"We're Better than Yall"

Let me start my brief rant with this: I think the SEC is the best, most traditioned and storied conference in the country. It has the most quality teams, the most intense rivalries, and the best fans, period. I have grown up in the south and been around SEC football my whole life, so I can make that statement on steady ground.

But I have also been to stadiums of the Big 10, ACC, Big 12, Big East, and Pac 10. I went to school at an Independent University in football. I have a horse in the race for college football supremacy no doubt, but I also likely have the most unbiased opinion that an average college football fan can have.

Down south especially here in Memphis, my home, all I hear on the radio, as well as in the undertones of conversations with many of my friends is that every team outside of the SEC plays "no one". Also prevalent is that these teams are all "soft". SEC fans criticize every program and conference not of their own and that essentially tells me that they think that college football is no good outside of the SEC. Of course this is a stereotype, but here goes - I think SEC fans are overly confident/delusional and ignorant to college football outside of their world.

A few scrambled notes/thoughts on this topic (pardon my lack of organization):

In this past offseason, you hear "Pac10 is soft" from all USC hating SEC fans, and even from LSU coach Les Miles. I dont hear those people as loudly now with Cal, Oregon, USC, and Arizona St all solid teams performing mostly better than expected.

For all mentions of teams like Michigan, Ohio St, Boston College, USC, Cal, and Penn St - SEC fans will say something bad typically from the following choices:

a.) they have no speed
b.) they play no one
c.) a reference to the Ohio St vs Florida national championship game
d.) a cocktail of the previous 4

People fail to mention that USC, Cal, and Penn St have all embarrassed SEC teams in the past two years, or that the Big Ten is 6-5 against SEC teams over the past 4 years. Excuses follow for all of these counter points, of which many more exist.

My favorite excuse of SEC fans is in response to the USC over Arkansas blowouts in 2005 and 2006 (yes, I know about Trojan beatdowns): "Arkansas wasn't ready last season because they didn't have a QB yet and Mcfadden didn't play." I guess Felix Jones is chopped liver. Also of note is that McFadden was on the bench most of the game because of a bar fight injury. Of course, despite his serious injury, Mcfadden had 9 carries in the game and people forget to mention that also. And I'm sure there is also an excuse for Wisconsin and PJ Hill (200 yards rushing) pounding Arkansas last year in the Capital One Bowl.

On the flip side, Ohio St got embarrassed by Florida in the championship game last year. Embarrassed. And this was a telling game to the country, revealing the ABC overhype of the Ohio St team. The only unfortunate part of that game, is that more fuel was added to the "SEC is better than yall" fire.

That game will be the undertone of what I am predicting now - a Florida vs Ohio St rematch in the national championship game. I will take a hungry Ohio St and the points all day against an overconfident SEC team, much like the 2002 national championship game.

I'm sure within a week Ohio St will lose or Florida will get beat again and my prediction will be moot. Ohio St still has a lot to prove, but they definitely have the easiest road to the championship game of any one team. Oklahoma has an easy road also, assuming someone slips up.

SEC fans fight back against my argument online with a vengeance. My favorite websites with these voices are here, here, and here. Oh, my bad, I guess its the SEC Conferance. But my favorite website is here, the "Old School Nasty" Blog.

There, my rant is done. I guess opinions like this is why college football is king.