Alabama
If you live in Alabama, everyone here will agree that Cam Newton is a pretty good athlete. We cheered for him last year. He beat UA in the Iron Bowl. Say what you want about his grades.
We all cheered for Cam because he was … hmm … on our team. He played for our “university.” It was a magic moment when he defeated Nick Saban.
UA is just our “rival.”
Note: If someone beat Morris Dees at the SPLC in the “football” of political theory (not to mention the annoying sanctimonious voice of the New York Times), showed him a thing or two, it would elicit similar howls of laughter.
Football season is one of the few times of the year that everyone can relax, drink an ice cold beer, and have some fun watching something other than pure nonsense on television.
Lee Harris talked a lot about “the team principle” in that book I read, The Next American Civil War. The Iron Bowl is like the Civil War of Alabama.
Everyone participates. I mean everyone. Then everyone has bragging rights for a year.