By
Chris Milam
Maybe the only thing all SEC fans agree on is this: we might hate every other team, but we all love SEC football. In the spirit of region-wide compromise, I'm counting down 46 Reasons to Love SEC football. In case you missed Part One (#46-31), head on over. Here now is Part Two of the three-part series, 46 Reasons to Love SEC Football!
Be sure to write in with anything I may have missed!
Before we get started, thanks to everyone who wrote in following Part One. Tons of great suggestions, including one that mentioned "mixed marriages" as a potential land-mine for any SEC family. For example, if your mother's an Ole Miss fan and your father's a Mississippi State guy, they're probably not watching the Egg Bowl together. For the sake of the marriage.
In response to #41, Signing Day, Dave from Buckeye country pointed out that this June was the first time in twenty years no SEC team was on probation for recruiting violations. Yowsa. That's a great stat. Of course, a certain State University in Ohio has had its fair share of trouble, and always lands near the top of the recruiting lists. But, let's face it, the big boys are the big boys for a reason.
Finally, major props to Joe in Johnson City, Tennessee, for sending me this nugget of video gold. There it is, in all its grainy, low-fi glory: Jason Witten rumbling and stumbling into SEC lore against Michigan. Thanks, Joe!
Now, onto the list!
30) The Third Saturday in October
Alabama and Tennessee have played 90 times since 1901, and the rivalry has only gotten more heated, more vicious, and more nationally significant. In the wake of Bama's multi-year probation after the Antonio Langham and Albert Means Incidents, many Bama fans still suspect that Phil Fulmer actually blew the whistle on Bama to deflect attention from UT's own indiscretions. Some members of the Crimson Tide nation swear they now hate UT even more than Auburn. Don't believe me? Just ask...
29) ...THIS GUY
Because I don't like pumpkins, either.
28) Rece Davis
Everyone knows Rece Davis is one of the best studio hosts in sports. He's always informed and poised, and navigates the Mark-May-Lou-Holtz-Sideshow masterfully. What many don't know is that he's a Bama alum with an unmatched talent for subtly backing his team. For several years, few Texas A&M losses went by without a comment about "Dennis Franchione's underachieving squad." For all his expertise and professionalism, sometimes Rece's Crimson Tide roots bubble up to the surface, and it's always fun to watch.
27) Chris Leak's Spiral
Whether you loved or hated Leak at Florida, nobody threw a prettier ball. (Side note: If you're wondering who won the 2007 Chris Leak Memorial for "SEC Quarterback Who Throws the Nicest Ball," that would go to Kentucky's Andre Woodson. 2008's winner is TBD, but it's safe to assume Tim Tebow's "Clausen-Inspired Knuckler" isn't on the watch list.)
26) Rolling Toomer's Corner
If Auburn fans are rolling Toomer's Corner, there's a decent chance your team just lost. Still, as far as post-game traditions go, this one is fun, time-honored, and infinitely safer than West Virginia's "burning the couches" celebration.
25) Nobody Holds a Grudge Better
Not only is the SEC home to a fraternity of elite coaches, players, and trainers...the whole darn frat house is a spiteful, incestuous mess. Unless you've got Trindon Holliday's wheels, I wouldn't go praising Tommy Tuberville in Oxford (Tuberville left Ole Miss for Auburn after the 1998 season). Folks in Knoxville still don't know how they feel about their twice-departed David Cutcliffe. It's as though each coaching tenure is a dysfunctional relationship, leaving the school or fan-base to say, "we'd never take him back..." Until they do.
24) The World's Largest Outdoor Party (That May or May Not Have Cocktails)
When Coach Richt ordered the "celebration heard round the world," he may as well have declared war. Said the Florida fan a few rows behind me at last year's game, "You know what they just did? They made this as big as Florida State." Sure, every Cocktail Party is a major match-up and last year's was an instant classic...2008's installment could very well feature #1 vs. #2 in the nation. Right now, this is the SEC's single biggest rivalry, and its most nationally relevant. (Note #35 on this list, Verne Lundquist, calling Knowshon "Moreeno" in the YouTube clip.)
