(10-01-2009 02:20 PM)KnightChris Wrote: (10-01-2009 12:40 PM)SF Husky Wrote: In the South, I believe many people are raised to cheer for the team even when they are not alums of the schools they are cheering for. I think that's the key difference. For example, the 49er fanbase is totally different than Cal's. You can tell most Cal fans are college graduates while many 49er/Raider fans certainly are not. This is also why most Pac-10 teams in CA don't have great fan traveling reputation like the SEC.
I think this may very well be true, although I'll stop short of saying I believe it to be true. Syracuse certainly has its share of non-alum fans, so it exists everywhere, though whether it's more prevalent in the south is unknown to me. I did live in Central Florida briefly, but how "southern" that is is debatable, and the non-alum UCF fans were in short supply (great student support though, and this was back when they were Indy).
The whole phenomenon of "bandwagon" fandom on the college level, or simply rooting for a school you did not attend fascinates (or rather, perplexes) me. I honestly don't think I could do it, nor do I understand why anyone would. I'd feel like an idiot cheering for someone else's alma mater.
Case in point, I was born in Syracuse and thus had more than a passing interest in its school's sports teams, but never really "cheered" for them until I attended the university. However, I know many Syracuse natives that will cheer for the 'Cuse even when they take on their actual alma mater! 
IMO, those people should have their fan privileges revoked.
Most people have some lame rationalization for their support. One of my favorites being, "my mom/dad/aunt/uncle" went there. I've always thought that sort of misses the point though. We live and die by our college teams because it reminds us of those wonderful memories at the college bars, the parties, that jerk professor we all had, running thru the quad when you were late for class, cramming into the student section on gameday, etc. It's a very emotional connection to a part of our lives that these "fans" don't have and can't vicariously obtain via their parents' college days.
Wow, long rant that had very little to do with the tangent to the original post topic (attendance). Sorry!
Something that most yanke....errr, I mean...people of Northern upbringing...tend to forget is that universities in the South are historically the economic engine that pulls the train for their respective communities. While Northern states have industries such as steel, auto, textiles that have provided the high wage employment for the majority of your citizenry, down here, that major employer is often the university and it's subsidiaries...med schools, hospitals, etc. You'd be hard pressed to find a family in NC, Alabama, Miss, Tenn...who doesn't have a family member working in a job that is not some way directly related to a large public university. People support and cheer what puts food on the table. In Greenville, NC, a town of 80,000+, it's been said that 78% of the jobs are either directly or indirectly related to East Carolina and it's subsidiaries (Med School, Hospital, etc). Thats enough to make people cheer right there. And not everyone gets to go to college...thats more of a privilege here than a right...but everyone can cheer for a team...I've often found that some of the BEST fans out there, never attended the school they root for. (that means "cheer")
You can use really any school in the south as an example, but I'll take a swing at NC State for whoopie sake. If you farm, and you live in North Carolina, you are an NC State fan. Period. Doesn't matter if you or anyone in your family went to school there. Why? Simple...they are the ag school. Thanks to the folks over at NCSU, you can successfully breed a cow with a turnip green (that's the leafy part of a turnip). In a North Carolina farmers mind, NC State is responsible for the sun coming up in the morning and the moon rising in the evening. It's that simple. They put on the fair, they send people out to check on your crops, they make sure your fertilizer smells right...of course you are going to cheer for them. You are going to send your kids to school there...you are going to send your money there...Unless you are communist. Which brings me to UNC fans...
...perhaps the best southern example of people that don't go to school somewhere but cheer for a team. UNC, arguably, has more non-alum fans than any school in the country. Part of it is because, quite frankly, there are a lot of dumb-asses in our country. But also because it is the liberal bastion of higher learning....liberals need to cheer for sports too, so they cheer for UNC...and there are a lot of liberals out there...just look at the last election. Oh yeah, and they've had a good basketball team since Jesus himself hit that buzzer beater back in 18 A.D. People like to cheer for a winner. Seriously...have you ever met anyone that said..."I really like them cause they suck..."? Didn't think so. Incidentally, I'd venture to guess that UNC has more non-alum Yanke....errrrr Northern fans than any northern school out there.
Southerners are passionate about their football because...well...its a social event...most Yanke....damn, there I go again...Northern schools simply don't understand. At a SEC game with 80,000 in the stadium, there are 50,000 more parked around the stadium eating, drinking, and otherwise having a good time while the game is going on. Even in podunk (that means "insignificant") little Greenville, NC...game day brings and estimated 75,000 extra people to the city...and we only seat 43,000. We tailgate, party, catch up, get rowdy (that means "let loose")...just have fun. Doesn't matter if you went to school there...its an excuse to get together 5-6 times a year with a few thousand others. I've been to games all over the country for the past 20+ years...and I can unequivocally say that this is not the case in the Northern states. One or two schools come close, but nothing like Southern schools. Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know, tell me all about how your school up yonder does so-in-so...it doesn't. Sorry. Love ya, mean it...but it doesn't. The atmosphere surrounding a 106,000 seat Michigan doesn't come close to that of a 90,000 UGA. It really doesn't. It's completely different from a fan perspective. Probably cause down here, we don't give a damn
where you went to school...you're here now and that's all that matters.
Oh yeah, and it's warmer. And we drink more. And our girls are prettier. That's probably got something to do with it. Now before ya'll get all persnickity (that means "pissed off") you know I'm playing with you guys...I've got way too much time on my hands today, but I just want to set the Southern record straight...since your USF board members probably won't, even though they are supposed to be toting (that means "carrying") the southern flag. Bless ya'll...and good night!
