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
Dawg Trainer
August 26th, 2010
1:22 pm
” And I know a short cut to all of them.” Bless you, Mark. There aren’t many men left that calculate short cuts and alternate routes. Most folks these days would be lost without GPS or Tom Tom. My GPS system is dead reckoning, yet I always manage to get where I’m going.
Border Dawg
August 26th, 2010
1:22 pm
“Lane Kiffin left us holding a turd with a paper napkin…….then Bryce Brown took the napkin.” – Derek Dooley
Fuzzy Bee
August 26th, 2010
1:23 pm
UGA, nobody else is close. They deface you property, embarrass your dates, and bad mouth their own team after a single loss. Their behavior makes a trip to a great place to watch a game totally unbearable
Beau
August 26th, 2010
1:24 pm
Mark – as someone who attended both LSU and UGA, you are soo far off base, it makes you look completely irrelevant. It really does. Most of the stuff that you write is pretty good, and I find myself looking for your stories/column, but this has to be just a flame piece to try and increase viewership (which is the point of your job..I know).
I think you are a good guy, but you have lost so much credibility with me with this story. I watched an old woman throw a mason jar of p*ss at an LSU game at an opposing fan. I’ve seen grown men at UGA games cuss at the top of their lungs in front of my 4 year old daughter (KLASSY). And don’t get me started on Rocky Top. The trips (multiple) that i have made to Auburn have been amazing. They have the most polite and calm fan base in the SEC. I have a lot of AU buddies that are DIE-HARD fans, and I’ve NEVER heard them mention Pat Dye. Seriously Mark – This is the equivalent to a gossip piece. Your journalistic credibility just took a major hit.
Go Dawgs!
LawDawg
August 26th, 2010
1:24 pm
gator kim:
” a gatored out convertible”?….That says it all
Cousin Envy,
I have been a Dawg fan my whole life and I think MAYBE once have they had the #1 ranked recruiting class. Whovere you root for should automatically be relegated to 2nd tier or lower because of your obvious UGA envy.
Will
August 26th, 2010
1:24 pm
An Alabama football player on the show Crimson Tide said that Alabama fans were “crazy”. They are #1 by far.
Long Gator
August 26th, 2010
1:24 pm
The three most obnoxious should be:
1. FLORIDA
2. ALABAMA
3. LSU
Nobody else really has much to crow about.
Everyon else is second and third tier
heyberto
August 26th, 2010
1:24 pm
This ranking is so out of whack I don’t know where to begin in picking it apart. I’ll just say that ‘bama fans are THE worst visiting fans I’ve ever experienced in Sanford Stadium, and with all the trash talking I’ve seen out of them since last year, I see no reason to give anyone else the top spot.
ATL Gator
August 26th, 2010
1:25 pm
Yes i want my hair clean cut on the back and sides please, shaggy on the top, and swooped over my forehead, thanks!
emily
August 26th, 2010
1:25 pm
Mark, your observations concerning the most obnoxious fans falter at almost every end. It is ungodly to me that you could truly even post such an outlandish order. I have been to every Auburn/Georgia, Auburn/Alabama game that has been played with in the last seven years and Georgia fans take the cake by far. They get the drunkest, the loudest, and the most ill behaved out of them all. You obviously do not spend too much time in the stadium when it comes to SEC football. Perhaps you should do a little research and gain a little experience before you continue sharing such nonsense with readers who are under the impression you actually know what you’re talking about.
Jeff
August 26th, 2010
1:25 pm
And the winner for most obsolete journalist is…..MARK Bradley!!!!! Bravo, Bravo Mark…..another silly article with no substance. Thank God the AJC is dying on the vine
Brian
August 26th, 2010
1:25 pm
Yellowjackets, talking? Your fans aren’t the cream of the crop. You guys were bragging about how bad you were going to stomp UGA last year then got shut up. Congrats you won 3rd place in the ACC behind USC and UGA! You guys brag about having a good team just as well every year. Winning the ACC is like winning a special olympics medal, but keep on bragging. Also when did .500 mean a losing record. Maybe if you weren’t so IGNORANT you’d keep your mouth shut on subjects you lack knowledge about. Wins in the 1900s don’t win you games now. That’s why bringing up all time records is like beating a dead horse. It shows you have NOTHING left. GT fans seem to think their 20 year old NC gives you a right to talk crap. Like I said Clemson and GT lost to middle of the pack SEC teams last year. If you guys really were so great as ACC Champions why did you lose to such a second rate team?
ATL Gator
August 26th, 2010
1:27 pm
now all i need is a croakie to match my tie and i’m dressed for success!
Brian
August 26th, 2010
1:28 pm
Contractor, you’re from SC and you can’t even spell Williams-BRICE???? Wow, yeah please lie some more. You’re probably one blowing smoke and starting it half the time.
Border Dawg
August 26th, 2010
1:28 pm
Offensive line – No returning starters
Jr College quarterback
Defensive line has no talent and less depth.
No Eric Berry
Expected to win no more than 5 games.
“Its good to be a UT VOL….think I’ll go talk some smack.
