A True Football Fan in the South

I’m a huge football fan- Georgia has always been my team but this year we added Mercer to the mix. Thank GOD because it would have been a pretty miserable season without Mercer.

But let’s take a look at something interesting:

Aaron Murray broke Danny Wuerffel’s SEC Career TD Passing Record (source: Bleacher Report)- and this was as of the App State game, he also broke Tim Tebow’s passing record. This is also a young man who kept playing ball in the Kentucky game even though he knew something was wrong with his knee.  A young man who came back to Georgia when many others choose to go pro- even if they won’t be drafted high.

This season we are 8 and 4, a winning record, although it sure doesn’t feel like it. We lost to Auburn at the very last minute, and beat Tech at the very last minute. Lady Luck sure has been fickle with us this year, to echo Larry Munson. You have to wonder what he would say about this.

Then you have Mercer University, a brand new team in Macon, Georgia- the heart of Georgia football territory. I swear I always see a sea of red and black but this year it was orange and black. To be honest it far exceeded my expectations. It is surely amazing how football can bring a community together and I would say Mercer has done that for the Mid State- I feel confidant in saying this when boutique owners tell me women are buying outfits in Forsyth and Warner Robins for Mercer Football. Say what you will, but when the ladies are purchasing items for the games that means the whole family is participating.

Tailgating at Mercer also far exceeded my expectations, people turned out in droves for tailgating on campus. It was unbelievable.

As for the football team itself, Mercer now holds the record for a debut season on his home turf. Via GPB, “The team defied low preseason expectations and topped a record for most wins in a debut season previously set by Old Dominion in 2009” (GPB.com). I’m proud to say I was on the sidelines for many of these game, and I think it made me more of a football fan. To see these games up close and to watch the players as they came on and off the fields. I’m truly blessed for the experience (and praying for a media pass for next year).

I’m so proud to be a football fan in the South- I think we have a love of the game like no other. It truly is a religion here.

But then we have moments like last night- what should have been lauded as an incredible play at the end of the Alabama/Auburn game by even Alabama fans was taken out on Twitter with death threats towards the kicker who missed the field goal. Hey guys- didn’t your moms teach you not to be a sore loser?

Me personally, even though I was mad as fire about the end of the Georgia/Auburn game and I pouted about it- I didn’t take to Twitter like that.

Sure, one of my favorite hashtags is #BoboNeedsToGo – because I think he calls some idiotic plays as an Offensive Coordinator- but that’s also the coach. I think coaches are fair game to be questioned because they’re the adults and they’re getting paid for this. Not a teenage kicker whose primary focus should be his schoolwork.

The behavior of these fans is at best embarrassing and at worst- I don’t think there’s even a word for it.

As a FOOTBALL FAN- a true football fan would say wow that was an amazing game for anyone to watch and both teams played their hearts out- congrats to all because there wasn’t a real loser in that game. There wasn’t.

I think what we take away from this is no- it isn’t just a game, even in this case. It’s not just a game, it’s a reflection for how we can handle life. We can either pick ourselves up, shake the hands of the other person and say “wow- that was a really good effort and a hard fought fight” or we can want to get in a fistfight with the other person simply for doing the same thing as us- playing our best.

We can look at players like Aaron Murray, who play even past an injury, who come back when they could have left, at teams like Mercer which should NOT have won with a slew of freshman on the team- that not only won but broke a record for home wins in a debut season. We can look at things like that to see the true heart of football in the South. These are the things that make me proud to be a football fan- not a Georgia fan not a Mercer fan- but a true football fan in the South.

Love to all y’all,

Molly