The Eternal Question…

[tennrich1]

Clearly...there's strong emotions against some of our rivals in the SEC by some. I get that. BUT...the way seedings, rankings, etc are done with the strength of schedule we ABSOLUTELY need for our conference rivals to be strong as well. I actually had a Vol fan tell me one time he didn't care whether we got into the tournament or not....as long as Kentucky didn't win. That borders on foolish because we play them twice a season and it effects our SOS. I hope most all of our opponents are ranked high because when you win it only strengthens the position of your team. There are, however, a couple of teams (not necessarily in the SEC) that I simply cant not pull for so I guess I understand it some.

 

[All Vol!]

Definitely. Being part of the SEC is a point of pride. The SEC is the dominant conference in pretty much all sports. we are big fish in a big pond. Other conferences have dominant teams in some sports but the rest are meh. The SEC is highly represented in every sport I can think of outside of hockey. Loot at any top 25 and there are multiple SEC not only in there but near the top.

2 things can be true at one guy. I can hate my opponent and respect him at the same time. I don't anyone beating my rival except for me. Who wants a weak rival..that just makes you a bully.

Really mature perspective, if you don't mind my phrasing it that way. And I think you've raised some great thoughts here. I loathe Alabama and everything they stand for, but I certainly respect Nate Oats's coaching ability and the talent on that team. We'd be pretty misguided not to. Respecting a team is how you raise your chances of beating them.

 

[pimo1]

Really mature perspective, if you don't mind my phrasing it that way. And I think you've raised some great thoughts here. I loathe Alabama and everything they stand for, but I certainly respect Nate Oats's coaching ability and the talent on that team. We'd be pretty misguided not to. Respecting a team is how you raise your chances of beating them.

That's exactly the thought process I'm looking at. If you respect your opponent you can clearly look at what you need to improve in yourself. If you dismiss them as they suck we should beat them you sit on the rocking chair complaining about why things never go your way. this guy is good.. I need to look at what he does and see how to counter it and improve myself. Instead of being like yeah I hate them we should win wahhh wahh they must be cheating.

 

[Vol49er]

I can kind of get behind this but then again I don't because if it's a team that hasn't enjoyed success I still don't want them to get it before us. Like even though our basketball success overall is better, I still hate that South Carolina got to a Final Four before we did no matter how flukey it kind of was. Same with Auburn. Same with Miss. St.

That's a fair point. Perhaps I root for the SEC (other than Kentucky/Alabama) for the first weekend