The SEC’s most obnoxious fans: There’s a new orange No. 1
Our inaugural ranking of the SEC’s most obnoxious fans was presented in 2008, and much has changed over 24 months. Mississippi State has switched coaches. Auburn has switched coaches. (Then again, when doesn’t Auburn switch coaches?) Tennessee has switched coaches twice. Kentucky’s coach quit. Vanderbilt’s coach just quit. Florida’s coach quit and un-quit.
Amid such flux, it’s only fair that our rankings don’t remain static. Indeed, I’m proud — actually, I’m not sure if “proud” is the proper word — to note that our new rankings are completely different. Not one of the 12 positions has gone unchanged, which says … well, I don’t know what it says. But there we are.
A note: I asked for your input the other day, and I have taken your thoughts under the deepest advisement. Indeed, the results of our little poll are included herein. But I must stress that these are my rankings, and I’m a neutral. (Full disclosure: I’m a graduate of Kentucky, which hopes one day to start a football program.)
Oh, and I probably should mention that I attended my first SEC game in 1969, covered my first SEC game in 1976 and have seen a game at every SEC stadium. Meaning: I might be an idiot, but I’m a well-traveled idiot.
And with that, I hereby unveil the 2010 rankings of the SEC’s most obnoxious fans. In honor of our previous champion, fans of the new title-holder are required by executive order to wear jean shorts for the next two years.
12. Tennessee (No. 7 in 2008, No. 4 in 2010 AJC.com poll): Purely a sympathy vote. The formerly Big Orange has seen itself massively devalued from within. It has a lousy AD who hired the brat Lane Kiffin, and now this program is in a world of hurt. (In a display of bravery, the lousy AD just canceled a series with North Carolina) Put simply, I feel sorry for Tennessee fans. They deserve better than ham-handed Mike Hamilton.
11. Vanderbilt (No. 10 in 2008, No. 10 in 2010 AJC.com poll): It’s never a good sign when a coach quits a month before summer camp convenes, but that’s what Bobby Johnson did. He did it because he was tired of losing. Johnson is a fine football man who stands as Vandy’s best coach in the past quarter-century. He went 12-52 in league play. Imagine having to watch that every season, world without end.
10. Kentucky (No. 11 in 2008, No. 11 in 2010 AJC.com poll): Big Blue football rooters didn’t do anything obnoxious these past two seasons. Big Blue rooters save the obnoxious behavior for basketball, a sport for which they have no peers regarding exess. They’ve only moved up — or down, depending on your point of view — to No. 10 because I happened to feel really sorry for Tennessee and Vandy.
9. Mississippi State (No. 12 in 2008, No. 12 in 2010 AJC.com poll): Backers of the maroon Bulldog believe Dan Mullen can win more than his share of games. If so, it would only trigger the scariest words in the English language: More cowbell!
8. Ole Miss (No. 9 in 2008, No. 9 in 2010 AJC.com poll): I can handle Rebel fans most years, but occasionally they’ll get all geeked up and start sounding like Georgia or South Carolina folks. (“This is finally our year! This time for sure!”) For the Rebels, last season was such a time. Naturally, they went 4-4 in SEC play, including an egg-on-the-face loss to Mississippi State in the Egg Bowl. And now coach Houston Nutt, who’s nutty, has allowed quarterback Jeremiah Masoli to walk on despite having been kicked off the Oregon squad and having pleaded guilty in separate incidents. Nutt has promised “zero tolerance” regarding Masoli. Me, I anticipate more egg on the Ole Miss face.
7. South Carolina (No. 6 in 2008, No. 7 in 2010 AJC.com poll): I keep thinking the Gamecocks are going to be really good this year. I also keep wondering what will happen with their fans — who have thought the Gamecocks are going to be really good every year since ‘92 (and I mean 1892) — are finally proved right.
6. LSU (No. 8 in 2008, No. 5 in 2010 AJC.com poll): Here’s where you and I disagree the most. I’ve always considered a trip to Tiger Stadium a treat. Then again, I don’t sit in the stands, an experience I’ve been led to believe is most challenging. But I will tell you this: The best scripted moment in all of college football is when the Golden Band from Tigerland and the Golden Girls conduct their pregame march to midfield. Beats Ohio State’s “Script Ohio” six ways to Saturday.
