Am I a bad UGA fan if I pull for Auburn tonight . . .

by Dee Allen on Dec 31, 2007 1:22 PM EST

Kyle, I need some help. I understand the meteor game concept; however, I feel the strong desire to root for Auburn tonight. See, I live in the upstate of South Carolina. The only thing worse than listening to the USC fans crow once every 4 or 5 years about beating UGA is listening to Clemson fans talk about how great the ACC is and how Clemson has dominated USC. I know I could make cogent arguments like you, but if you know clemson fans you know that well reasoned logic goes right over their heads. Bottom line, can I pull for Auburn in the open? (I'm watching the game at a public gathering.) Or must I remain stoic and claim I don't care who wins? Thanks for your help. (Real name withheld)

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You ask a reasonable question, Dee

Permit me to begin by pointing out that I hate Auburn.

That said, there are good arguments for rooting for the Plainsmen tonight. They are, after all, playing another longstanding Georgia rival toward whom we feel considerable animosity, even though the passage of time may have dulled the edge of what once was among the best and most heated rivalries in college football.

Secondly, there is the issue of conference pride. For me, this is a year-by-year thing; sometimes, my disdain for our rivals trumps my desire to silence the S.E.C. bashers out there who derive much too much delight from any loss by a Southeastern Conference team.

This year, though, I will be pulling for every S.E.C. team to win its bowl game. Frankly, after all the flak we've caught over the past year as part of the whiny backlash against the Gators' utter domination of Ohio State, I want to see the league go undefeated through the postseason.

I rooted for Mississippi State in the Liberty Bowl. I rooted for Alabama in the Independence Bowl. I will root for L.S.U. to win the national championship, for Florida to beat Michigan, and, yes, even for Auburn to beat Clemson.

If a fellow denizen of Bulldog Nation leaves a reply saying, "Sorry, Kyle, but I just can't stand Auburn/Florida/Tennessee, so I can't pull for the Tigers/Gators/Volunteers in a bowl game," I will respect that position and I will not presume to tell that Georgia fan he is wrong, as that position is a valid and legitimate one with which I agree in many instances.

For me and my house, though, we will be full-fledged conference homers throughout this bowl season and I encourage you to do likewise.

Just because I'm rooting for 'em tonight, though, doesn't change the fact that I hate Auburn.

by T Kyle King on Dec 31, 2007 1:40 PM EST 0 recs

Meteor Game Concept???

Kyle,

What is the "Meteor Game Concept"? I first heard of it in Dee Allen's recent diary. You're going to have to explain this one to me, because when Georgia isn't playing I ALWAYS pull for the SEC.

Every SEC victory makes the Bulldogs look even better (not that we need help from the likes of Florida and Auburn). Can you please help me out here?

Jace Walden

by jacewalden on Jan 1, 2008 10:05 AM EST 0 recs

I'm happy to oblige, Jace

I was first introduced to the "meteor game" concept through this posting at Paul Westerdawg's blog.

The idea is pretty straightforward: sometimes, when two hated rivals meet, you can't bring yourself to cheer for either one of them, so what you root for instead is a giant meteor to crash to earth, striking at the exact point at which the stadium in which the game is being played is located.

In the case of Auburn and Clemson, I couldn't call it a meteor game because I live too close to Atlanta to have survived the shock waves, but the temptation was there.

I am glad the S.E.C. is 4-0 in bowl games so far. However, I also hate Auburn.

Happy new year!

by T Kyle King on Jan 1, 2008 10:53 AM EST up 0 recs

Implosion Theory

Kyle,

Got it. Thanks, man. I had always known that concept as the "implosion theory". If two teams you hate are playing eachother, just root for the stadium to implode. Glad we're on the same page.

Jace Walden

by jacewalden on Jan 1, 2008 3:22 PM EST 0 recs

Scoreless tie

It's a little less violent and would save countless lives, but that also reminds me of being a kid living on tobacco road, and my dad dreaming of 0-0 ties whenever Chapel Hill was involved in a game against any other team he thought little of. My dad hated those Tarheel snobs.

by MSLawDawg on Jan 3, 2008 5:59 PM EST up 0 recs

I'm a little late to this party

...but wanted to echo Kyle's sentiments. Me...I hate Florida, and would be willing to bet that my hatred rivals that of Kyle's hatred of that other team from Alabama. However, I love the SEC, and will almost always pull for an SEC team over any other conference 90% of the time, and 99.9% of the time during bowl season. That is why I found myself pulling for that team coached by a man named after a geographic location in the Capitol One Bowl, and then could logically hate them even more so for embarrasing the SEC by losing.

by MSLawDawg on Jan 3, 2008 5:54 PM EST 0 recs

I'm totally right there with you

MSLawDawg, I completely agree with you . . . I took a lot of heat from the people I was with for rooting for the Gators in the Capital One Bowl, but I knew that, if the defending S.E.C. champion lost to a Big Ten team, we were going to hear about how "virtually every football fan south of Maryland" is "parochial and narrow-minded" (and worse) from Michigan fans who thought Florida would beat the Maize and Blue by 18 points.

So much for peace in our time. . . .

by T Kyle King on Jan 3, 2008 6:48 PM EST up 0 recs

I was torn...

I, too, have an acute disdain for Auburn (in fact, I hate 'em). But towards the end of the game I was indeed pulling for the Tigers from just North of Dothan to be victorious over Clemmons College. Which brings me to the ACC as a whole. Basically, they are the WAC of the East. I guess no one is talking SuperConference again this year.

Now the whole Florida thing is grand. Living in Fort Lauderdale and putting up with all that 'Gator success has been a bit difficult to deal with. However, there are some real concerns amongst my Gator colleagues about their program. They may score 45 points a game next year, but they're gonna give up 55. I can live with that.

by DavetheDawg on Jan 4, 2008 9:25 PM EST up 0 recs