SEC Fans Proved Again Why They're Simply the Best
Matt Bush-USA TODAY Sports
I love SEC football. However, I'm not a fan of a specific SEC team. I just love the brand. I love the rivalries. I love level of competition. I love the history. I love everything about it.
Too often SEC fans get painted with a brush that I don't particularly care for. They're called classless. They're called insane. They're called a nuisance. They're basically called a bunch of backwoods rednecks that care about football too much, and are labeled as a group that has nothing to live for or be proud of besides a college football team. That's just simply false.
Are they insane? Not in the way they're portrayed. They're a different kind of insane. They're insane in the ---they memorize damn near every piece statistical data and remember where every team is ranked in that category--- kind of way. You can bet these fans know their teams and their opponents. They know strengths and weaknesses. They know the streaks and any other data collected. They know their conference.
Are they a nuisance? Not in the way they're portrayed. They're a different kind of nuisance. They're a nuisance in the ---it sounds like a commercial jet landing in your lap for 4 quarters when they have a home game--- kind of way. Playing on the road in the SEC is one of the toughest things to do in college football.
Are they classless? No. Not in any kind of way. Oh I'm sure you can find pictures of an SEC fan doing something inappropriate. But you can find those same idiots, in any city, for any sport. Sure, the SEC has an idiot that poised the trees at Toomer's corner. That doesn't reflect SEC fans, nor does it reflect Alabama fans. That's simply one man with an undiagnosed mental illness. Like it or not, even the most religious or prestigious of universities has those bad apples. SEC fans aren't classless even to the slightest degree. And while I love the SEC product, the reason that product became this phenomenon, is because of these fans. It grew because of them. They are the epitome of everything great about the south and college football. And they proved that again last night.
Yesterday Alabama's star safety Eddie Jackson went down with a fractured leg. He'll be out for the season, which is his last in Tuscaloosa. No doubt a tough blow to the Crimson Tide fanbase. The young man still has an extremely bright future. What happened afterwards is why SEC fans are the best in the country. Tweets, facebook posts, instagram posts and all that other social media outlets I'm out of touch with were flooded by prayers and condolences for Jackson from other former players, current players, coaches, and fans. This young man didn't lose his life or a loved one. This young man isn't paralyzed. He'll play football again. Just not for Alabama. This is the #1 team in America. This is the team that is kicking everyone's ass in the SEC and around the country. Yet still SEC fans are flooding social media with genuine heartbreak over an injury that he'll heal from. It wasn't just words. It's what the SEC is. The south in a nutshell. Class personified. Find any two heated rivalries in this conference and you'll find that when the game is over, the conference is there for one another in a time of need. Whether it be devastating natural disaster, a serious injury to a player, or anything in between.
It seems today the national media loves to bash and make fun of the good ol' bible belt and it's prayers. But it doesn't stop us from praying for a young man we respect and wish well for. It's us. It's the SEC. We wanna kick your ass for 3 hours, shake your hand after, pat you on the back for a good fight, wish you the best on your way out and if needed we're praying for you. And if that makes us backwoods rednecks that care too much about football, then so be it.
The truth is the rest of the country are the ones filled with hate. You hate the SEC. You hate it's nonstop coverage. You hate that so many SEC teams are ranked. You hate that they win the national championship almost annually. Some people even wish that (1) they're team wins a national title and if not (2) they're happy as long as the SEC doesn't win another national title. And every year they try claim the SEC is no longer the best, only to be proves wrong again.
Well, you'll be a miserable person for a while, bud. The SEC gets nonstop coverage because from top to bottom it's more intriguing. The SEC has so many ranked teams because they usually kick around the rest of the country like an empty coke can when they're not beating up on each other. The SEC wins so many national titles because they have the best division in college football, the best teams in college football, the best players in college football, the best dynasty in college football and the best coach you've ever laid eyes on. And SEC fans built it. All of it. You can go down the list from the atmosphere, the campus lifestyle, the football program, etc. It's all possible because of these SEC fans. You see, SEC fans don't love the conference because it's the best. The conference is the best because SEC fans have always loved it. And whether it be enjoying a game, having a meal, or in a crisis, sit me next to another SEC fan. Because they're the greatest fans, of the greatest conference, of the greatest game on earth.
