooting for LSU against Ohio State last year. My fellow SEC BOTLs have made great points and i will reiterate them.

I rooted for Bama b/ca I believe, as an overwhelming majority of other SEC fans do, that the SEC is the best conference in college football BAR NONE. The includes the belief that the SEC plays consistently at a level superior to other conferences. In my mind, Bama is Florida's peer and equal. If Bama turned around and lost to Texas, Texas would look better than Florida. I root for other SEC schools because I know that those teams sweated and bled through the toughest conference in the nation, just like Florida did, and I want them to show their dominance over inferior conferences.

Southern pride has a large part to do with it because while there are obviously other Southern schools in other conferences, Southern schools in the SEC are in large part the BEST football school with the most tradition in their respective Southern state. And if you wanna open up Pandora's box that occurs when you get Southerners talking about the pride they feel for their own state, go ahead. State rights have been cherished along with sweet tea, apple pie and momma down here for a long time :-).

I digress.....fans of schools in the SEC root for the SEC in general b/ca they all have unique pageantry, passion and tradition. Even if people might argue with that fact, it is perceived that way in the South. And as the saying goes, perception is reality.

Mark Twain said it best:
"North, East and West are just directions on a compass.
The South is a place."

:-)
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Oh really? I'm not a Tar Heel fan - I am a Tar Heel, born and bred, matriculated and graduated, and with enough seasoning on me to take the larger view. I will pull for any ACC team over another conference, or in a bowl game or a tournament game, and as for in-conference I will pull for State or Duke or Wake or whoever else I need to win in order to help the Heels' standing. The only time I "hate Dook" or "hate Moo U" is when they play UNC. Some of my best high-school friends went to State, and some of my better friends at Chapel Hill came from Durham.

The above has nothing directly to do with the original SEC question, but it does apply to the general principle. Why is it wrong for school pride to extend to conference pride? When any team in "your" conference does well, it can improve your own school's program with the added exposure, status, reputation, and - dare I say it? - money.
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Mike, with that line about "Sweet tea, apple pie and momma" reminded me for some reason of Lewis Grizzard. Surely another southern icon.:-)
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SEC fans are even crazy enough to build this and ride it to games. We call it the Alligator Quadralator. Thats me on the far left:

Image
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Don't know why there is any reason to get rude. not everyone has to share your opinion. While you may root for the entire conference, others may find that to be odd.... guess what, thats okay :-)
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I'm not sure why we root for our conference, but I do the same thing with the Big 12! I pull for every team in the big 12 to do well in bowl games except for Oklahoma... they can kiss my A$$!! :-) I absolutely HATE that snake of a coach over at OU... if he wasn't there I might root for them more since I was born there... :-) Why I went to Texas instead of being a Sooner fan idk...

Makes perfect sense to me Tom and that's exactly how I think most conference people see it as well... if Texas beats Bama, then we can say that Texas "would" have beat the Gators, etc... I have lots of friends who are Big 12 fans (living in Buffs country and close to the Huskers) and its a good rivalry, but when it comes to bowl games we all band together.

Another way to look at it is like this, if the Big 12 wins more, we get more air time on the Networks and more money coming into the conference. With more money comes more coaches to recruit which should improve the players in the conference and make it more prestigious. In short, whats good for the conference benefits the teams in that conference!

Hook 'em!! :-)
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