Why Southerners Feel The Way The Do About College Football

You're college football fans by and large. Many of you are young folks as well. I understand that, and maybe by sharing some ideas you'll become aware of some history that you didn't know about and perhaps you can work at keeping me young in my thoughts and deeds.

College football in the south is more than a sport. It is the way a great number of people pass the period from August to December. And then there's always the Bowls, recruiting, spring ball, and of course the beloved summer prediction season. That may be what separates college football from other sports, we love to spend as much time before each season discussing what might happen as we do during the season describing what did happen.

Dixie, A/K/A The South, (and the Dirty South to some) is not a bad word and should inspire no ill feeling in and of itself. It describes a place, a geographic location yes but, more, much more. It is a place of legends, of tall tales, of mystery, of what did happen and what might have happened. Of respect for an orderly way of life that may vacillate wildly between disciplined and non disciplined. We of the southern heritage like to toss that phrase around a lot, I like another better, the Southern Gentleman. We may all aspire to reach that lofty goal, no matter where you were born or your station in life coming into this world.

In the South when we play football it is an organized meeting of forces from competing ways of life. Our way versus your way. We may dislike rival teams from our own state as much as those of a neighboring state. We may dislike some teams because they are not from the South. Why? Because it's our way versus your way! Don't you get it?

So, hop on board and let's discuss the wide world of college football and what it means to you, to me and to all of us.