5. Alabama (No. 4 in 2008, No. 3 in 2010 AJC.com poll): Being old enough to have seen Alabama under the Bear, I dreaded the thought of the Tide rising again to eminence. In the ’70s and ’80s, there were no worse fans. (Except maybe Kentucky basketball fans, and even then it was a coin flip.) But I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the relative moderation that has accompanied Bama’s latest national championship. Maybe this has to do with Nick Saban, who never crows and is never satisfied. Whatever the case, I offer this relatively benign ranking as a thank-you.
4. Georgia (No. 3 in 2008, No. 2 in 2010 AJC.com poll): If it’s possible to have sympathy for folks who take pride in trashing their own campus, I have some sympathy for Dawg-lovers. Because I think every Georgia road game this autumn is going to be off the hook. I think this because of Damon Evans and red panties.
3. Arkansas (No. 5 in 2008, No. 7 in 2010 AJC.com poll): It wasn’t enough that Hog fans ran off Houston Nutt and welcomed Bobby Petrino as a conquering hero, not the sinking-ship-deserting rat he was. But now apparently you have to pass a loyalty test to work for an Arkansas radio station. (Reporter Renee Gork was fired after wearing a Florida hat to a press conference; being Petrino, he noticed and objected.) And Hog fans reacted as if her dismissal was a good thing. Where’s Edward R. Murrow when you need him?
2. Florida (No. 1 in 2008, No. 1 in 2010 AJC.com poll): I know, I know. It takes effort not to put the hated Gators — and they’re hated in every SEC outpost, not just Athens, Ga. — at the top of anything involving the word “obnoxious.” But I have to confess: I never understood why everybody hated Tim Tebow. He was a really good player who seemed like a really good guy. If he played for Georgia or Alabama, would those fans have not similarly lionized him? But if you’re asking me to defend jorts … well, that line I will not cross.
1. Auburn (No. 2 in 2008, No. 6 in 2010 AJC.com poll): Because Tiger fans still worship at the tainted feet of Pat Dye. Because they run off coaches on a whim. Because they’ve grown as arrogant as Alabama backers without one-tenth the justification. Because they’re still whining over the national championship they didn’t win in 2004. Because the world’s worst fan — the Montgomery banker Bobby Lowder — is an Auburn man. And because I would pay money (though not a lot) to see Bobby Lowder in jean shorts.
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1,009 comments Add your comment
Stewart Knox
August 26th, 2010
3:08 pm
auburn has had only 5 coaches 30 season where as Alabama has had 7 in 28 seasons
Mark is full of it
August 26th, 2010
3:11 pm
You aint nothing but a bammer loving homer that’s all you are. How many UAT sororstitutes conned you into making this garbage up? Had to be something crazy.
You say Auburn is the most obnoxious fanbase? I say your full of it. Alabama is twenty times worse than the worst Auburn fan and any Auburn fan will tell you that. Lay off the crack guy its very bad for you.
WAR EAGLE!!!!
Ace
August 26th, 2010
3:12 pm
Come on Auburn gave Tuberville a new contract the year before they fired him. If they were so ready to fire him why give him a new contract with a five million dollar cost to AU to get rid of him one year later. No way he would have been fired if he had beat Alabama one more time. Lowder could not bully him so he had to wait until he lost to Alabama to get the fans to go along with firing him.
Scott
August 26th, 2010
3:12 pm
Ahhhh….welcome to the new and exciting world of internet blogger fan baiting, Mark! It’s a shame because you were one of the last real sports columnist out there. Now you’re just one of the thousands of goobers sitting at home in their pajamas writing about sports with the sole purpose of getting a response by stirring the pot. Liked you much better when you were actually trying to enlighten your readers. You and Finebaum need to have lunch. Oh…that was yesterday, you say? Yes, I am an Auburn fan and you clearly need to get out more if you think for a moment we have the most obnoxious fan base. But then again, as a UK fan you are an authority on “obnoxious” because there are no more obnoxious fans in the universe than UK basketball fans. BTW…the Bobby Petrino comment to Zach is proof you have succumbed to Bloggeritus. Inaccurate and cheap. Rub Paul’s bald head for me tonight before you kiss him goodnight.
