Being Danish I have no first-hand experience of college football or its fans. Based on the way it’s presented in the media, and particularly in celebratory films about the glory of university sports, I always pictured it as a hotbed of irrational enemy picture construction, knuckle-dragger ideals of masculinity, and unflappable bigotry. The little second-guesser on my shoulder warned me, however, that I was being a tad prejudiced about it. Your brilliant post along with the comments (perhaps especially the comments, no offence!) have convinced me my first instinct was right.

I have one beef with your analysis, though. Much as the bodypainted woman comes across to me as a dumbass, I don’t see any point in emphasising the fact that what she is doing amounts to indecent exposure. That may well be the law, but it shouldn’t be, and her having her chest painted does not map to you potentially waving your painted arse or dick around in a fetching artistic expression of your affiliation. An exposed chest should not be viewed as indecent in one sex but not the other. No fair.

Other than that, thanks for an excellent post!

http://www.nsca-lift.org/interview/BoJackson.shtml

You tend to single out Alabama as if its fans are a “separate breed”, yet having lived in Florida, Louisiana, and Georgia, I’ve seen first hand that Gator, Tiger, and Dawg fans are just as irrationally passionate about their program as Alabama fans are. But you claim only Alabama fans are like this.

Even being in New York, I’ve seen Yankees fans that are just as avid. But you claim only Alabama fans are like this.

I’ve seen Steeler fans that are just as hardcore. But you claim only Alabama fans are like this.

You find two pictures (one being a guy from Colorado – which is Nathan the tattooed guy) and a youtube video (of a guy who IS FROM TENNESSEE) and you imply that this is what the entire fanbase consists of. I could post just as many pictures of overly hardcore (and borderline ridiculous) Gator/FSU/Miami/Dawg/Yankee/Steeler/49er/etc fans and imply that their fanbases consist primarily of trash, just as you did. What would be the difference?

On a side note, I am not from Alabama, nor have I lived there for an extended period of time. My mother was from Alabama and she also has a degree from The University of Alabama. I was raised in a major city, but I was also raised on Alabama football. According to your theory, people only love Alabama because they have nothing else to love. I love Alabama football just as much as the next guy and I was raised in Tampa. Guess what? Central Florida (much like every other state in the nation) has a Crimson Tide club. Those fans are just as rabid and passionate about the Tide… and most of them that I’ve talked to AREN’T EVEN FROM ALABAMA! So, naturally, your bogus theory is inaccurate, but that’s certainly not a real shocker, is it?

To sum it up, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to reach the conclusion that you don’t hate Alabama because the “fans are too passionate” or because your cousin, whom of course you falsely described as a “typical southern redneck”, bullied you, there’s far more truth to the story of which you refuse to disclose. My theory is: you, yourself, come from a broken home. Your family was poor and if I had to guess, your father was an unemployed drunk who abused you, frequently. You were always told you’ll never make anywhere in life because of where you come from. As you struggled to get through school, you eventually make it, with grades that were borderline acceptable. You found a passion. You found a career path which required a college degree. The University of Alabama was the only college that moderately showed the slightest bit of interest in you. After having high hopes and expectations, they denied your acceptance which is why you’re currently an unemployed blogger devoting all your time to destroying such a prestigious name.

And quite frankly, my theory is more accurate than your anti-Alabama novel.

Have a nice low-class American life and Roll Tide!

Now on a different note, I am a female and I love my Alabama football. It is something that brings my family, friends, and strangers together. A common ground on which we can celebrate and appreciate. I am part of a sorority and I do dress nicely for football games on Saturday. We believe our football program is worth spending the extra ten minutes to get dressed and not look like complete shit. If you want to complain about all the males wearing collared shirts, you should complain to males clothing designers, because I haven’t seen too many other designs for nice male clothing. We dress nice so that we don’t look like that disgusting 50 year old woman excuse for a fan.

We are a university focused on both education and athletics. Until you stop stereotyping one fan as all fans, you’ll never truly appreciate the spirit of what we share here in Tuscaloosa. Tide football is fun…and it sounds like Davetavius just needs a little bit more of that in his life. I’d be more than happy to show you around campus one day and allow you to, if you allow yourself to, get a different understanding of what we do and what represent here at the University of Alabama. Roll Tide. And #14 here we come.