the thin line between optimism and delusion…

I’m really excited about football season.  I really like the Daily Affirmations made possible by the guys at EDSBS (even if they do love the gators). 

Let me be clear – I love the SEC, and I will fall on my sword before I let some other conference lover talk trash about ANY team in the SEC.  The bottom line – we are better than you.  I don’t care if you think I’m bias, I’m right.  That being said – the only teams worth hating are in the SEC. 

There is a lot of hate being slung around the Southeast in the fall.  Welcome to hate country.  I can’t tell you which team I hate the most, because I mostly hate them all, and it will depend on how the Dawgs play this year as to who I hate the most.  The best part about football season is that every saturday, EVERYONE stops and has a party.  Not everyone drinks, but everyone either drives to their college town of choice, or simply meets at a friend’s house for the festivities.  Your team doesn’t even have to be playing for there to be a party.  Someone’s team is playing.  And that game might affect your team, so you don’t want to miss it.  So, basically, you find a reason to hate someone you like, and a reason to hang out at someone’s house that you hate.  You might even invite someone over to YOUR house that you hate.   

Plus there are normally lots of fun things to eat like bean dip and cookies and pizza or chicken fingers.  And beer.  Mmmm.  Beer.  Or, Bourbon.  I don’t drink liquor as a general rule.  I don’t like it that much.  There are two occasions when I make an exception to this rule, football season and the masters.  Football season – just the smell of bourbon and coke transports me to a loud stadium full of screaming fans.    It is exciting and fun, and leads to a lot of general animosity and good cheer.

The one thing that people in the south can agree on during the early fall months, is that everyone loves the Braves.  The Braves are the team of the South.  Even though they live in the ATL and not everyone loves the ATL, everyone loves the Braves.  And even though lots of people ignore the Braves for most of the season, it is hard to ignore them when they are doing well in September.  So, Go Braves, and GO DAWGS!

p.s. obviously the use of the word hate in this post is meant to be taken in the most harmless form of the word.