Smokewagon
August 26th, 2010
3:13 pm
My yard was rolled after the water cannon escapade in the 80’s by an Au fan. Man those AU guys are sore losers.
juvenal
August 26th, 2010
3:15 pm
nice SNL ref….
Reality
August 26th, 2010
3:16 pm
LawDawg
I am not a Tech fan so nice try find someone else. You have to be a UGA fan and you only prove my point even more. UGA fans live in the glory day of 1980 and thats it. You have not won anything since then. Articles like this are written for people like you. You breathe fire through your comments and yet go back and hope that some day you can beart Florida on a consistant basis and have a chance to play in the big game.
Ace
August 26th, 2010
3:16 pm
AU fans are not the ones to ask for any poll, sure they will bash UA and vice versa. This poll was not done by an Alabama fan so that makes it that much better. Although personally I would rank the other Tigers right up there with you. However Les Miles has taken them down so far with his bone headed decisions they lost a lot of their arrogance and even their Budweiser cant replace it, although it does come close.
lol
August 26th, 2010
3:17 pm
Tennessee at #12? wow your an idiot Mark B. but so are the rest of the writers at the Atlanta Urinal Constipation.
Helmet Head riding the Short Bus
August 26th, 2010
3:18 pm
Mark, Great Commentary! Here is the list from 30 years of traveling these schools on a yearly basis. This list is as of 2009, as we visited and attended football games in EVERY SEC stadium.
12. Vanderbilt- too worried about the test on Monday, and it is just an intramural sport.
11. Kentucky- Is it basketball season yet?
10. Arkansas- pass the moonshine flask. Fans here just want to win a big game that means something.
9. Mississippi State- too worried about the crops on the northeast side of the stadium.
8 Ole Miss- A visitor can go to the “GROVE”, drink their hottie totties, eat their food and laugh, but at kick off just sit there and keep a low profile. The women in OXFORD are God’s Gift to the SEC.
7. South Carolina- great fans, however, the meaningless season after season and hiring a Big Gun Coach every 8 to 10 years has taken the life out of this bunch. Otherwise go to Columbia early in the season and you will get some snide remarks, go late in the season and the fans will beg you for a ride back to your school.
6. Alabama- The probation, Shula and Price decisions took alot out of the Hard line Tiders.
5. Florida- this bunch takes on the attitude of the coach on the sidelines, very cocky and if they get up on you early..it will be a long long day in the Florida Sun. But do like Ole Miss two years ago and the fans become very docile.
4. Auburn- the students and Alumni sections are fun and entertaining, the other 80,000 can’t even spell “University”…and they are too worried about their “big brother” across the state.
3. Tennessee- This bunch in their “heyday” or in their case ” hayday” were the most harsh fans in the conference below LSU. Last year they were cautiously optimistic and Kiffin had them poking out their chest, now..I think we will see a good deal of toned down attitudes with Dooley and Probation on the way.
2. UGA- these guys have not won a National Title in 30 years, a SEC title in 7 years and you would think they were competing for a BCS title every year, and the years they won the SEC title they were not even considered in the BCS title hunt. During the Outback Bowl against Wisconsin on NEW YEARS day in Tampa, these guys barked all game, barked at the Chesse heads, applauded players from Wisconsin getting hurt, and never understand that 15 yard penalty for unsportsman like conduct is not a good think for your football team. Win a title that means something and then Bark till the moon falls from the sky.
LSU – OH MY GOD…these guys fight each other, fight their mommas, fight their head coach, fight the damn tiger…Sometimes the drunken behavior is as good as 10 comedy show, 3 prize fights, and a Bruce Springstein concert. From a line in Animal House by Dean Webber- “fat drunk and stupid is no way to go through life”.
