By
Chris Milam
Ask any two SEC football fans to agree on practically anything, and they'll go out of their way not to. UT fans won't often search for "common ground" with Florida Gators. Alabama and Auburn fans typically don't end their conversations with a dignified nod, a heartfelt concession, and a newfound perspective
on life and football fan-ship. Vanderbilt fans...well, we're still trying to dig some up.
Maybe the only thing we all can agree on is our mutual love for SEC football, its distinct culture, its fans' unparalleled passion, its history and traditions. Don't we all love the SEC as a whole more than we hate any one team?
In the spirit of region-wide compromise, here, now, is a list of 46 Things to Love about SEC Football. This list will come in three installments (Part 1
Tuesday, Part 2 Thursday, and Part 3 next Monday). The items are in no particular order, and I invite everyone to jump in with their favorite things about SEC football, its history, its landmarks, tailgating traditions, and more!
After all, we gotta do something during baseball season...
46) Family Ties
SEC programs like to keep it in the family, often stockpiling talent from a single household. Some families stick with one school (the Castille's, the Britt's, the Colquitt's, the Brinkley's, etc.). Some form a house divided (the Manning's, the Leak's, etc.). Sometimes it's a good thing (see: Bailey's, Champ and Boss). Sometimes it's less of a good thing (see: Clausen's, Casey and Rick). Either way, it's fun to track the SEC stars through the generations, and wonder
who's next down the line.
45) Jason Witten Outrunning the Michigan Secondary
Anyone who watched the 2002 Citrus Bowl devastation of Michigan remembers Witten's 64-yard touchdown catch. The bulky tight end caught a mid-range pass, and, to fans' amazement, actually separated from the Michigan safeties trailing him. Add one more highlight to the reel, and another log for the "SEC Is Faster" fire. (Can anyone find this on YouTube? If not, can anyone put this on YouTube?)
44) The Annual Joe Namath Boozy Sideline Interview
The Annual Joe Namath Boozy Sideline Interview (AJNBSI) is, as Jim Nantz would say, "A tradition unlike any other." Last year's installment featured guest appearances by an amused Brodie Croyle and a shell-shocked John Parker Wilson. Namath, of course, was barely intelligible. Bets on which game will feature this year's AJNBSI? I'm saying October 4 vs. Kentucky, and I'm saying he brings in Kenny Stabler.
43) Secondary Rivalries
Also known as, "wait, WHO hates us?!?" For example, Tennessee might consider Florida its biggest rival, but Vanderbilt claims UT. So does Kentucky. So does South Carolina, sometimes. The SEC is full of these match-ups, in which one team is playing its Superbowl, and the other is worrying
about next week. These are often rivalries in the same one-sided vein of Road Runner vs. Wile E. Coyote, or Chris Rainey vs. Laws of Physics.
42) Herschel Freaking Walker.
Enough said.
41) Signing Day
In 2008, the SEC brought in four of the top eleven recruiting classes. In 2007, it had seven of the top ten. In 2006, five of the top eleven.
Noticing a trend? On no other day of the year is the SEC's region-wide talent more evident, and its fans' hopes higher.
40) Erin Andrews
She's a regular on the sideline for ESPN's SEC broadcasts, a Florida alum, and if you really need the third reason I'll ask how you're reading this column without the help of braille or an audio text. Also, she's good at her job.
39) Dreamland BBQ
A staple at Tuscaloosa tailgates, Dreamland's ribs are the only ones outside Memphis that live up to the hype.
38) Honk If You Sacked Brodie
In the wake of 2005's Iron Bowl (in which Auburn sacked Brodie Croyle eleven times), these bumper stickers began popping up all over the state of Alabama. Anytime the back of your truck celebrates a three year-old defensive performance at the expense of Ole Brodes, you've earned a gentlemanly tip of the cap.
37) Rocky Top
Rocky Top is: 1) arguably the league's most recognizable fight song 2) probably the most-often played and 3) certainly the most-hated. Either way, if you're close enough to hear Rocky Top, that means it's gameday. And I'd give $50 and a rack of ribs for it to be gameday
right now. (Editor's note: "Rocky Top" is not technically UT's fight song. It's just the song they play during games in the places where most teams play their fight songs. Important distinction, there.)
36) Verne Lundquist (I guess)
Sure, Verne doesn't really know where he is. Sure, he doesn't "technically" know how to pronounce names like DeMeco or BenJarvus. Sure, he usually takes a nap sometime in the third quarter. But somebody has to be the voice of SEC football, right? Right?
35) The Dress Code
Nowhere else (except maybe UVA) will you find blazer-clad frat boys and sundress-ed sorority girls sweating out a September day game in the name of tradition. One glance at the Grove's co-eds on a fall Saturday reinforces this: if you care that much about something, you might as well look your best doing it.
34) Summer Suspension
Every summer, somebody's football team gets bored, goes to a local watering hole, and gets in a fight (Arkansas in 2007, etc.). This means several things: 1) fans hold their collective breath during the slow months and pray for good behavior and 2) somebody, somewhere, without fail, looks at a 250-pound linebacker at a local bar and thinks to himself, "I think I can take him." Unreal.
33) Sylvester Croom
The SEC's coaching talent is remarkable: five SEC head coaches have national championship rings, and two more have BCS bowls under their belt. And
none of those coaches won Coach of the Year in 2007, a distinction Sly Croom certainly earned leading the perennially average Mississippi State Bulldogs to a respectable 8-5. Coach Croom is a gifted motivator, a likable figurehead, and a class act. He's proof that there's something to like about every SEC program, regardless of where your loyalties lie.
32) Whiskey
Sour mash, bourbon, even Scotch...you name it, you'll find it at an SEC tailgate. LSU Coach Mike Archer famously said you could "smell the bourbon on the field" in Death Valley. Tents at the Grove are practically powered by Jack Daniels. Pick your poison, and pick your venue...something about it just tastes like football.
31) Death, Taxes, and Vanderbilt
SEC fans across the South have all felt the reassurance of "At least we're not Vanderbilt" after a tough loss, or the unadulterated panic at the prospect of losing to the Commodores. It seems like every SEC team has almost lost to Vanderbilt (Florida in 2005, Bama in 2006), only to edge them out and restore order to the universe.
Agree? Disagree? Have a YouTube clip of Jason Witten outrunning the Michigan secondary? Give me a shout, or discuss on the Scout Forums.
Either way, come back Thursday for Part Two!
46 Reasons to Love SEC Football (Part One), July 1
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