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Posted on 7/31/14 at 7:58 pm to ejohns74
I graduated from Ole Miss and live in Tennessee. Side walkers make up about 95 percent of UT's fan base. The same probably holds true for Bama. Most schools are probably in the 60 to 80 percent range.
Posted on 7/31/14 at 8:19 pm to DawgsLife
I think if you paid for someone to go to a school you are not a sidewalk fan. I mean, the best Aggie I know only has a ring he inherented from his dad. But he has given more to the program in time or money than I ever will.
With that said, "skin in the game" is just not who pays for a college. An alum is permanently associated with that brand. If something in the AD or fan base is terrible that spills over to the brand which effects alums- Penn St. is a good example.
Skin in the game means you have a legitimate claim of association, which is what a sidewalker lacks.
The issue is that too many sidewalkers tie their ego to a brand they have no right to appropriate, and then have the audacity to think that their fictitious tie to that team somehow makes them a better human being ("winner") than a college educated alum or supporter of a less successful team.
When the team matters more than the brand or college you are on the sidewalk.
With that said, "skin in the game" is just not who pays for a college. An alum is permanently associated with that brand. If something in the AD or fan base is terrible that spills over to the brand which effects alums- Penn St. is a good example.
Skin in the game means you have a legitimate claim of association, which is what a sidewalker lacks.
The issue is that too many sidewalkers tie their ego to a brand they have no right to appropriate, and then have the audacity to think that their fictitious tie to that team somehow makes them a better human being ("winner") than a college educated alum or supporter of a less successful team.
When the team matters more than the brand or college you are on the sidewalk.
This post was edited on 7/31/14 at 8:27 pm
Posted on 7/31/14 at 8:25 pm to randomways
quote:
What does it matter to me if the person cheers for Vanderbilt?
What if they are not cheering for Vandy?
What if they are one of the thousands of sidewalk Tenn fans, and they have the audacity to tell YOU (a graduate of the best college in the SEC) how much YOU suck and how they are basically better because 85 players and a program they have no legitimate tie to has a more successful football history?
I would think a Vandy fan would get it. Is the entire SEC just a zoo of lower primates to you Vandy folks? Otherwise I don't understand your position.
Posted on 7/31/14 at 8:30 pm to cardboardboxer
Most of this board is full of crap. I never went to MSU but I try to go to at least one game a year. It might not mean much to y'all but it is all I can afford. The tickets, six hour drive, and the concessions are very expensive. My dad has been trying to go to at least one game a year for the last forty years. He didn't go to State either.
Posted on 7/31/14 at 8:43 pm to bullyintigertown
Great, you are a fan and so was your dad. Shared family traditions are important.
Do you or your dad put your balls or talk down to opposing fans? No?
Then no one in this life will call you a sidewalker. The term has a negative connotation for a reason, it gets pulled out to categorize the worst fans with the least amount of non-nutsack skin in the game.
Do you or your dad put your balls or talk down to opposing fans? No?
Then no one in this life will call you a sidewalker. The term has a negative connotation for a reason, it gets pulled out to categorize the worst fans with the least amount of non-nutsack skin in the game.
Posted on 7/31/14 at 8:55 pm to ejohns74
in addition to many things already mentioned in this thread, two other things stand out which define a sidewalk fan:
1. he (or she) makes the most noise about _______ (insert team), but if you try engaging in discussion with him, you quickly realize how clueless & uninformed he really is.
2. if you ask him to point to the location of the school on a map, he'll get a "deer in the headlights" look on his face....
1. he (or she) makes the most noise about _______ (insert team), but if you try engaging in discussion with him, you quickly realize how clueless & uninformed he really is.
2. if you ask him to point to the location of the school on a map, he'll get a "deer in the headlights" look on his face....
Posted on 7/31/14 at 9:59 pm to cardboardboxer
quote:
What if they are not cheering for Vandy?