Reality
August 26th, 2010
3:18 pm
LawDawg:
I hope you are not talking about Gimmicks, have you watched your team and their gimmicks against UF the past couple of years. I mean that is def not a route you should go.
Ace
August 26th, 2010
3:19 pm
At least 1980 is a lot better than one in 1957 that was tainted, and the 57 team failed to play a bowl game.
Scott W.
August 26th, 2010
3:21 pm
Reality you have stated that you do not cheer for an SEC team, so your being here is superfluous.
MattS
August 26th, 2010
3:22 pm
You’ve got to be kidding me. bammers are more obnoxious than anything we can come up with. I’ve heard other teams’ fans go on and on about how nicely they were treated when they came to the Plains. You just have some kind of problem with Auburn, apparently. WAR EAGLE!
Reality
August 26th, 2010
3:23 pm
I am a sports fan so I feel I have every right being here
Ace
August 26th, 2010
3:25 pm
Yes Auburn fans are real nice turning the fire hoses on opposing fans and nearly turning over other teams buses. You are almost as nice as LSU fans.
Dawg Trainer
August 26th, 2010
3:26 pm
Thursday night, pouring liquid corn into Mason jars. Friday night, chicken fights. Saturday afternoon, skull-dragging Georgia 45-19. Heel! Good dawg.
J L Heard
August 26th, 2010
3:26 pm
What a stupid and ill-informed ranking. No wonder that nobody cares what you write.
Rayna
August 26th, 2010
3:27 pm
EVERY team has obnoxious fans. Judging everyone by one person for a select group of people isn’t everyone. It includes GA, AL, AU, ANYONE!!! All team’s fans sulk, all of them say things that hurt, and occasionally you get the fans that throw beer bottles at you because you beat them (I’m an Auburn fan, btw).
Best Ever Auburn Fan
August 26th, 2010
3:30 pm
Listen people — We is more smarter than ya’ll thank. OK? This is BS. War Eggle!
Scott W.
August 26th, 2010
3:32 pm
Hearing War Damn Eagle over and over is never annoying.
Ace
August 26th, 2010
3:33 pm
As far as throwing things I have to rate LSU and Tennessee fans as the worst at that. I have not been hit with anything at the other SEC stadiums with anything other than beer. I was not at the game when AU turned the water hoses on the Georgia fans.
Ace
August 26th, 2010
3:34 pm
Hearing War Eagle is a lot easier to take when the other team has beat you four years in a row or 36-0.
fhfg
August 26th, 2010
3:36 pm
quit posting ACE
Ace
August 26th, 2010
3:38 pm
The truth hurts..
Ace
August 26th, 2010
3:40 pm
Why do I have to quit posting?
MattS
August 26th, 2010
3:40 pm
Ace, I wouldn’t know about the hoses because I was about 5 months old at the time. Maybe you need to put something behind you that happened 24 years ago. I’m pretty sure y’all were celebrating on OUR field and refusing to get off OUR field so the clean-up crews could do their job. Auburn is the epitome of Southern hospitality. If you came by my tailgate on November 13th I’d be glad to share some food, talk sports, whatnot. You won’t find nicer fans.
LawDawg
August 26th, 2010
3:42 pm
Reality,
you are a jacka$$, not a sports fan.
Trying to get fans to a game is gimmickry, something you Nerds still can’t conquer. BTW, we’ve won a few SEC titles since 1980 and even some BCS Bowl Games. Do some homework!!
Helmet Head riding the Short Bus:
You need to do some homework too!! UGA won the SEC in ‘05. Is that 7 years ago?
You obviously are a Tider, otherwise you had have them higher on your list. Why the bitterness? That pretty UGA coed rejected your advances during your one, unsuccessful trip to Athens?
MikeP
August 26th, 2010
3:43 pm
I don’t see this list at all. Tennessee, LSU, Alabama and Florida have the top four locked up. Auburn and Georgia fans are, in my experience, good folks and good football fans that are courteous to visitors.
Auburn Man
August 26th, 2010
3:43 pm
“Dumped Terry Bowden in midseason. Tried to dump Tommy Tuberville and hire Bobby Petrino before the Alabama game. Finally pushed Tuberville toward the door after the Tony Franklin controversy.”
