re: Arrogance and delusion

quote:

---

The three most arrogant fanbases in the SEC are Texas, Alabama, and Ole Miss. The difference is that two of them can at least produce an explanation for the arrogance. I understand Texas. Texas is one of the better public universities in the country. Its athletic department is a machine. They win championships across multiple sports, have essentially unlimited resources, and reside in a state with a massive economy that continues to attract businesses, investment, and people from across the country. Texas fans are insufferably arrogant, but at least the résumé exists. Alabama is a different story. The state routinely finds itself near the bottom of rankings you generally want to be near the top of, and nobody is confusing the University of Alabama with an academic powerhouse. But Alabama football is arguably the greatest program in the history of the sport. So, again, I understand the arrogance. If the one thing your university does exceptionally well happens to be the thing the entire SEC organizes its Saturdays around, you're going to talk some shite. Then there's Ole Miss. This is where the sociology gets fascinating. Ole Miss has somehow produced a fanbase with the arrogance of Texas, the regional superiority complex of Alabama, and the athletic trophy case of absolutely neither. Ole Miss fans don't merely think Ole Miss is good. They seem genuinely convinced they're members of some landed Southern aristocracy because they own a blazer, drink bourbon, and once stood near a chandelier. That's what makes Ole Miss arrogance so spectacular. Texas arrogance is backed by money, academics, and championships. Alabama arrogance is backed by the greatest football dynasty the sport has ever seen. Ole Miss arrogance is backed by a bow tie, a tailgate, and a deeply held conviction that putting on loafers magically transforms a Mississippi redneck into a member of the British peerage. They're not even pretending to be athletic royalty anymore. They've skipped directly to pretending they're actual royalty. The Grove isn't Versailles. Oxford isn't the Hamptons. And wearing pastel pants while getting hammered under a tent doesn't make you high society. It makes you a redneck with a dress code.

---