My Football South

Well done and a good way to get readers fired up about college football, but let's be honest, the Jackie Sherrill quote about race relations (I've read it before), is complete fantasy at its best.
Oh yeah, all white teams in the 60s, the only section of the country that didn't integrate, those are the ones who did so much for civil rights, the ones who ignored legislation and backed their racist politicians who stood in statehouse doorways -- yeah, they're the ones we should credit for improving race relations.
None of that has anything to do with the well-written piece, though. Good job.
How many Southern college fans will read Sherrill's absurd quote and agree with him? That's a Southern fan for you.

 

Ron's a good guy and a good writer, and those kinds of columns absolutely never get old to me, because I still think the best SEC stadiums are the best places in the country to watch sports in person. But I didn't see the words "Rocky Top," "Rammer Jammer" or "We Are The Boys From Old Florida" in there. I guess I'm picky ...

 

And Gordon Gee's probably pissed he didn't mention Vandy's APR score or graduation rate.

 

Believe me, if that day was any slower, it would have come to a dead stop.

 

The problem is, a paper runs too many done-to-death, no-shit stories that break no new ground, it gives readers less reason to read, even if said stories are competently to well done.

 

At Tulane, a friend wore an LSU shirt to engineering class. The prof took one look at him and said, "If I ever -- EVER -- see you wear that shirt in here again, I'll KILL you. And then I'll fail your ass!"

 

I think the Commercial Appeal will survive this one.

And, based on what I'm hearing from LSU, Auburn, Florida and Alabama fans I know, maybe all those columnists can add this in their own words to their next no-shit take about college football in the South:

In my football South, fans can't get enough preseason stories, even in July, that get them "pumped up" about the upcoming season, no matter how many times they've read similar stories, no matter if there's not a grain of "news" in them. Give them a hint of the fragrance of tailgating and football weather and they'll have remembrances of things past even Proust couldn't have imagined.

They do not tire of this kind of stuff, and that point should be obvious to anyone who finds Ron's column obvious.

 

As a lifelong Yankee, I love me some Southern college football.
However, let it not be said that the SEC is not one of the biggest whorehouses in college sports.
OK, I said it.
Now I want LSU in Baton Rouge on a Saturday night, please.

 

I worked at a large southern paper, and we never resorted to a fanboy feature like this, albeit a well-done one. We got fans stoked for the season with well-done player features and stories about what things to look for after you do all the hog calls, cowbelling and beer bongs in the parking lot and head in for the game. Again, it was a good writer making himself an extension of Max Howell. He should aspire to better.

 

Or when I went to last year's World's Greatest Outdoor Cocktail Party ... all I heard was "It's great, I say it's great to be a Florida Gator..."

If I don't ever have to hear that chant again it'll be a good day!

 

At the WGOTP I once saw a somewhat inebriated Gator fan do a shot of something then proceed to bite down and chew on the shotglass just to show how tough he was.

Coincidently it also showed how stupid he was.

 

Umm... yes they do tire of it, but they still tolerate it. Keep churning out the crap.