OT: Bama fans

Submitted by matdog05GOBLUE on

Please don't kill me here. English is not my strong suit here.

 

I need you guys help me explain in a logical way. I am living in Alabama last five years. Several of my deaf friends and hearing people are HARDCORE Bama fans. They made comments on my twitter and facebook that they were rooting for Awburn against Georgia in the SEC game. I don't understand why they're cheering their rival team!?! One person made a statement, " I beg to differ- If they’re from your state- I’d support regardless...."

WTH! Would you root for Michigan State or Ohio State to get in the playoff? HELL NO!

Now they're calling me a bad sportsmanship! 

 

 

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Bill in Birmingham

December 4th, 2017 at 12:10 PM ^

You have a very different experience than I do. I find that the Alabama/Auburn rivalry is absolutely warped in terms of its impact on a large number of citizens in the State. I've lived in Birmingham for 34 years and have never understood how a football game could have such a broad societal impact. Most of my closest friends are Alabama fans. I married into an Auburn family. So I have people I care about on both sides, but when it comes to how they feel about the other school, it is 365 days a year hate. Do I have disdain for Ohio State fans? Absolutely. But I don't obsess about them. This State would frankly be a lot better off if it worried about the quality of its educational system and less about its football programs. The one thing that I do see that I don't get is this "SEC loyalty" during bowl season. They will talk about any other school with hatred during the year but it's SECSECSEC in bowl season. I tell all of them I don't get it. If Ohio State is playing the legions of Satan, I'm rooting for the demons.

Joined: 08/30/2008

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Brodie

December 4th, 2017 at 1:00 PM ^

I think Alabama-Auburn is more normal in the "lack of income/prestige disparity" thing... the issue here isn't that MSU is a bad school, it isn't. It's better than both Auburn and Alabama and is, in truth, an asset to the state of Michigan. The issue is that Michigan is an elite school and flaunts that prestige in order to continue to attract higher caliber students. 

At the end of the day, I doubt there is a substantial difference in the incomes of workaday M/MSU grads in the Detroit area... it's not like MSU doctors make less money or UM social workers make more money, etc. The difference is on the high end, which is probably not apparent in the state that the schools are located in but could be sign on Wall Street or whatever 

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Brodie

December 4th, 2017 at 1:25 PM ^

You're talking about a small difference here, less than $10k in both metrics in spite of a severe differential in the number of STEM degrees awarded. Given that many of those Michigan STEM grads, the ones bound for the highest incomes, will immediately live the state of Michigan, I think this actually proves my point... your workaday nurse isn't making it rain because they went to UM vs MSU. Teachers unions don't negotiate different payscales for MSU grads than UM grads, etc. 

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BlueinLansing

December 4th, 2017 at 12:04 PM ^

Auburn-Georgia is the South's oldest rivalry and is filled with hostility.  There are probably many residents of Alabama who want Auburn to beat Georgia every year regardless.

 

Also, for about 30 years between 1965 and the early 90's Alabama and Georgia almost never played each other because the games were so bitter.  They've only played 7 times in the regular season since the SEC went to divisions around 18 years ago.

 

It is almost identical to MSU/UM/OSU   UM/OSU is the big cross border rivalry as is Auburn/UGA,   UM/MSU is the great instate rivalry as is Ala/Aub.   MSU/OSU play far less frequently as have Bama/UGA.

So think of them as the odd MSU fan who always roots for Michigan to beat OSU.

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Bill in Birmingham

December 4th, 2017 at 12:44 PM ^

I had a very different experience with Auburn/Georgia. I have only been to one game, but as a fan of the sport, I loved it. There was a lot of smack talk, but it was fun and not belligerent. As someone without a dog in the fight, I thoroughly enjoyed both fan bases. It was the antithesis of my one game in Columbus, where I honestly felt unsafe.

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DualThreat

December 4th, 2017 at 12:44 PM ^

And I've observed that rivalries are quite different down here.

> Alabama/Auburn fan exchange:  "Awwww shucks, you guys beat us this year.  Good luck against team X though and represent (insert Alabama or SEC here) next week!"

> Michigan/Ohio State fan exchange:  "FFFFFFF UUUUUUUU!!!!!!!!!!!!  Your guys' fanbase is nothing but a bunch of *** **** pricks.  To hell with you in every game from next week to the end of time."

 

 

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lhglrkwg

December 4th, 2017 at 1:55 PM ^

Seems like they can't accept that their team just isn't good, so they cheer for the whole conference under the premise that the SEC is just so durn good that they'd surely be 13-0 in some other league.

Joined: 07/03/2008

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htownwolverine

December 4th, 2017 at 4:13 PM ^

If this is rude, my sincerest. You don’t speak English well because you’re deaf? Or is it that your Bama friends can’t spell regardless of their hearing abilities, which limits your ability to comprehend?

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