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“I have a high art, I hurt with cruelty those who would damage me.”

  Noel Devine (the precocious youngster on the left with the mouth jewelry), torched the formerly formidable Auburn defense last night for 200 yards rushing.  Here is a summary of SNL’s reaction to the the game itself, which went something like “Auburn looks pretty good….wait….not so good ,but okay…..wow, Auburn sucks.” 

Seriously, there exists little need to painstakingly detail Auburn’s lack of offensive sophistry or interrupt the reverie of the West Virginia plaudits, what few there are anyway.  For SNL, the significance of last night’s game has nothing at all to do with polls, bowls, or the respective plights of Tuberville and Uncle Stew (shown below).  Nor does Florida play Auburn, so there’s no SOS component here, at least not directly.

  SNL was therefore challenged to spin Auburn’s debacle  into something postive, a daunting prospect when you consider that Auburn’s incompetence was witnessed by a national audience, and even worse, gave SEC detractors further reason to doubt the SEC’s supremacy over the other BCS conferences. 

Ultimately, SNL was able to harness Auburn’s woeful performance into something worthy of note.  The epiphany came in the 4th quarter when Auburn, trailing by a touchdown, was at midfield with the ball and SNL was praying (literally)  for an Auburn touchdown.  Yes, Auburn, the Lex Luther to Florida’s Superman, the nemesis from the west that has ruined so many of SNL’s Saturday’s in years past.

At this precise moment, SNL realized that Auburn’s likely loss was unintentionally illustrative of a something very unique to the SEC, we care for our kin folk. Yep, like a dysfunctional family who bands together against outsiders, such as the Department of Children & Families and law enforcement, the SEC is deeply concerned with the success of all of its siblings when not busy hating one another. 

Carpet Baggers and yankees of various (and circumspect) origins will scoff at this notion while they adjust their ascots; “Left Coast” blokes will roll their eyes while they puff their hippie lettuce; and midwesterners will threaten revenge for their annual beatdowns.   But the facts are what they are and the chants of “S-E-C…S-E-C” during the last two national championships (and back-to-back basketball championships by Florida) provide evidence of this phenomenon. 

So in a strange way, SNL mourns Auburn’s loss as if it were his own today, and in an even stranger way, appreciates on a sublime level how great SEC football is. Noe let’s go kick some UK a–!

-So Sayeth the Shepherd

Tags: SEC, Tuberville, WVA

  The “Woodstock-esque” outpouring of love continues in Gainesville, much to the chagrin of SNL who no longer partakes in hippie lettuce and indiscriminate acts of coitus with strangers. 

That said Florida’s dominating performance coupled with a bye week will provide some much needed time which SNL will use to dispel the myth that SEC fans suffer from severe myopia by posting on some other topics of interest to CFB fans. 

SNL will also use the time to get off the snide with his bookie, who actually bought SNL a beer last week.  For the neophytes among you, if your bookie is buying you a beer, he likes you-which is bad, very bad.  Still, 2-2 last week with a huge win on Arkansas kept SNL up on the man, but SNL hates beer and will make every effort to ensure that the book pays dearly for its insult. 

In the interim, check out the hops on Janoris!   

-So Sayeth the Shepherd

Picture courtesy of The Gainesville Sun

Tags: ATS, DEGENERATES, Gators, Pahokee

 Gators back in the driver s seat after trouncing LSU  The outpouring of love for the Florida Gators in the wake of Saturday’s blowout win would undoubtedly be unprecedented were it not for the 12 month orgy that saw a 2006 BCS title sandwiched between 2 basketball chamionships.  Irrespective, the about face by Florida fans-who have become about as faithful as that girl who tells you how “special” you are when she invites you to her house at 2:00 a.m. after 30 minutes of drunken banter-is hilarious when considering that only a week ago calls for Mullen’s head were common, and some went so far as to question Pope Meyer.

Today, Gainesville is the land of “milk and honey,” where strangers stop to help one another with flat tires and assist the elderly across the street.  A quick peek into the camp of the Gator’s vanquished foe reveals that the panic, anxiety, and overall lunacy that infected Gator fans only a week ago, has found a home in Baton Rouge where, less than a year after LSU’s BCS title, the message boards are rife with seditious fans urging Les Miles’ firing.  So, Mr. Jean-Francois gets his car wreck after albeit a little closer to home than anticipated. 

The volatility and histrionics of the SEC fan bases notwithstanding, the only lesson to be taken from Saturday’s results (and this applies from Austin to Gainesville to Athens without exception) is that the 2008 season is upon us.  And, in the SEC and Big 12, which are far and away the strongest and deepest conferences in the land, the weekly fratricide will continue leaving in its wake the chaos, angst, and occasionally, elation that makes CFB the greatest sport on earth. 

