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, or Part Two head on over. Here now is the final installment, Part Three of 46 Reasons to Love SEC Football!
Be sure to write in with anything I might've missed!
First, there's plenty of feedback from Part Two. In response to #22, a man named "No" informed me that the Lincoln Financial Game will be the Raycom Game in 2008. So, for those of you scoring at home, that's "The Raycom Game, Previously the Lincoln Financial Game, The Broadcast Formerly Known as JP." Whew.
Also, Richard from Auburn Nation says the "Tiger Walk" deserves its own mention because it was the "Team Walk" that actually started the tradition (now used at dozens of schools), and remains the best. A background check reveals that Auburn was, in fact, one of the first schools to have a "walk," and it's certainly an awesome experience in person.
Thanks to Corey down in Louisiana, I finally got the name of Baton Rouge's best chicken shack, Raising Cane's. Awesome tailgating down there...
Finally, Jeff from Arkansas reminds me: "How about Matt 'Freaking' Jones? Only the SEC's all-time leading rusher at QB, not to mention the author of some of its greatest moments and games. 7 OT win at Ole Miss, 6 OT loss at Tennessee, 7 OT win at Kentucky, plus the last-second touchdown pass to beat LSU and win the SEC West, also known as The Miracle on Markham." While I wouldn't put Jones on the same level as Pantheon SEC players like Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson, it's truly incredible that he was involved in so many SEC classics. A gentlemanly tip of the cap to Mr. Jones.
Now, on to the list!
14) Steve Spurrier
Love him or hate him (or a little bit of both), Steve Spurrier has been an SEC institution as a Heisman-winning player, national championship-winning coach, and perennially entertaining provocateur. At the height of Fun N' Gun, nobody won more consistently, talked more trash, and had more fun doing it than the Ole Ball Coach. As one Vol fan once told me, "I don't care if he's coaching Dartmouth, as long as Spurrier's on the other sideline, I'm scared to death." That, for an SEC coach, might be the highest of compliments.
13) Southern Hospitality
Sure, every fan base has its bad apples, but the stereotype is mostly true: come to an SEC football game and you'll be treated to some Southern hospitality. Don't believe me? Go to rivalry game (say, Ole Miss/LSU in Oxford) wearing white and watch both sides assume you're with them. You'll eat and drink for free all day, so long as your manners are good and your allegiances acceptable. Most SEC fans truly pride themselves on their hospitality, welcoming visiting fans with friendly taunts and open tailgates. Virginia Tech fans are still talking about the warm reception they got last year in Baton Rouge...if only the LSU team had been so kind to the Hokies.
12) Uga
Hands-down, the greatest mascot in college athletics. And, in case you needed further proof...
11) The Swamp
Neyland is the biggest, and Death Valley is (arguably) the loudest, but stadium has a greater intimidation factor than the Swamp. Between the unorthodox design, the sweltering heat, the infamously unruly fans, and the history of dominance (#3 home record in the nation since 1990), The Swamp might be the least accommodating, most hostile, most difficult place for an opposing team to play and an opposing fan to visit. Many UT fans would sooner take multiple trips to Death Valley than one to The Swamp.
10) The Mannings
You don't have to love Peyton, Eli, or Archie to appreciate what that family has meant to SEC football over two generations. For all their college inconsistency and public goofiness, Peyton and Eli have become two of the SEC's most-decorated alumni. Archie is the league's de facto patriarch, always classy, measured, and winning when serving as "the voice of the SEC" for CBS's studio show.
9) Speed
Let the debate begin (or continue). The SEC's speed (and superiority to other conferences) has been maybe the most hotly-debated issue of the past few years. While the national jury is still out on whether SEC players are, in fact, that much faster than everyone else, one thing is certain: SEC programs value speed, coaches scheme according to speed, trainers develop speed, fans crave speed, and the result is a very, very fast league. I'll have plenty more on this topic soon, but for now let's leave the debate at this: the speed of the SEC is certainly one of its defining characteristics, and one of the biggest reasons SEC football is so fun to watch.
(*Warning: YouTube video has some NSFW language.)
(Side note: Keep an eye out for my next column this Thursday, which will tackle the question once and for all: Is the SEC Faster?)
8) The Common Enemy
Perhaps the single biggest cheer in Death Valley last year was not in response to an LSU touchdown or Florida turnover, but the announcement that USC had lost to Stanford. The LSU crowd could practically taste a #1 ranking, the LSU sideline was reignited, and the momentum shifted in favor of LSU for the rest of the game. We may all dislike each other, but SEC fans actively root against everyone else as a unified force. This is especially true during bowl season, when a me-against-you mentality becomes an us-versus-the-world phenomenon.
