How do you feel about the current makeup of the SEC?

#1
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25vol

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#1
Question is in the title. Answer below if you please.

My answer: I despise it wholeheartedly. I have never liked playing A&M or Missouri because it just feels wrong. We have no history with these teams and that’s just no fun. Who cares about playing teams you haven’t played but a handful of times in the past 50 years?

And yet it just keeps getting worse. I don’t know about you guys, but I can count on 1 hand the number of people I know personally in East TN that are longhorn or OK fans. How is that supposed to be better? To me, part of the whole fun of rivalries is being able to discuss games with Georgia fans, bammers, etc. We have no history with these other teams and we live so far from them how is that going to change? All this expansion does is make teams like A&M feel more at home.

It just sucks because there were plenty of teams I’d rather have seen us get in this conference. FSU, Clemson, NC, VT, WV. All of these teams we at least know about and live within a close enough proximity that it feels like a true regional rivalry. But instead money won the day and the SEC is all the worse for it.

Guess on the bright side we can look forward to getting to see what OK and TU stadiums are like within the next few years but I honestly could care less. I’d rather kick these weirdo Texas/Midwest teams back to their loser conferences and forget about them.
 
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#4
#4
25vol said:
Question is in the title. Answer below if you please.

My answer: I despise it wholeheartedly. I have never liked playing A&M or Missouri because it just feels wrong. We have no history with these teams and that’s just no fun. Who cares about playing teams you haven’t played but a handful of times in the past 50 years?

And yet it just keeps getting worse. I don’t know about you guys, but I can count on 1 hand the number of people I know personally in East TN that are longhorn or OK fans. How is that supposed to be better? To me, part of the whole fun of rivalries is being able to discuss games with Georgia fans, bammers, etc. We have no history with these other teams and we live so far from them how is that going to change? All this expansion does is make teams like A&M feel more at home.

It just sucks because there were plenty of teams I’d rather have seen us get in this conference. FSU, Clemson, NC, VT, WV. All of these teams we at least know about and live within a close enough proximity that it feels like a true regional rivalry. But instead money won the day and the SEC is all the worse for it.

Guess on the bright side we can look forward to getting to see what OK and TU stadiums are like within the next few years but I honestly could care less. I’d rather kick these weirdo Texas/Midwest teams back to their loser conferences and forget about them.
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I have no animosity or dislike for either school but I do long for the the old SEC, Big 8 and SW Conference days.
 
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#5
#5
25vol said:
Question is in the title. Answer below if you please.

My answer: I despise it wholeheartedly. I have never liked playing A&M or Missouri because it just feels wrong. We have no history with these teams and that’s just no fun. Who cares about playing teams you haven’t played but a handful of times in the past 50 years?

And yet it just keeps getting worse. I don’t know about you guys, but I can count on 1 hand the number of people I know personally in East TN that are longhorn or OK fans. How is that supposed to be better? To me, part of the whole fun of rivalries is being able to discuss games with Georgia fans, bammers, etc. We have no history with these other teams and we live so far from them how is that going to change? All this expansion does is make teams like A&M feel more at home.

It just sucks because there were plenty of teams I’d rather have seen us get in this conference. FSU, Clemson, NC, VT, WV. All of these teams we at least know about and live within a close enough proximity that it feels like a true regional rivalry. But instead money won the day and the SEC is all the worse for it.

Guess on the bright side we can look forward to getting to see what OK and TU stadiums are like within the next few years but I honestly could care less. I’d rather kick these weirdo Texas/Midwest teams back to their loser conferences and forget about them.
Click to expand...
I absolutely HATE the money play by expanding into new TV viewing markets. I look at the student experience FIRST. When I was at UT the SEC was a true Southeastern conference and you could get in your car on a Friday after class and drive to the away games. Not to mention get a FREE student ticket to an away game. Now a student has to pay for a ticket, then somehow pay for a freaking flight to College Station or to Missouri and then on top of all that pay for lodging plus food and beverage. How is that possible for a student????? It's not unless you are getting those funds from the parents.

The students are NO longer getting the same experience in college because of this. I don't care how bad the FSU fans are or how much many us hate Dabo Swinney, I still would have preferred to have those schools for their geographic locations to the original SEC universities. Not too mention that both us those schools have rabid Football fanbases similar to SEC schools.
 
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#6
#6
I will always prefer the 10-team SEC iteration, but could live with the USCjr and Arky additions. Once A&M and Missouri were added, it had moved beyond anything to do with 'rivalries' and regionality and was no longer masking that it was only about money - as if it ever wasn't. UTjr and OK were clear revenue plays and nothing more, as the game of musical chairs had reached the point of no return.

At some point, there will be four 18-20-team leagues or 'divisions', with rivalries and regionality, the two things that made college sports great, nothing but distant memories as we watch the 24-team CFP.
 
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#7
#7
Mega conferences and the playoff are destroying regional rivalries and have no place in this beautiful sport. Saturdays in the Fall and the atmosphere they bring outweigh any trophy given to the "national champion". In a sport as inherently unbalanced as cfb, who cares who is the best team in the nation. I'd much rather beat bummer and fLorida every year than play in the end of season tournament.
 