What if they are one of the thousands of sidewalk Tenn fans, and they have the audacity to tell YOU (a graduate of the best college in the SEC) how much YOU suck and how they are basically better because 85 players and a program they have no legitimate tie to has a more successful football history?
I would think a Vandy fan would get it. Is the entire SEC just a zoo of lower primates to you Vandy folks? Otherwise I don't understand your position.
For most of our history, if they wanted to tell me how much Vanderbilt's team sucked, I wouldn't disagree. I might question why they bothered bringing it up unless there was a game immediately at hand, but I wouldn't disagree. We have sucked quite a bit over the years.
If they wanted to make it personal, I'd certainly take issue...but I'd take issue if they were students or alumni of Tennessee too.
I've yet to encounter a fan who thought s/he was actually better than me simply because of our respective football teams, though, at least not IRL. They might take pride in the gridiron achievement gap between our two programs (though usually as little more than a divertissement than anything else) but that's not quite the same thing. The sort of infighting we see on sports message boards, where fans of one school honestly think they're better than fans of another school (see: all threads regarding school academic rankings) because of athletic accomplishments, and say so to their face, is kinda of a rare beast found mostly on computer screens. If it comes down to intelligence and/or education, there are far better ways to deal with that sort of thing than referencing football.
Not that it matters much to me -- I'm not under the delusion that a degree from Vandy is somehow stratospherically better than a degree from most SEC schools. A bit better, yes, but it's mostly about how you use the opportunities given to you, not about innate quality. I may make fun of Tennessee fans, for instance, but I don't actually believe they're somehow inferior, so I don't actually believe a sidewalker fan is a fan of an inferior school. I do get what you're trying to say, but I think people take RL trash-talking more seriously than they should.
Posted on 7/31/14 at 10:05 pm to ejohns74
The University of Alabama is a public school and anybody who pays taxes in the state Alabama has the right to claim auburn or Alabama as their team... there is no such thing as "sidewalk" fan, just some punk kids who think they're better than others just because they maintained a 2.0 with a fine arts degree came up with that junk...while they were studying for 4 years and piling up loan debts (that they're still paying off) I was learning a trade while on the job, and taking care of my mother and younger brother, now I'm making over eighty thousand in 8 months and I take off for 4 months out of the year, if I wanted to make more money I could but I love my decision to not attend a university and I'm a die hard Alabama fan, I don't call anyone who attend the university a name so don't call me a derogatory name, just call me a fan of the university of Alabama sports... it really ticks me off especially knowing how much money I spend a year on Alabama sports.
Posted on 7/31/14 at 10:21 pm to houndstoothbandit
Easy there, little cowboy. Commas are our friends.
Posted on 7/31/14 at 10:23 pm to randomways
quote:
We have sucked quite a bit over the years.
Fair enough.
quote:
The sort of infighting we see on sports message boards, where fans of one school honestly think they're better than fans of another school (see: all threads regarding school academic rankings) because of athletic accomplishments, and say so to their face, is kinda of a rare beast found mostly on computer screens.
More like a monthly occurance as an Aggie living in Austin. What I learned this week is your orange UT fans are better than mine.
quote:
I do get what you're trying to say, but I think people take RL trash-talking more seriously than they should.
What else am I supposed to get offended about?!?!
Thanks again for one of the best answers I could get.
Posted on 7/31/14 at 10:28 pm to bullyintigertown
quote:
Most of this board is full of crap. I never went to MSU but I try to go to at least one game a year. It might not mean much to y'all but it is all I can afford. The tickets, six hour drive, and the concessions are very expensive. My dad has been trying to go to at least one game a year for the last forty years. He didn't go to State either.
Have an upvote.
