Fandom In The SEC

As #2 Alabama gets set to take on #3 Georgia this afternoon in Atlanta for the SEC Championship most SEC fans focus is on that matchup because the winner will earn a trip to Miami to play top ranked Notre Dame for the BCS National Championship. And for Tide and Dawgs fans it's the biggest game of the year.
Alabama is looking to get back to the title game after winning it last season, and Georgia is looking to play in the national title game for the first time in decades.

Both have a tough loss on their résumé and both should feel fortunate that winning this game affords them the luxury of getting the chance at a BCS title shot.
If your an Alabama or Georgia fan, you were elated when Kansas St. decided not to play defense at all against Baylor and Oregon's high powered offense was shut down by Stanford.
But if your not, and your school resides in the SEC, you were, or should have been, pissed.

Why?

For the first time in seven years we were going to get a BCS champion that wasn't in the South Eastern Conference. One of these two teams could have put an end to Nick Saban's back to back title run. One of these two teams could have, and should have, left Alabama and Georgia fans whining about how a one loss SEC team should be playing in the title game over an undefeated "weaker conference" champion.
But these two teams decided that wasn't going to happen. They decided to waste a golden opportunity, a possible once in a lifetime chance to win a national championship. Flat out blew the chance to put SEC dominance on notice.
I could go on and on and on. But I won't.

And before you mistaken me for a west coast guy or an SEC hater, you should know this: My team plays in the SEC.
And I am not just your average fan. My fandom goes well beyond most outside of the SEC don't understand. To us, it's the most important, unimportant thing in this world.
Which brings me to my point.
How the hell does any fan that supports an SEC team, support other SEC teams?
I've have wondered this for years. When I ask, I get the common fans responses.

"I pull for the SEC."
"If my team ain't in it I wanna see an SEC team win it."
"It makes the conference look strong."
"It's more money for the conference".

It's ludicrous, idiotic, and downright stupid for any fan who's team plays in the South Eastern Conference to want to see another South Eastern Conference team succeed. If your one of these fans, with all due respect (And I'm saying with all do respect) your not really a "fan."
I mean sure, you wear you team colors, you watch the game on TV, and you know what you know about your team because of the last local newspaper article but that just makes you a normal fan. And normal is okay. If your teams plays in any other conference in America other than the SEC.
In the SEC we real fans eat, breath and sleep for our teams. We live for our teams 24/7-365. We pack parking lots hours before games. We know who the third string QB is and where he played high school ball. We spend countless hours logged on to sites that we pay for just so we can get the latest info on our teams or the 17 and 18 year old kids that they are recruiting.
We do not under any circumstances want to see our rivals succeed. Ever.
It hurts our program more than the average fan can understand. It's hard enough to recruit high school stars, even harder when your rivals are successful, and damn near impossible when their winning National Championships.
The conference is making hundreds of millions in TV contracts alone. They don't need the money.
And nothing bothers me more than to hear a Tennessee fan say they hope one of these teams playing tonight win the BCS title because there in the SEC.

That's exactly why you don't want them to win.

And if your one of these people you should
not ever refer to yourself as a "fan" again unless your understand what it means to be a fan.