Gatorhater
August 26th, 2010
1:28 pm
Are you kidding? No group comes close to Georgia! Even in the years they start the season with a low ranking or no ranking their fans have figured out how they are winning the national championship.
My last trip to Athens featured a Georgia girl trying to start a fight with us, AS WE GOT OFF THE BUS! At least Florida has won recently. I have friends from every SEC school and they all think Georgia is the worst.
Johnny Fontane
August 26th, 2010
1:29 pm
Hey Mark,
We know that you are reading these comments, will you atleast come out of hiding and admit that you comment about Auburn “changing coaches on a whim” remark was off base?
bamaguy
August 26th, 2010
1:29 pm
In defense of Auburn (my fingers cramped up as I typed that), the Auburn fans did not try to run off Tommy Tubberville once then accomplish it the second time, it was Bobby Lowder. I think he was almost glad Auburn lost to Alabama that year, gave him what he needed to oust Tubberville. There is more to that story than any of us will ever know. But I don’t blame all of the Auburn Family for the antics of Lowder.
LawDawg
August 26th, 2010
1:29 pm
ATL Gator,
That is called the “Bama Cut”
Who are the most obnoxious fans in the SEC? « On The Marks with Jason Marks
August 26th, 2010
1:30 pm
[...] Bradley of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution tackled this subject. What surprised me was the rankings of Vanderbilt, Tennessee, and Alabama. Most of the obnoxious [...]
Perkins
August 26th, 2010
1:31 pm
I think you are mistaking Gator obnoxiousness for arrogance. Winning does that. The Gators haven’t been obnoxious since ‘96. Now, they are just downright cocky and confident and that has lead to the arrogance. Georgia, on the otherhand, should be #1. They are the Florida Gators of the 80s, desperate and obnoxious.
fl in the al
August 26th, 2010
1:31 pm
If you go to a football game and can’t take a little ribbing from the opposition, then you shouldn’t go.
At least go to the gym and bulk up so you can roll up your sleeves. You show ‘em your 20 inch pythons, and those drunk auburn fans will stfu.
LOL
August 26th, 2010
1:31 pm
“Ugag: almost ran me off I-75 on the way to FL-GA a few years back. Were they jealous of my gatored-out convertible? Or just A’holes??”
No Gator Kim, you were just driving like my grandmother, like most people from Florida do. If you are not doing more than 15 miles over the speed limit on I-75, you are just road kill! That is not a UGA thing, just a state of Georgia thing. It gets even worse the closer you get to Atlanta.
Cousin Curtis
August 26th, 2010
1:32 pm
Touche, ATL Gator. Can’t argue with you on croakies or grown men with little boy haircuts. I live in Savannah and it’s freaking rampant here.
ATL Gator
August 26th, 2010
1:34 pm
i know it is, but its featured very prominently and almost exclusively at UGA.
Scott
August 26th, 2010
1:35 pm
Dude,
This is sooo wrong its not even funny.
Fast Eddie
August 26th, 2010
1:36 pm
Atlanta Gator @ 12:04, don’t be badmouthing my hometown. I’ve been a Gator fan all my life and I’ve been seeing them play in Jax. since 1945 when I was 12 years old. Went to school at UF and graduated over 50 years ago after military service. I’ve lived in 7 cities in FL and still like Jax. the best.
ATL Gator
August 26th, 2010
1:36 pm
I meant I know its called the bama cut. I don’t know about the Savannah thing but i’m sure its true. I’ve heard Savannah is a bigger UGA area and Atlanta is a bigger UF area even though Savannah is closer to Florida and Atlanta is closer to UGA. I wonder why that is?
Scott
August 26th, 2010
1:37 pm
Mark,
Based on the comments, of which 95% say you are wrong – please admit so and rewrite this trash.
schmeckdawg
August 26th, 2010
1:37 pm
Mark I love your work and my UGA DAWGS BUT there ain’t NO WAY the folks at Awbarn come close to those mullett, blue jean short orange tank top wearing idiots that pull for the GAYturds. NO WAY!!!!!!!!!!
By the way those lsu Golden Girls, whew, if I had a bisquit, I’d sop em up!!!!!
Mark Bradley
August 26th, 2010
1:38 pm
Nope, Johnny Fontane. I’ll admit no such thing. 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.
ATL Gator
August 26th, 2010
1:38 pm
schmeckdawg,
Thank you. Your comment displays the level of class that legitimizes anyone on here who argued UGA is the worst. Wow, just wow.
Mark Bradley
August 26th, 2010
1:39 pm
Scott, what part of “It’s my opinion” do you not understand?
Border Dawg
August 26th, 2010
1:40 pm
@ ATL because Ga Tech sucks and Tybee Island swallows.
Scott
August 26th, 2010
1:40 pm
Mark,
Becasue your opinion is supported by falsehoods (the opposite of facts).
ATL Gator
August 26th, 2010
1:41 pm
The rest of us have been arguing about actual tangible traits of fan bases for the most part. Leave it to a UGA fan who has probably never attended class there to take it down to gay bashing and poop jokes.