23) Percy Harvin
Harvin is the rarest of SEC talents: every team wholly respects him, and every fan-base openly fears him. Any time a player is a legitimate scoring threat every time he touches the ball, he's thrilling in a way that transcends typical fan loyalties. And if he happens to be making those plays against a Big 10 opponent in, say, a national championship game, by outrunning the competition...that's just icing on the cake.
22) The Daves on Lincoln
Every week, the Lincoln Financial (or, Broadcast Formerly Known as JP) game features a three-headed monster of a broadcast team in Dave Neal, Dave Rowe, and Dave Baker. Are these guys especially good at their jobs? No. Are they still employed mainly for their "aw, shucks" personas and "good ole boy" semi-charm? Of course. Is the whole messy broadcast harmless enough at 11am on a Saturday morning and, in a weird way, pleasant and familiar? Sure, why not.
21) The Earthquake Game
In the monstrous book titled SEC Football: Lore and Mythology, the first three chapters should detail LSU's now-legendary Earthquake Game. In 1988, Tommy Hodson connected with Eddie Fuller to beat Auburn in the final minute, and the LSU crowd's response registered as an earthquake on a local seismograph. That's right: Death Valley got so loud one night that the earth literally shook. Twenty years later, this story remains another example of how football in the South is more than just a game.
20) Bo Freaking Jackson
In an age where every athlete is hyped as "The Next Somebody," there will never be another Bo Jackson. (And Bama fans are eternally grateful.)
19) Tennessee versus Florida
Perhaps no other SEC rivalry has meant more in the last fifteen years than Tennessee/Florida. The fans genuinely hate each other. The coaches (or at least the one-time coaches) publicly insulted each other. Three national championships and countless match-ups later, the road to Atlanta is often still decided early in September, between the Vols and the Gators. This is the early-season game that is perennially circled on the calendar, and it never seems to disappoint.
18) Abner's (and its chicken-shack brethren)
Seemingly every SEC college town has its local chicken shack that is supposedly the best in the South. Whether it's Abner's in Oxford, Zaxby's down in Georgia, McDougal's in Nashville, or any of the countless others, fried chicken is square one for a good tailgate. And if you can't get your favorite chicken on gameday, for the love of God, at least find some Chik-fil-A.
17) Knowshon Moreno
From my seat in the endzone for last year's Cocktail Party, two things were abundantly clear: 1) Georgia fans were louder than Florida fans and 2) Knowshon Moreno is a bad, bad man. Everyone knows Moreno is one of the top running backs in the country, but in person his quickness and vision are simply unreal. Regardless of who you're rooting for on Saturday, Moreno is the latest in the line of special SEC running backs, the successor to Darren McFadden, Cadillac Williams, Ronnie Brown, Jamal Lewis, Shaun Alexander, and countless others. He's simply a joy to watch.
16) The "Mock Chomp" Backlash
Statisticians should spend less time documenting time of possession and more time calculating the success ratio for teams that mock the Gator Chomp. Here's how it works: 1) Somebody on an opposing team does something good, and does the Gator Chomp to mock the Florida team. 2) Florida responds by either scoring, forcing a turnover, getting a sack, burning down the offender's apartment, or all of the above. It's staggering how often Florida responds to the "Mock Chomp" with a big play. (Side note: 2007 was a glaring exception to this trend. Georgia infamously incited the UF players and still won, and the Auburn kicker "Mock Chomped" Urban Meyer after kicking the game-winner. Twice.)
15) Delusion
Everyone praises SEC fans for their passion, but delusion and fervor often go hand in hand. Sure, all fans are biased, obsessed, and somewhat unreasonable (I'm looking at you, Fighting Irish), but the die-hard SEC fan is a special breed of crazy. For example, actual newspapers in Arkansas declared FB Peyton Hillis "NFL-ready" as a senior in high school. After Miami throttled Tennessee in 2002, I actually heard several Vol fans explain away a 23-point loss to questionable officiating. What, other than chronic delusion, could possibly explain the existence of die-hard Vandy fans?
Agree? Disagree? Know of a chicken shack that beats Abner's? Give me a shout, or discuss on the Scout Forums.
Either way, everyone have a safe Fourth. Come back this Monday for Part Three!
46 Reasons to Love SEC Football (Part Two), July 3
46 Reasons to Love SEC Football (Part One), July 1
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