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#13
#13
The 10 team SEC was classic, but the 12 team SEC was perfectly acceptable. Great balance between conference games and OOC games. We had a really good thing there from around 1980 to 2000-ish. A good era. More games on TV, but TV wasn't so desperate for viewers that it'd throw the bank at college sports back then. But BOY once it got desperate ... everything since has just been colleges turning tricks on the street corner for the Benjamins. The BCS, the CFP, the gambling, the erosion of rivalries, the destruction of conferences, it's all for the sake of that filthy media advertising money.

And of course, the only thing the media knows how to do is butcher something unique until it fits in the same generic packaging and format it puts every other sport. Why do you think college football is turning into the NFL? Because the NFL is a finely-honed sterile commercial product, and that's what advertisers want. They want all the passion of college sports, but chopped up and squished into an NFL mold. The perfect medium for ads and sponsorships.

And of course, you can't complain! Mustn't complain, because change is GOOD and if you don't like what's happening in college sports then you are just AFRAID of change. Or whatever other mindlessly superficial argument people come up with to criticize you for preferring the way things were. "You just hate change." "This is the way it has to be." "This is GREAT for college football." Blah. Blah. Blah. :rolleyes:

Anyway. Whatever. 12 team SEC was great. We had it great back then. Really great. Big games on CBS, some games on ESPN, other games on Jefferson Pilot, and a few on the radio.
 
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#14
#14
Voltopia said:
The 10 team SEC was classic, but the 12 team SEC was perfectly acceptable. Great balance between conference games and OOC games. We had a really good thing there from around 1980 to 2000-ish. A good era. More games on TV, but TV wasn't so desperate for viewers that it'd throw the bank at college sports back then. But BOY once it got desperate ... everything since has just been colleges turning tricks on the street corner for the Benjamins. The BCS, the CFP, the gambling, the erosion of rivalries, the destruction of conferences, it's all for the sake of that filthy media advertising money.

And of course, the only thing the media knows how to do is butcher something unique until it fits in the same generic packaging and format it puts every other sport. Why do you think college football is turning into the NFL? Because the NFL is a finely-honed sterile commercial product, and that's what advertisers want. They want all the passion of college sports, but chopped up and squished into an NFL mold. The perfect medium for ads and sponsorships.

And of course, you can't complain! Mustn't complain, because change is GOOD and if you don't like what's happening in college sports then you are just AFRAID of change. Or whatever other mindlessly superficial argument people come up with to criticize you for preferring the way things were. "You just hate change." "This is the way it has to be." "This is GREAT for college football." Blah. Blah. Blah. :rolleyes:

Anyway. Whatever. 12 team SEC was great. We had it great back then. Really great. Big games on CBS, some games on ESPN, other games on Jefferson Pilot, and a few on the radio.
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I know it's a little off topic, but the fact that the b1g now gets that absolute banger of a theme on CBS makes me visibly angry.
 
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#19
#19
sami said:
I will always prefer the 10-team SEC iteration, but could live with the USCjr and Arky additions. Once A&M and Missouri were added, it had moved beyond anything to do with 'rivalries' and regionality and was no longer masking that it was only about money - as if it ever wasn't. UTjr and OK were clear revenue plays and nothing more, as the game of musical chairs had reached the point of no return.

At some point, there will be four 18-20-team leagues or 'divisions', with rivalries and regionality, the two things that made college sports great, nothing but distant memories as we watch the 24-team CFP.
Click to expand...
Like you, I yearn for the days before SEC expansion; alas, the madness will likely continue.
 

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#22
#22
Don't like. The newbies aren't Southerners. SEC stand for Southeastern Conference.

East is east, and west is west;
and neither should be mixed.
While chili is a delicious dish;
fried chicken is the best.
Now, tacos and burritos are nice things;
But I prefer my black-eyed peas and turnip greens.
 
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#23
#23
I guess I'll be the odd one out. I think the current setup is awesome. We are the strongest conference in the country, and the only one not covering an absolutely ridiculous distance. Texas and Oklahoma feel like southern states to me even if they're traditionally more southwest. Travel is more difficult for the students, but it's way better for Alums. College Station, Austin, and Norman are top tier college football destinations. We now will regularly have premier matchups scheduled against teams we don't see that often through every season without needing to rely on an interesting OOC opponent. I hate expansion like everyone else, but things could be way worse.
 
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#24
#24
WoodsmanVol said:
Don't like. The newbies aren't Southerners. SEC stand for Southeastern Conference.

East is east, and west is west;
and neither should be mixed.
While chili is a delicious dish;
fried chicken is the best.
Now, tacos and burritos are nice things;
But I prefer my black-eyed peas and turnip greens.
Click to expand...
The only new school that is farther north than Knoxville is Mizzou. But I get where you are coming from.
I look at it like this. If you were working at a company and felt like it wasn't maximizing your talents and earnings potential, you would look for a new company. Same thing if your company goes under, you would look for another job and go after the best pay and benefits. I am not a big fan of the huge conferences, but it is the most sustainable way to go right now.
 
#25
#25
Probably_in_Class said:
I guess I'll be the odd one out. I think the current setup is awesome. We are the strongest conference in the country, and the only one not covering an absolutely ridiculous distance. Texas and Oklahoma feel like southern states to me even if they're traditionally more southwest. Travel is more difficult for the students, but it's way better for Alums. College Station, Austin, and Norman are top tier college football destinations. We now will regularly have premier matchups scheduled against teams we don't see that often through every season without needing to rely on an interesting OOC opponent. I hate expansion like everyone else, but things could be way worse.
Click to expand...
Already beat you to it
 
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