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Our beaver pelt trader of the week? A 3-year-old boy who has already been inculcated in the "Gators wear jean shorts" Dawg-family. We don't know his name but we do know that several people sent this to us as soon as the jorts column went up. This is just unbelievably awesome.
Honestly, if YouTube had existed in 1982 I think there would probably be evidence my dad had me saying things like this about Alabama at that age. Just watch the video. If you had any doubt that training for SEC football taunts started early, this video will erase them. You can't fake this kid's passion. He's a true believer already. Any chance this kid is going to turn into a Gator fan?
Also, for those of you who remain undecided on decapitation and whether you can still see afterward: A rattlesnake with his head chopped off bit a man. I take my bow.
Now on to All That and a Bag of Mail:
From: Matt Coolidge
"I ended up at George Washington (over USC and Miami, I may add) and, while I have fallen in love with the basketball team, I was still homeless as far football went.
"I've always followed college football closely but it's been hard when I don't have a team to truly root for. Fast-forward to Columbia, SC last fall. I had a good buddy from home who ended up going down there and he invited me to come for a tailgate. Ironically, I went down for the Tennessee game that you were at. I had an amazing time and fell in love with the atmosphere and the passion of both the Gamecock and Vol fans in attendance.
"I am really torn here, because I've always been a huge proponent of purity amongst fans (i.e., no bandwagoning). But my logic is this: I grew up in an area mostly devoid of good college football and I now attend a university without even a D-II team. This little caveat always seems to be overlooked when columnists such as yourself give their opinions on when it is and is not OK to root for teams.
"What I'm saying is this: I am a huge college football fan. Not having a specific team to root for absolutely destroys me. I know as a damn, dirty Yankee with no southern ties whatsoever, I'm about as welcome in the South as, well, a damn, dirty Yankee with no southern ties whatsoever. But I love the SEC and I have been following the Gamecocks ever since. I'm planning to go back down to SC for the Florida game in November. I'm curious as to what your opinion is on my dilemma: can I ever rightly declare myself a fan of the SEC and the Gamecocks?"
OK, I've gotten a ton of these e-mails and will be running a column setting out further legal precedent for our fan apparel rulings. But this one is less about fan apparel and about being a fan in general. So I'll take it here.
First of all, I applaud anyone who wishes to become a college football fan and recognizes that the SEC is by far the most talented, fun and exciting league to support. Also, having been to college on the East Coast I'm prepared to recognize that college football doesn't exist on the East Coast. So, and this may be controversial to some more pure-bread SEC fans, I'm willing to acquiesce in your selection of South Carolina as your college football team of choice.
But I've got to think about exactly what actions you have to undertake to acknowledge your newfound affiliation to other South Carolina and SEC fans. Because, let's be honest, you've skipped a lot of long sleepless nights spent staring into the ceiling after losses to join the Gamecocks just in time for Spurrier's magic to take hold. That's coming in a future column and I'd appreciate ideas from Gamecock fans as to how to indoctrinate a new Carolina fan.
For now, as much as it pains me to say so, you may root for Steve Spurrier's new team.
