Sometimes It's Okay to Hate
by AutumnSpectacle.com staff    E-mail

This is a Web site that celebrates the college football experience.  Part of that experience includes rivalries where the fan bases and even the players and coaches have very strong feelings for their foe.

And, you know what?  When it comes to the world of college football, sometimes it's okay to hate.

Now, before you get on your soapbox and start preaching about how the world is filled with hatemongers, take this article with a grain of salt.  We're not condoning violence of any sort. 

We're simply saying that if the idea of your rival having any sort of success makes you cringe (or worse), there's nothing to be ashamed about.  Go with your feelings.  Embrace your passion because, simply put, they are "them" and we are "us."  Why do you hate "them"?  Because they are not "us."

Don't try to get too logical and attempt to look at the issue rationally.  When you're talking about hate for your rival, logic has no place.  It's this kind of intensity that fuels the Autumn Spectacle and we say it is a good thing that should be celebrated.  Let us show what we mean.

Recently in the University of Alabama student newspaper, there was an article about who Bama's biggest rival was: Auburn or Tennessee?  A quote appeared by Ron Hornbuckle, a senior political science major, that captures the hate that we are applauding.

"No matter what happens with Tennessee, I'm always going to hate Auburn more.  They're a land grant piece-of-crap university; they have poultry science as a major.  Tennessee fans may date their sisters, but Auburn fans date their goats...Orange is bad, but when you combine it with blue, it makes me want to vomit."

You see?  That's what we're talking about!  Ron, you get our vote for Most Likely To Succeed.

It doesn't stop with the fans, though.  Sometimes coaches get into the act.  You've probably heard South Carolina's Steve Spurrier antics regarding Tennessee and Florida State when he was still at Florida.  Let's recap some of his zingers, just for prosperity.

"But the real tragedy is that 15 hadn't been colored in yet."
   - referring to an Auburn dormitory fire that destroyed 20 books.

"You can't spell Citrus without U-T."
   - on Tennessee's frequent appearances in the Citrus Bowl during the mid-1990s.

"You know what FSU stands for, don't you?  Free Shoes University."
   - referring to Florida State's 1994 Foot Locker scandal.

"I don't see why.  I've won more games on that field than he has."
   - after learning that North Carolina coach Mack Brown was angry that Spurrier brought his Duke players back on the field to have a team picture taken underneath the scoreboard following a 41-0 Duke victory to clinch the 1989 ACC title.

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