[SvilleKid]

Well, I have to agree with Brad (can only see his post because of a quote). But he is 100% correct, and 100% got what Jeremy was referring to about our culture of football.

That culture is built from the ground up, from pee-wee thru high school and in our colleges. Let's pick another school, if it appears that we are zeroing in on only Bama and LSU. Tennessee. MY GOD! Have they suffered problems over the last decade or more (including coach issues)!! That doesn't stop them from filling their HUGE stadium! Or supporting their team. My wife worked in Knoxville last football season. Every Saturday of a home game, that town was full, and rocking! How about Vandy??? They are always the butt of jokes, but they are still well supported every year and always strive to win games. Kentucky, known for basketball, still competes with intense rivalries. The same can be said for Ole Miss, Miss State, UNA, Georgia Southern, South Carolina, Florida, UAB and on and on.

The south DOES NOT (currently) support youth teams very much in anything other than football, and baseball. No hockey, some basketball, but nowhere near as deeply as football. Some soccer (more now than when Ninja was in school, bit still very small percentages). From 6 years old (and younger), they thrive on FOOTBALL. I have a 9 year old nephew that I would easily put up against Brad or E.J. in terms of football knowledge and savvy. He beats me hands down. And he isn't alone, by any means. Football, probably more so than any other sport is lived and breathed from the womb to the grave as THE main sport in the south. Is it the lack of other sports played? Is it a culture thing that allows us to battle each other on a field instead of in the hollows and dells with guns?? Who can say. But it IS a culture of the sport. The coaches come and go. The players come and go. The awards and Championships come and go. But maybe they come more often because it is deeply supported and enjoyed. That is football culture! That is the "culture of football" that Jeremy is referring to. And that culture falls all the way down to the pee-wee level. Go to any Bama (and Louisiana) high school football game and tell them it is only about having winning coaches and programs! Good luck with that!!

And to top it all off, in support of the culture...... Was there any other conference thread on the forum with this much fervor?? I think not.