NCAA Football NEWS
Even Ronnie Lott Knows The SEC Is Awesome
Published by MoonDog on September 23, 2008
Ronnie Lott, former Southern Cal Trojan, San Francisco 49er and pro football Hall of Famer wrote an interesting piece for Yardbarker a few days ago. Lott has personal experience playing against SEC teams while a member of the Trojans and he recalled a few of those games.
Lott knows a thing or two about football. Widely considered the greatest strong safety to have ever played the game, he was easily the most feared secondary player during his days in the NFL.
Ronnie Lott During His Playing Days with the San Francisco 49ers
Lott was one of the toughest men I’ve seen during my 45+ years on this planet and even though I’m a devout Dallas Cowboy fan, I always admired the way he played the game. Lott was instrumental in helping the 49ers win four Super Bowl titles during his 10 seasons with the team.
Lott was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000 and has since become a very successful business man, managing $1.8 billion in private-equity investments and owns Toyota and Mercedes-Benz car dealerships.
In 1978 Lott got his first taste of SEC football when Southern California traveled to Birmingham to take on the Bear Bryant lead Alabama Crimson Tide, a team they would defeat 24-14 and ultimately share the national championship with.
The following season, the Trojans went on the road to face the LSU Tigers in Baton Rouge, coached by Charlie McClendon, the longest serving coach in LSU history and a former player of Bear Bryant at the University of Kentucky.
Ronnie Lott as a USC Trojan
Southern California would defeat the Tigers 17-12 and would eventually finish the season undefeated, winning the Rose Bowl against Ohio State and ranked No. 2 in both polls.
The Trojans probably would have won a share of the national title had they not tied Stanford that season.
From 1970 until 1986, Southern California faced SEC teams 17 times, compiling a record of 8-8-1.
However, during Lott’s days as a Trojan, the men from Troy were 5-0 against SEC opponents and his experiences playing against Alabama and LSU taught him a lot about SEC football.
Lott wrote, “Twice I had a chance to play road games against SEC teams – Alabama and LSU – and both experiences told me a lot about college football. It’s one thing to be able to play at schools like Notre Dame or against crosstown rival UCLA but it’s an entirely different experience when you go to Alabama or LSU or any of the SEC schools.
It is a different type of game, different type of atmosphere. For us it was playing in front of a stadium full of red with the legend Bear Bryant standing on the sideline and having a tiger revved up right next to your locker room that had every player scared to death walking out to the field.
In the SEC, each and every fan comes with a mission, a purpose and as a believer in their school.
Not to take anything away from college football fans around the country, but the SEC is the closest thing to a religion that I’ve ever experienced. They have a love for the game and a love for the pregame like no other.
When we were getting off the bus at LSU the fans were lined up on both sides of the bus with bottles of whiskey in one hand and they started chanting tiger bait, tiger bait, tiger bait.
That’s what I mean by love for the pregame. Whether it’s LSU or it’s playing in Mississippi or against the Auburn Tigers you are always going to be just that – bait.
SEC football will have a view and a point of view of who will be national champions. SEC football is what makes college football so great.
You hear about these ultimate road trips in sports, I assure you that it is worth it as a fan to feel hated, worth it to take in that religious experience, worth it to everyone to see why everyone loves SEC football.”
Ronnie Lott at his Pro Football Hall of Fame Induction
Lott nailed it, citing everything that comprises the SEC and the foundation that is college football. He did however, make one minor error – not everyone loves the SEC.
In fact, outside of the SEC you’ll find most fans HATE college football’s greatest conference.
Note it is the fans – not coaches or former players like Lott – that recognize what is obvious to those of us that have long since figured it out.
The SEC has become the most dominant conference in college football and with the exception of the Big 12, there isn’t much competition.
But don’t take it from me, take it from Ronnie Lott. If you’ve got a problem with that, take it up with Ronnie – I dare you.
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NESW Sports Headlines 9/23/2008 | NESW Sports, Sports Videos on Tue, 23rd Sep 2008 09:26
[...] Even Ronnie Lott knows about the SEC! < Moondog Sports [...]
Joel on Tue, 23rd Sep 2008 22:23
Lott was a scary man, especially with that nub for a pinky.
In an unrelated note, Dog can you make maybe a G-rated version of this site? I had to explain to my company’s IT department that this was a sports blog. Believe me, not a good conversation to have…lol…
MoonDog on Wed, 24th Sep 2008 01:26
Joel – didn’t you hear? I’m the new King of Porn. Larry Flynt called yesterday to congratulate me.
If you use Fire Fox – and I hope you do – you can get a plugin called Ad Block Plus. It will block out all the ads so your wife, girlfriend, mistress, minister, boss, or child can’t see them.
But that’s a shame, considering it’s such a lovely view.