When May a Georgia Bulldogs Fan Root for Another Conference Against the SEC?
by T Kyle King on Jun 8, 2011 12:15 AM EDT
in SEC Athletics
Email
PrintI have no idea whether college football fans on the Pacific Coast chant "Pac-10! Pac-12!" or fans in the Lone Star State chant "Big 12! Big 12 [sic]!" or fans in the Midwest chant "Big Ten! Big Ten [sic]!" I know, however, that fans in the South are famous infamous for chanting "SEC!" This leads me to believe we are unique in our level of conference pride.
That is why this week has caused me to re-examine the notion of league loyalty, and not just because several SB Nation weblogs are "re-drafting" the college conferences. Last year, I jokingly suggested Georgia might be bound for the Pac-10 in the midst of the conference realignment excitement, but, since the start of 2011, I have rooted for Oregon to beat Auburn in the BCS Championship Game, I have rooted for Arizona State to beat Florida in the Women’s College World Series finals, and, in the wake of the Diamond Dogs’ loss to the Beavers in the Corvallis Regional, I am preparing to root for Oregon State against Vanderbilt in the NCAA baseball super regional.
As a general proposition, I believe the so-called "East Coast bias" is overblown, but my tendency nevertheless is to root for the SEC by default unless I have a reason to do otherwise. Based upon experience, I know that valid reasons to do otherwise include being jerks about calling rainouts in the midst of historic flooding and wearing orange and blue.
Where should we draw the line on conference pride, Bulldog Nation? Let me know by voting in the poll and by commenting below.
Go ‘Dawgs!
36 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
I voted for case-by-case basis.
The assumption is that you always want the SEC team to win in general, because it helps our conference as a whole. This is subject to one notable exception, however:
Permanent cheering rule #1: A Georgia fan must never, under any circumstances, ever cheer for the Florida Gators. Ever.
Obviously, Auburn blatantly cheated in such a huge way during the 2010 football season that no one in their right mind would be cheering for them. Also, one cannot cheer for Vanderbilt baseball in 2011 after the humiliation they inflicted upon us (multiple times). When Vanderbilt football is playing Miami (not that Miami), Wake Forest, or Duke, however, I’m certainly not going to be rooting for those teams to defeat the Commies.
In general, I cheer for SEC teams in non-conference play. On a case-by-case basis, however, I modify that policy.
(I hate Florida.)
This is essentially my approach.
As regards most SEC rivals, I’m reminded of an old political saying: “He may be an SOB, but he’s our SOB.” I will generally root for a team from the SEC to beat a team not from the SEC in, among other things, the Chik-Fil-A Bowl, the Quidditch World Cup, the International Martini Championships, La Copa de Ora (assuming it’s revived), and any and all underground fight clubs. But cheering for the Gators is just one bridge too far for this Bulldog. It is my logical side’s sole concession to base impulse. I’ve tried to root for Florida in situations in which a logical case could be made for doing so. It just felt like I was lying to myself.
Not even in the 2006/2007 MNCG to preserve the SEC's perfect* record against tOSU?
- I’m assuming that the BCS and NCAA will soon tell us that this year’s Sugar Bowl didn’t happen.
In that situation I was glad they won after the fact.
However during the event itself I could not bring myself to feel joy at the sight of a Gator player scoring a touchdown. The heart wants what the heart wants. And my heart wants Ben Hill Griffin Stadium to be hit by a meteor and John Brantley to come down with a solid case of leprosy.
by MaconDawg on Jun 8, 2011 1:07 PM EDT up reply actions 2 recs
At that time, people didn't play up OSU's then Oh For Seven record
At least, I don’t recall it being a big talking point. It definitely got more play after the Gators’ win.
Well I prefer
a multi-tiered or system (which could have been done in flow chart form, but I didn’t feel like it) here’s how i determine who to root for:
1. Is Georgia Playing? If yes, root for UGA, if no see #2
2. Is a major rival playing? – if Yes, root against them, if No see #3
3. If UGA is not playing, will the loss of one team benefit us better than a loss? if yes, root against them, if no see #4
4.Is an SEC team playing? if yes, root for the SEC, if no see #5
5. Is there any other reason I might actually care about the outcome? If yes, root on that basis, if no – i don’t care.
I can bake like a demon.