7) The Iron Bowl
All due respect to the Egg Bowl, the cocktail Party, UT/Florida, and many others...this is the SEC's most storied and historically meaningful rivalry. The game itself has featured legendary players, ended and prompted national championship runs, and frequently crowned the SEC West champion. Also, unlike OSU/Michigan, its two rivals hail from the same state. This means fan interaction is amplified and unavoidable year-round. Recruiting bases could not be more hotly contested, county to county, city to city, high school to high school. Team allegiances go back generations, even affecting social standing and (yes, you guessed it) marriages. While the Iron Bowl has become slightly less relevant on a national stage, no one rivalry means more to the two fan bases involved.
6) Bear Freaking Bryant
One glance around Tuscaloosa on gameday tells you everything you need to know. From the plentiful houndstooth caps, to the statues, memorial plaques, and constant mention in tailgate conversations, Bear Bryant's legacy is not only inescapable, but remains the single domineering force in Alabama football. Often lost in the mystique and reputation is the record it was built upon: thirteen SEC titles and six national championships speak volumes for themselves. The Bear won Coach of the Year so frequently they decided to name the award after him. Coach Bryant's ubiquity around Alabama and the rest of the SEC is proof that, as Faulkner once wrote, "The past is never dead. In fact, it's not even past."
5) The Grove
Acres of tailgating tents with satellite dishes and chandeliers, shaded by oaks and the shadows of Faulkner and Welty, guided by hundred-year traditions and simple Southern hospitality. Bourbon and perfume are the smells. Fried chicken and chess pie are the tastes. "Dixie" and "hotty toddy" are the sounds. Here the Rebels wear church-clothes on gameday as proof that football is a religious experience. Or perhaps militaristic: when the sun goes down over the Grove before a night game--hordes marching toward the field, drums pounding over the hill, candles dimly lighting the tents--it resembles an army's campsite before battle. If football, friendly people, beautiful women, and great food are your passions--there simply is no finer place.
4) Tailgating Traditions
Hand-in-hand with #5 on our list, tailgating across the SEC isn't so much a seasonal pastime as a yearlong obsession. Families in Oxford occupy the same plot of Grove property for decades. Head to Knoxville for UT/Florida and you'll find an annual specialty: Gator Gumbo. Fans from Columbia to Fayetteville all have their own traditions, tailgating venues, gameday recipes. The sheer scope and depth of tailgating cuisine down in Baton Rouge fully deserves its own spot on this list. Tailgating in the South is proof that SEC football is as much about the culture of sports--the community, the places, and the traditions--as it is about the game itself.
3) Pure Passion
What's the difference between SEC football and football everywhere else? I could write for pages (and likely will), but let's leave it at this for now: after last year's home loss to Stanford, USC quarterback John David Booty was spotted at a hot Hollywood club, partying with different co-eds and USC fans. That simply would not happen in the SEC. The quarterback wouldn't want to go out. Even if he did, he'd be too ashamed/afraid to party in public. And even if he did, his reception would be anything but friendly and accepting. This isn't necessarily a good thing or a bad thing. It's just one of a million examples of how much more football matters to fans in SEC country.
2) The Women
Nothing compliments football better than a crowd full of SEC women. Nothing. ESPN's Gameday Crew, traveling journalists, and (yes, more than a few bloggers) have found out what we've known all along: there is something in the water down South. And thank God.
(Also, my mailbox over the last week has reinforced this: SEC women know their football, love their football, and are some of the best fans in the country. Gameday wouldn't be gameday without them.)
1) Dominance
11-4 in BCS bowls. Four national championships in ten years. 7-2 in all bowl games for 2007. 47-10 non-conference record in 2007. Five teams in the final Top 25. Perennial recruiting dominance based on Rivals.com rankings (See Part One). Oh, and no SEC team has lost a national championship game in the BCS era, including wins over an ACC team (Florida State in 1998), a Big-12 team (Oklahoma in 2003) and two Big Ten teams (Ohio State in 2006 and 2007). A strong case could be made for pre-BCS dominance as well, factoring in Spurrier's Florida teams in the 90's. Alabama alone accounted for six championships from '61 to '79. All these numbers (and more) add up to one undeniable whole, a fact that is both a badge of honor to SEC faithful and a constant source of anger, resentment, and competition to the rest of the nation: we are better at this than you.
Agree? Disagree? Got a bone to pick with the whole Manning clan? Give me a shout, or discuss on the Scout Forums.
Either way, check back soon...I settle the debate once and for all this Thursday, Is the SEC Faster?
46 Reasons to Love SEC Football (Part Three), July 7
46 Reasons to Love SEC Football (Part Two), July 3
46 Reasons to Love SEC Football (Part One), July 1
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