A Northern Writer Says Simple Southerners Love Football More

 Send This Story To A Friend

David Jones of The Patriot-News in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania has written something that I simply disagree with. 

That’s okay, everybody has different opinions.  But I thought I would share his with you and get your take.

Mr. Jones covered Southern Cal’s trouncing of Penn State in last week’s Rose Bowl.  During the thrashing he came to the realization that, in his words, “Northern college football stinks.”

“I can’t prove this,” he writes, “But I think people across the Southern tier just might care a little more about football than people up here these days.  The game isn’t merely important to them; it drives their lives.”

He goes on to say, “Southerners, now, you could call them simple people, or maybe you could call them folks with intractable views and priorities. I know one thing: They think football is extremely damned important, at no time more so than now.”

I see where he’s coming from, but I’m not buying it. 

(I also think the “simple people” line would be called racist or sexist if applied to a race or gender… but apparently it’s acceptable to stereotype half the country.  I’ve been to Harrisburg.  The accents may be a little different but at no point did I feel as though I’d stumbled into a Mensa convention.)

Are Southerners crazy about football?  Sure they are.  SEC Southerners, that is.

ACC Southerners are crazy about basketball.

Starting to see where I’m going with this?

I’ve lived in Columbus, Ohio.  I’ve also lived in Knoxville, Tennessee.  Columbus, I assure you, is no less football-crazy than Knoxville.  Maybe more so to be honest with you.

This isn’t a geographic thing, it’s a win-loss thing.

So Notre Dame and Penn State fans don’t seem as passionate as their Southern counterparts?  I bet they did when they were winning national championships.

And isn’t Notre Dame’s fanbase nationwide?  Don’t they have their own national network?

You want to try to convince me that folks in Lincoln, Nebraska aren’t totally consumed with Cornhusker fever?

Why, the Ohio State-Michigan rivalry is the most bloodthirsty feud I’ve ever witnessed with my own two eyes.  So why do those Northerners care so much about football way up there in those colder, less simple climes?

Well, shucks, ’cause they win a mite more than the other yankee schools, I reckon.

Do you think Knoxville is a natural hotbed for women’s basketball?  Storrs, Connecticut?  Or are the fans rabid for that sport because their teams WIN at that sport?

You know the answer.

ACC fans love basketball because they’re good at it. 

Kentucky fans care more about basketball than football — because they’re father North?  Hell, no.  Because they’re better at it.

Take it to a global level.  What sport do Brazilians love?  Uh-huh, what sport are Brazilians great at?

Does the US ever win bupkes in soccer on a world stage?  Nope.  Any of you checking out MrMLS.com later today?  Didn’t think so.

Women’s softball?  Try Arizona and Southern California.

College baseball?  There’s a reason Mississippi State fans love it more than Tennessee fans.  They’re better at it.

So the next time you hear someone saying that the South is crazier about football because they’re backwards, slow or “simple,” just tell them this:

Southerners are crazy about football because they’re good at it.