Cousin Curtis
August 26th, 2010
1:41 pm
I think as a fan of a team, you just have to embrace the douche baggery in your own fan base like you would a ne’er-do-well sibling. I’ve got my croakie-wearing little boy haircut-sporting brethren’s back.
Gator Man
August 26th, 2010
1:41 pm
Mark….
NO fan base is more obnoxious than the GA Bulldog group…What the heck do they have to ” Woof Woof” about each and every Saturday?
Drunk and pathetic, with a touch of inbreeding..that is what the rest of the world thinks of ” Dawg” fans….
8-4 again..UF goes on to compete for a NC after another stomping of the Puppies in JAX….
Cousin Avi
August 26th, 2010
1:43 pm
LawDawg:
I suggest you re-read the comments and then maybe you will get a clue. I don’t know if you have cable television, but if you have ESPN, a national television network that broadcasts around the world, you might have heard of a show called College Gameday. You see, each week they go to a different college campus for the big game. The Florida Gators, a top tier SEC football powerhouse, leads the country in Gameday appearances. The reason might be because not only are they consistently competing for a trip to Atlanta, but are also in the hunt for a BCS title. Unfortunately for Georgia fans, their football notoriety is limited to CSS.
So no I am not envious of anything about UGA. If I was envious, I would be a big fan of consistent under-achievement.
Oh and if you can’t tell which school I graduated from then you can meet me in Jacksonville. I will be the guy in Orange and Blue waving goodbye to you as you are leaving the stands early, probably somewhere around the middle of the 3rd Quarter.
ATL Gator
August 26th, 2010
1:43 pm
well Cousin Curtis, i refuse to defend the hair gel and jean shorts, hope that doesn’t make me a bad fan. It shouldn’t since those arent found on campus but instead in surrounding areas like Starke, Lawtey, Ocala and many other towns i would never want to be stranded in.
Border Dawg
August 26th, 2010
1:44 pm
Cousin Curtis….Douche baggery??………very nice!
ATL Gator…..did you take my comment as gay bashing??
Johnny Fontane
August 26th, 2010
1:44 pm
Bowden quit because he did not get a public promoise that he would be back the next year. They did try and fire Tuberville and hire Petrino, and the President and AD both left the school over the outcry from Auburn fans. And Tuberville left the program in bad shape due to his lack of recruting the last 2 years he was there. Hardly “changing coaches on a whim.”
Bobby Petrino
August 26th, 2010
1:46 pm
Mark’s right. You didn’t hear? I was hired at Auburn but wore a Florida hat to the press conference and was immediately terminated.
ATL Gator
August 26th, 2010
1:47 pm
and i though that schmekdawg posted that, posting under two names are we?
FLA DAWG
August 26th, 2010
1:47 pm
Atl Gator is ripe for the picking today.
Unusual, he’s normally well composed on this site.
Musashi
August 26th, 2010
1:48 pm
Mark, seems like you really kicked the anthill with this post…
Great job!
robodawg
August 26th, 2010
1:48 pm
Auburn doesn’t deserve to be that high. From what I hear, a few key boosters ran off Tuberville, but a large segment of the fan base wanted him to stay. Of course, every team’s faithful is a mixed bag. But in my experience, an Auburn fan is a person that I as a Dawg fan can have an adult conversation with about college football. This is much harder with Bama fans (huge superiority complex, and not just since last year’s success) and nearly impossible with Florida fans (just plain obnoxious, not to mention belligerent).
76-DAWG
August 26th, 2010
1:49 pm
I would like to add one thing to your LSU review . All the SEC have beautiful college girls in there majorettes part of the band but every time the Golden girls of LSU come out all I see are beautiful grown women not college girls. It’s like you are watching the support of a pro team.
LawDawg
August 26th, 2010
1:50 pm
Like someone stated earlier, if you were to take this poll around the South at different cities you would get different answers. The ones on here saying UGA fans are the worst, for the most part, are fans of other schools living in the area. The reason they say UGA is the worst is because they encounter more of said fans. Again, being passionate and fanatically about a team doesn’t noe always merit the title of “most obnoxious”. Many times these haters are jealous because of the coverage UGA gets in the local papers. NEWS FLASH: This is Georgia and Georgia grads outnumber EVERY other SEC school in the Atlanta metro area. I would think some of you would have that figured out. Your not representing your own fan base very well with the hating and jealous remarks.
ATL_AU_FAN
August 26th, 2010
1:50 pm
Mark, it might be YOUR ranking, but the facts are still inaccurate. Mark, to quote you ” Because Tiger fans still worship at the tainted feet of Pat Dye. Because they run off coaches on a whim.” — Sorry, but it wasn’t the “fans” that “dumped Terry Bowden in mid season” nor was it the “fans” that “tried to dump Tommy Tuberville and hire Bobby Petrino before the Alabama game…”
You are entitled to your opinion and you can obviously dictate the circumstances upon which your opinion is predicated. Stating obvious untruths, however, is no longer an opinion.