Posted on 7/31/14 at 10:42 pm to cardboardboxer
quote:
Sidewalkers quote: My brother in law grew up in Louisiana and LOVES LSU because his Dad was a big LSU fan. He joined the Army instead of going to LSU. Is he supposed to just turn that off and not root for any college football teams? No, he has every right to be a LSU fan. Just like I have every right to call him a worthless sidewalker if he acts disrespectful to alumni of the competing teams or fellow LSU fans. The issue isn't that you can't be a "fan." The issue is if you don't have real skin in the game don't talk shite to people who do. If you want to talk shite to anyone without any ties that is what the NFL is for.
Perhaps we'd all be better off if NOBODY talked"shite" to other fans(alumni or not.)
And unless you really donated "skin" to TAMU, you don't have any "real skin" in the game. I understand the metaphor, but it's a both lame and insulting.
How about the folks who "Blinn in" to TAMU.
Since they started at a JC, are they less of a fan than you?
Or somebody who received a TAMU EMBA in Houston?
Are they real Aggies?
Posted on 7/31/14 at 10:45 pm to ejohns74
quote:
So to you Jed, the only way to be a true fan is to attend the University?
Yes.
Posted on 7/31/14 at 11:22 pm to DocHog
quote:
but it's a both lame and insulting
I am a big fan of metaphors on SECr, but if that offends you I will use the correct term: vested interest
quote:
Perhaps we'd all be better off if NOBODY talked"shite" to other fans(alumni or not.)
Yes I agree 100%. And no teabaging, tree-killing, etc.
But if people are going to do that kind of stuff without a vested interest in the university they should be called out as shitty sidewalk fans, not celebrated.
Bottom line is you don't get called a sidewalker if you are behaving. It has a certain connotation that should mean something as a social mechanism to prevent the lack of shame that would harm the game and harms some brands.
quote:
Are they real Aggies?
Yes. Even the Galveston Aggies are Aggies.
You get a ring you in this thing.
This post was edited on 7/31/14 at 11:28 pm
Posted on 7/31/14 at 11:25 pm to Summer of George
quote:
So to you Jed, the only way to be a true fan is to attend the University?
Yes.
False. I'm a booster for LSU...been one since 1999. Get invites to TAF parties, received TAF jacket,decals, post cards, B-day cards thanking me for my donations, etc. I've donated to stadium construction, academic centers for athletes, etc. And according to the NCAA, if you donate to the university, you're TIED to that university for LIFE.
I attended Mizzou. Not a hardcore Mizzou fan. Mizzou sidewalk fans know way more about Mizzou and are more passionate about Mizzou than I am. I choose Mizzou because I plan on living in Missouri for a looooong time. Been involved with LSU athletics waaaaaay longer than University of Missouri academics.
Like one poster said, if it weren't for sidewalk fans you wouldn't have these BIG stadiums. And sure as hell wouldn't be making all the money.
SEC network is big because of SIDEWALK fans. There's 6million people in Missouri. If SEC network only went by actual alums in each state then the SEC wouldn't receive shite. Sidewalk fans are the ones bringing in the big bucks.
Posted on 7/31/14 at 11:30 pm to bayou2003
quote:
I attended Mizzou. Not a hardcore Mizzou fan.
That I can't understand. I get sidewalking if you graduated from a local community college without a team, but your "real" team won the East last year.
This post was edited on 7/31/14 at 11:31 pm
Posted on 7/31/14 at 11:41 pm to cardboardboxer
In the majority of cases, the ones that really cause harm to a school, such as causing NCAA penalties, are NOT "sidewalk fans". These individuals cause far more embarrassment and real harm to the program than any "sidewalkers"
Posted on 7/31/14 at 11:42 pm to WonderWartHawg
Always hated the term, I went to AU for two years, my father graduated from AU, and most of my family has also. I've been going to Auburn games since I was old enough to remember and some people here would group me with the fan that has never been to a game or been inside the city limits of Auburn. I love Auburn more than anyone I know. It's a ridiculous term.
This post was edited on 7/31/14 at 11:45 pm
Posted on 7/31/14 at 11:43 pm to ejohns74
If you don't care about the academic aspects of said university, only the strength of the football program then frick you.
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