I would reverse nos. 2 and 3, but otherwise agree, provided the sport is football, basketball, baseball, softball, or gymnastics
For any other sport, I never root against anybody. I lack enough knowledge of the other sports to be an intelligent fan, and i refuse to root against anybody when I am a transparent idiot. Any college player deserves to be free from ignorant, antagonistic fans, unless they have selected to play for a major rival of UGA in a sport in which UGA either excels or invests heavily. In that case, they have assumed the risk.
by first and thom on Jun 8, 2011 11:07 AM EDT up reply actions
I generally am willing to root against any and all SEC teams
As I feel so moved under the logic that I want all the other SEC fanbases to be as miserable as I am.
"If there's one thing worse than chlamydia, it's Florida." ~ Emma Stone
by RedCrake on Jun 8, 2011 2:55 AM EDT via mobile reply actions 1 recs
My thought is more along the lines of...
these schools compete against Georgia, so while you do want quality competition and a well thought of conference to compete in, as those guys do well, especially on a national championship type stage, that helps them recruit AGAINST Georgia. I am wholly against the notion of conference unity and cheering for the SEC against others simply because they are SEC. This is a cut throat league, and I have no problem seeing others get sliced.
http://sportsandgrits.blogspot.com/
This is something I can relate to RedCrake...)
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
I voted none of the above.....
While I generally am a pretty strict observer of SEC pride the exception I would offer is as follows:
One should root against an SEC team rhen rooting for the SEC team would lead a reasonable person to conclude that the rooter has no soul. Provided that the SEC team is not the rooters alma mater.
For instance take the Boise State Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl game a few years ago (before ESPN ruined Boise State for everyone). If you rooted for Oklahoma in that game on the grounds that you’re from Amarillo and went to Texas Tech, well, you sir have no soul. Of course Oklahoma is not an SEC team, but you get the idea. Other than those instances, root for your conference against all foreign threats.
Broadcasting live from a secure location underneath the Hell Gate Bridge
by The Quincy Carter of Accountants on Jun 8, 2011 7:58 AM EDT reply actions
/when rooting....
when writing a rule one should read the rule prior to posting the rule.
Broadcasting live from a secure location underneath the Hell Gate Bridge
by The Quincy Carter of Accountants on Jun 8, 2011 7:59 AM EDT up reply actions
It's a case-by-case basis, but basically it comes down to this:
If Georgia is playing, I’m rooting for them no matter what. If a team is playing (major rival or not) and their win will benefit us then I’ll root for their win. I never said I would like doing it, but it only makes sense to me, for example, to want/root for Florida to beat South Carolina in order for us to go to the SEC Championship or to root for a team in basketball against a non-conference foe because it will make us look better nationally/to the selection committee.
I guess there needs to be a stated difference between gladly rooting for a team and wanting that team to win really badly because of our circumstances.
I do like cheering for the conference. It mainly comes down to the fact that when the conference is doing well then we will reap some of the benefits.
I take a kind of communistic approach to it
If it helps increase the prestige of the conference, and thus by extension Georgia, then I root for the team. The more prestigious our conference is, the less likely we’re going to be left out in the cold if there are three 1 loss teams and Georgia happens to be one of them. On this basis, I rooted for Florida to win their National Championships. It helps us in the long run, as painful as it may be to listen to the jorted ones bragging. This is also the main reason I rooted against Auburn in the national championship this past year. Their blatant cheating and ostrich like fanbase makes us all look bad. If we have a great year similar to theirs, people might think that we cheated or have the “all in/win at all costs” attitude that they have. Plus the fact that their championship may eventually be stripped also looks bad.
My one exception is when Florida plays their cupcake high school teams. I ALWAYS root for Florida to lose those games.
I aint rooting for Auburn or Florida ever
After Auburn’s antics and talk and trying to maim our QB and then rationalizing it I will never root for them. As far as rooting for UF to be USC so we can win the East – well, if we beat them both we don’t have that problem. And now that UF has that traitor down there I like them even less.