THAT’S YOUR ARGUMENT???? Geez dude, you really are gasping for air. Next you’ll be telling us that that democrats will hold both the house and senate.
Summary
August 26th, 2010
3:43 pm
The best and most complete description of Gater fans = D-bags.
LawDawg
August 26th, 2010
3:44 pm
Matt S.
No one was on the field. It was turned into the crowd. I would call that poor sportsmanship in the highest degree. Research please.
Auburn Man
August 26th, 2010
3:44 pm
“Mike, a lot of people are disagreeing about Auburn. Including my lawyer, who has I believe dropped me as a client. Which means I’ll have to find someone else to negotiate my severance.’
And we care, why?
Ace
August 26th, 2010
3:45 pm
Read my post I said I was not at that game but that does not mean it did not happen. There is no excuse for what happened that day. The deal with the buses was far more recent however the buses may have been Alabama’s not sure which team they were but I did see the films of it.
Auburn Man
August 26th, 2010
3:45 pm
Mark, in case you never noticed, Auburn is the friendliest village on the plains. Corso said he loves to come to Auburn because people are so friendly.
Get a life, and a clue.
Mark Bradley
August 26th, 2010
3:45 pm
I covered the Auburn-Georgia game in 1986.
LawDawg
August 26th, 2010
3:46 pm
Again, Dawg Trainer:
Stay away from Sanford Stadium this fall during the UGA-UT game. It won’t be pretty.
LawDawg
August 26th, 2010
3:47 pm
………………and Corso is the authority of such matters!
Auburn Man
August 26th, 2010
3:47 pm
“I could have sworn Petrino was Auburn’s head coach for about five minutes in 2003 when a private jet landed in Sellersburg, Ind., Mitch.”
You also said Auburn ran more coaches off even though they’ve had 4 since 1981. Then again, you write columns for a failing newspaper that employs a racist.
Auburn Man
August 26th, 2010
3:48 pm
“I covered the Auburn-Georgia game in 1986.”
WOOOOOOOOOOW!!!!!!! That answers my questions. LOL
LawDawg
August 26th, 2010
3:48 pm
MattS
because the University should have let him keep doing it. Certainly it made him happy!!
Terry Boyett
August 26th, 2010
3:48 pm
Writer states “(Then again when doesn’t Auburn switch coaches?). Tuberville was at Auburn for 10 years. This writer is a nut. He obvioulsy does not have a clue about fans. Everyone knows Florida fans are the most obnoxious.
Matt Payne
August 26th, 2010
3:48 pm
Tennessee at no. 12, that is a JOKE they are easily the most obnoxious redneck fans in the country!
Auburn Man
August 26th, 2010
3:49 pm
“………………and Corso is the authority of such matters!”
More credible than the above author.
MattS
August 26th, 2010
3:49 pm
The hose thing has nothing to do with me. I have no idea what happened that day. I was still trying to master the art of crawling at the time. I am a courteous Auburn fan. When we host other teams I am always sure to tell them “Welcome to Auburn” when I pass by them. I see other AU fans doing the same things on game day. This Bradley guy is a quack and a pathetic excuse for a journalist. Give me Charles Goldberg over this crap any day.
69dog
August 26th, 2010
3:53 pm
Big hair, Tank top! Name the fans and the team.
Ace
August 26th, 2010
3:53 pm
I will agree that LSU and Tennessee are way more hostile than AU fans, more arrogant well not much reason for any of you to be arrogant right now, which is why AU must have won his poll. South Carolina has more reason to be arrogant this year but they are gun shy. I am not sure if it is a good or bad trait but AU fans are always optimistic that this is the year, even if they stunk the last year. I have no idea what kind of team AU will have this year maybe you have finally picked the right year, or maybe not.
Auburn Pride
August 26th, 2010
3:54 pm
We are all about our punter picking fights with the LSU band.
Summary
August 26th, 2010
3:54 pm
IT’S TIME Lane Kiffen.
Auburn Man
August 26th, 2010
3:55 pm
Ace
2008 Preseason UGA football. Nuff said.