To be a fan of football in the South is not just to wear school colors on Saturday, to attend the game, to be happy if your team wins, to be sad if your team loses. To win is not just to climb in the polls or to humiliate a hated adversary, it is to loose all the good spirits, to bind yourself in glory to all other fans of the team. To lose is not just to drop in the polls or to be humbled by a hated adversary, it is to sink in the slough of Despond, to walk in the valley of the Shadow, to dwell in the darkness of those long dead. The difference between Southern football and other football is more than depth of commitment. It is a difference in kind of commitment.
Southern football demands, and takes, a way of life .
And Southern football, for its fans, is worth it. Southern football fans do not take football seriously since that would suggest there is some other way to take it, or that it could be taken or left. Southern football is serious. Soon, Southern fans will begin to make their joyful noises.