Beyond that, I pretty much always root for the SEC. You cant hate on the Commies or the Cats or the baby dogs, that’s just mean all in all, well, I really hate that damn square bomb shelter arena. LSU is just so much fun with Les Miles, Ole Miss is like an after thought, generally when UT is up the conference overall is stronger, and I am not really sure Arkansas is in our conference at times except I am still mad as hell at them for losing to tOSU. However, all in all, I like saying “SEC” and rubbing in everyone’s faces that our sports programs, particularly football beat yours, and we take our rivalries and games seriously rather than having one team rule the roost (talking about you Texas) and frankly all of Div 1 football can thank the SEC for creating a model that has generated a ton of money and interest.
But I aint rooting for those cheating SOBs with an bird name tiger or whatever the hell it is and I will gladly smile if UF could have a decade or two of misery.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
East-West divide
I find it easy to root for y’all because LSU and UGA rarely play and, of course, our programs are cosmically linked and if one is good, then the other usually is too. Someone’s got to win the East, and I’d rather it be UGA than anyone else.
But since most of the SEC schools I hate are in the West, I’ve got no problem rooting for an SEC East team in an out of conference game, in most cases. I’d assume it’s the opposite for y’all. Rooting for most West teams not in the state of Alabama probably doesn’t give you too much heartburn.
I did actively cheer for Ole Miss to lose to a 1-AA team. I was at the bar, cheering for Ole Miss to lose, when an Ole Miss fan demanded to know why I was rooting against the SEC. I responded by pointing out that LSU has its own accomplishments, and I don’t need to live vicariously through Ole friggin’ Miss.
Fake Pundit. Real Fan.
And The Valley Shook!
I self-indulgently tweet @ATVSPoseur
Interesting
Ok this is an interesting thread. How about if we turn it around backwards. Do yall expect or desire your rivals (or any SEC school) to cheer for you when you play outside the conference or do you expect them too root against you. It may matter a little bit on how much a rival they are. Specifically, do yall expect or desire the other SEC schools cheer for Georgia vs Boise. A win against Boise would help the conference so logically each SEC school should cheer for the dawgs…however as this thread shows, some rivalries run deep in the SEC. But perhaps its more apathy than anything about what other people think…
I think if UGA lost to BSU - Auburn and Florida would ride us endlessly. Steve Spurrier would be licking his chops.
So, no, I dont think all SEC schools would root for us. If we win, they will go, “duh”, if we lose, they will absolutely love it.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
But my point
Sorry, i dont think my question was clear in my earlier comment. To put it a little more blatantly…..would you want your rivals to cheer for you vs. Boise (or other non conference team)?
That's an interesting question.
Honestly, I’ve never thought about it. Since I’ve never thought about it before, I guess that means I don’t care whether our rivals root for or against us.
Go 'Dawgs!
Auburn fans were very upset we wouldnt cheer for them on he "sec" bias.
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
by tankertoad on Jun 8, 2011 8:12 PM EDT via mobile up reply actions
If it meant that much to them, . . .
. . . they could’ve tried not spending the last 120 years or so being a bunch of cheating obnoxious inbred player-paying cheap-shotting jerks.
Go 'Dawgs!
by T Kyle King on Jun 8, 2011 8:24 PM EDT up reply actions 6 recs
Just out of curiosity...
Does the long and well-documented history of shared players and coaches between the two schools give you any pause? UGA’s last national championship was coached by an Auburn grad (Dooley). Auburn’s field is named after a Georgia football player (Pat Dye). Coach Shug Jordan coached basketball at Auburn and UGA. Is there just something in the water that makes good Georgia folks turn into inbred cheaters when they travel the 180 miles southwest? Or in Athens that takes an inbred cheater and makes him a great guy when he leaves Auburn for UGA?
Also how to Dawg fans deal with Coach Boom? At Florida of all places? I always thought UGA-UF was more like AU-UA, more hated.
Will Muschamp is persona non grata in Bulldog Nation, the same as Pat Dye.