SNL would be remiss for failing agree that on a number of levels, the buoyed spirits of the Gator nation appear to be soundly based for a number of reasons.  First, the Gators scored huge with “style points” Saturday.  For those who continue to deride the need to win impressively, SNL recommends a gander at this week’s polls, which now have Florida ahead of Georgia, undefeated BYU, who both won Saturday.   Like it or not, as long as subjectivity remains a core value in the BCS distillation process, big wins in high profile games are worth their weight in gold (see ‘Bama’s victory of UGA as Exhibit “A.”). 

Second, Florida, having lost once, has suffered through the “dark period” that inevitably occurs when a title contender is upset.  SNL concedes that a loss is never a good thing, but for this Gator team, the taste of defeat should remain fresh enough to prevent a second lapse to the “decent” teams as the season wears on (looking at you UK, USC, Vandy and FSU), each of which could, but should not, beat Florida.

Finally, Saturday’s resounding victory has rightfully been characterized as Florida’s renaissance-a game in which Florida found an identity which consists of Tebow distributing the ball to wildly talented speedsters, an increasingly stingy defense, and imposing special teams.  To most partisan observers, Florida’s performance Saturday was like watching the launch of the Space Shuttle after several failed attempts.  The resulting fireworks have given rise to a belief by many, including E-SPIN’s Cowherd, that Florida is one of the top-5 teams in the country. 

Unlike 2 weeks ago, there now exists ample evidence to gauge the 2008 contenders, and it is reasonable to place the Gators in the quintet of BCS-title hopefuls-for now.   Of the 1-loss contenders, USC and Oklahoma rank ahead of Florida today. 

Most pundits agree that the feebleness of the  PAC-1+9 is such that USC lacks the autonomy to make it to the BCS-title game absent more losses by the other elite.  Oklahoma, whose defense again failed to show up for a big-time game, appears poised to win out, as does Florida.  Texas has a tough road and PSU could lose to the Buckeyes.  Which makes viable a scenario whereby a bevy of 1-loss clubs must be distiguished.  If this occurs, Florida’s big-time win last Saturday will be instrumental in building the Gators’ resume.   

Still, the only certainty, for Gators, Lions, Tide, Trojans, Sooners, and Horns is that getting there will be more than half the fun.  It always is.   

-So Sayeth the Shepherd

Tags: BCS, SEC, Titletown, Urban

Admit it Gators, no one saw it coming.  That said there was visceral catharsis that enveloped the Gator nation last night during Florida’s domination of the Tigers.

For some it was the 17-point 1st quarter, for some it was Tebow’s answering the bell after LSU scored on its opening second half possession, throwing a laser to Murph to put the Gators on the LSU 2 yard-line. 

For others it was the defense’s ability to eviscerate LSU’s offensive front and make Chuck “The Truck” Scott a non-factor.

Guessing the exact moment is imprecise at best, but make no mistake, there was a moment for each Gator fan, player, and coach last night.  A moment where each Gator turned to his neighbor, teammate, coach, friend, or  just the guy sitting next to him with the knowing look that said “this night-and maybe this season-is ours.”

Savor it Gators.  Whatever your moment was, its yours to keep.  SNL is going to enjoy “Breakfast with the Gators” and get back to you.

-So Sayeth the Shepherd

Tags: LSU, Pope Meyer, Tebow, The Hat

 Gainesville Sun sports columnist, Pat Dooley, has predicted an LSU victory in The Swamp this Saturday.  This sentiment was echoed in yesterday’s MGoBlog picks, which predicted an outright victory for the Tigers as well.  Interestingly, the cacophony of learned CFB pundits has not manifested itself in Vegas, where the Gators remains 6-point favorites. 

Still, it goes without saying that those of you who make a habit of greedily gobbling the bland offerings of the pundits will become increasingly concerned as kickoff nears, praying to wahtever god you worship for a Festivus miracle to aid your Gators.   

Conversely, SNL’s confidence in the Gators remains unthawed.  This is a game that Florida must win and will win.  Sure, there will be some harrowing moments that will bring about the collective groans of 90,000 Gator fans in The Swamp, but the Gators are due.

To reiterate, SNL predicts aggressive play-calling on first down (pretty ingenious considering Florida is 7 for 30 on 3rd and 8 or longer), and a stiff run-defense bolstered by returning DT’s (see today’s paper).  LSU, imbued with confidence after breaking down Florida’s Ole Miss and Arkansas games, should be fairly predictable on 1st down, running Chuck “The Truck” into the teeth of the Gator defense.  This should result (at least early on) in a bevy unmanageable down and distance situations for the freshmen QB in the most hostile atmosphere in CFB. 

Unlike Auburn, the Gators can play offense and LSU, down by 10 at the half, will be unable to close the gap.  SNL says, 23-19 Gators.  Book it.

Working on ATS picks now, this is shaping up to be by far the best Saturday card to date so check back soon.

Tags: Fans, LSU, Pope Urban, SEC

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