Voice Over] Are you a pirate? Do people have planks in their eyes where you come from? WAIT A MINUTE….IS THAT YOU BAMA BAND DWEEB ALUM? Is that you in the next cubicle? HOLY CRAP!! You found me on the internet!!

But to quote somebody who once criticized me for pointing out everyone else’s flaws, "Don’t take life too seriously, you’ll never get out alive."

I think you’ll find us a rather congenial crowd who happens to love a good football game. I think you’ll also find that college football goes in cycles. Alabama is enjoying a great start to the year and appears to have some staying power behind it. Likewise, UT might be running out of staying power and be in for a transition – much like Alabama has gone through for about 15 years. The shame of it all is that these two teams have rarely seen their peaks converge.

It’d be really nice if both teams could peak at the same time so the 3rd Sat. could have the same meaning it used to long before I was born. Here’s hoping Alabama stays strong long enough for UT to return to prominence so we can have a relevant series again.

I’m a Wyoming native and alum who is at UT for grad school. I developed a taste for UT football during the Manning years, but Manning was not the reason I started following UT. I followed because the UT fans were a terrific group of people. They were just as loud and proud during those days as Alabama fans are starting to become, but there was never any projection of arrogance across the national media – that’s a very rare thing. (Trust me; as a guy who followed a mid-major for a lifetime, arrogance in major programs is as natural as cream cheese on a bagel.)

I also fully understand that things often get projected differently than reality, but nat’l TV has always enjoyed characterizing Alabama fans as utterly insane. If that’s the way Alabama fans wish to approach it, more power to you. I understand that college football is huge in the South largely because of the regional emphasis in the culture, and that Alabama is basically in the center of the South (and in the center of Southern regionalism). But from an outsider’s perspective, UT’s fanbase was a fresh breath of Southern air when it came to SEC fandom.

But that’s more a function of Appalachian culture than anything else. It’s not fair to hold Alabama culture to the measuring stick of Appalachian culture, so I don’t get worked up about it. I just remember that internet chats always come off angrier, snarkier, and ruder than intended.

As for the UT fans you meet personally, I can’t vouch for them. With fanbases as large as these two programs enjoy, you’ll undoubtedly meet your fair share of jerks. Add to it the pride and rivalry between the programs, it’s no wonder your time in Tennessee was met with some resistance.

But the important thing to remember is that UT is better for a strong Alabama program, and Alabama is better for a strong UT program. Alabama needs UT, and is largely defined by UT. (And vice versa.) And it’s to your loss that UT is struggling right now – just like it was to UT’s loss that Alabama went through the coach-of-the-month program for so long.

So feel free to stick around and contribute. Part of the fun is the rivalry. But we’re not in it to be jerks (there are other places you can go for that, I assure you). If you want to have a little banter, you’re welcome to it here. But we’ll all go home at the end of the day as fellow Americans enjoying our lives and encounters.

Kindest regards, and congrats to your team’s victory over UGA.

I agree with your signature. ;-D

Dear Bammer,
This is not my characterization for all Bama Fans by any means. Just odd encounters that I have with very specific people. If you read some of the other posts, you’ll see that we are highly critical of our own team and are struggling with the issue that our long time coach may or may not be the man for the job. At any rate, I work in Alabama and I have to listen to Paul Finebaum everyday because it is sacred writ that he be on the somebody’s desk radio every day. Otherwise the earth will open up and swallow the office. My point is this: we’ve heard all the jokes about our orange hunting/stadium wear, our Coach’s body type, etc etc. Everybody loves jokes unless you or your team happen to be on the wrong end. I only wrote this for a laugh and unless you really are Bama Band Alum sitting five cubes over, none of this is directed at you.
Sincerely,
Voice Over Boy