As for your other questions, all I know is that, every time the NCAA checks, it finds that Auburn is giving improper benefits to recruits and players. It’s been that way consistently since the ’50s, and the Plainsmen have been on probation more times than any other SEC program, which is saying something. Georgia was on probation once, and, even then, it did not involve more severe sanctions such as bowl ineligibility or a television ban. Whatever the pedigree of the coaches—-and I tend to blame or credit institutional cultures more than individual actors, particularly given the long-running player-paying saga on the Plains, through and including the present-day allegations on multiple fronts—-the historical facts speak for themselves.
In short, no, it doesn’t give me pause. :)
Go 'Dawgs!
Surely you must realize Bama is dirtier than Auburn??
Bama has been on probation for the last 17 years. Auburn hasn’t had football violations since 1993, and then, when we did, it was under the watch of a UGA grad! The 2000s basketball violation was an utter joke. The NCAA reasoned that a huntsville AAU coach was an Auburn booster because he took some players to Auburn games. He explained he didn’t go to Auburn, and had taken way more players to way more schools’ games, and sent more players to scholarships at those schools.
Cam Newton drove a scooter at Auburn. Dre Kirkpatrick, Julio Jones, and Mark Ingram all drive brand new cars – dodge charger, and two Tahoes. How does that happen?
And I tell you something else, the 4 disgruntled players who alleged they received payments all have an ax to grind and were all set-up by the Red Elephant Club. The worst thing Auburn has ever been proven to have done was to give Eric Ramsey steaks, small cash amounts to raise his kid, and help procuring a 5k loan. I agree none of that is right. Bama was more recently found guilty of paying 40k for recruit Albert Means.
Auburn isn’t perfect, but I think there are at least two places – UA and OSU – that are demonstrably worse right now.
And as far as all the Cam Newton stuff, what’s your theory there? You actually buy into the bammers’ delusional theories that don’t have a scrap of evidence backing them up?
Let me ask you somethings:
Are you proud of Cam Newton as a student of Auburn? Do you feel he represents your University well? Do you think he represents the spirit and moral fiber of Auburn in the best of ways?
Did you consider Fairley to be a clean player all in all? Do you consider his hit in the spine of Aaron Murray legal, or worthy of at least a PF, if not an ejection? Do you think Fairely was “blocked into” Aaron Murray’s knee, or do you think he was trying to hit his knee? Finally, do you consider Fairely’s grinding of his facemask into Murray’s face and chin something legal and in good sportsmanship?
"One thing I will never do as long as I’m at Georgia is lose to Florida." - Herschel Walker
Well...
I am one Auburn fan who doesnt blame you for not cheering for us. I think this is one of the aspects of the SEC that makes it so great. Our rivalries in the SEC are true year round hating rivalries that dont ever fade. Were all constantly jealous of each others victories and in reality we view each game as a situation of your loss is our gain. I really think that is the cornerstone to “why” we root against certain teams. Its more simply we love our own team. Now back to my point earlier. I think apathy is mostly what we all feel on whether or not we care if our rivals root for us. This may be based on the assumption that we think they are all rooting against us….kinda hard to say. Im not a psychology major.
Here's how I see it.
Rooting against Auburn and Florida is automatic for me (provided the sport is eligble as defined above). I never want either to win. But, in the unfortunate event that either ever does win, I am more than happy to claim whatever slight benefit accrues to my team as a result of its SEC affiliation. SEC dominance is one of those slight, second-order benefits. I’m glad when the SEC dominates, but that’s a very small consolation.
By analogy, imagine that my town had to pick between hiring more police officers or building a park. Imagine that I strongly supported hiring police officers, but the vote went in favor of building the park. I’d still go play in the park.
I don’t expect any rival to root for any other rival. But I am fully in favor of all of us SEC rivals mooching off each other’s success in the manner that works to our mutual advantage.
by first and thom on Jun 8, 2011 9:59 PM EDT up reply actions
well said, I agree with this
I think all of us have felt the feeling after a rivals win “well at least the SEC won”…
by redheadcheme on Jun 8, 2011 10:31 PM EDT up reply actions
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Dawg Sports
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
