Rob Oller commentary: Smug SEC fans should stop whining, enjoy success
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 3:14 AM
By
Rob Oller
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
Jim was on fire. Not engulfed in flames, mind you, but burning all the same. A match had been struck on his anger, by the mere mention of the Southeastern Conference. Sometimes it takes getting away to come away with a new perspective. Spend enough time following Ohio State football and you'd swear the Buckeyes have become the sole punching bag for college football fans living beyond the borders of the Big Ten. It has become fashionable to hate Ohio State.
A recent trip West, however, turned up another villain in the mix: the SEC. The arrogance of that deeply Southern conference wears on those whose allegiances lie outside of Dixie.
Fans such as Jim, a Salmon fisherman in Bodega Bay, Calif., have no use for the SEC, which he thinks resembles a fashion show diva strutting the runway.
"I can't stand it," said Jim, who grew up in the East before relocating to Pac-10 country about 30 years ago. "They think they're soooo better than everyone else."
Cont...