Bill Connelly looks at how that whole SEC rivalry thing with new kid on the block Missouri is working and, quite frankly, finds us a little slack in that department:
… Georgia fans were among the ones least impressed with Mizzou’s move to the conference (those less impressed tended to be the ones who live a long, long way away from Columbia), and I think it’s probably telling that, at Senator Blutarsky’s blog, there hasn’t been a Missouri mention in months. It’ll take something pretty impressive for us to end up with more than three points in this category.
Speaking for myself, there’s got to be a dash of hate to spice up any rivalry. There’s nothing quite like a mid-sixties harridan wearing a piss-gold sweater she wouldn’t be caught dead wearing anywhere outside of Bobby Dodd Stadium getting in your face after (another) Georgia Tech loss to tell you to go to hell, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
That’s Missouri’s problem. They’re too nice. Everything I heard from friends and acquaintances who made the trip to Columbia last year was about how gracious the locals were. And even Sheldon Richardson had the good manners to apologize to Richt after the game for his “old man football” remark. That’s no way to build a rivalry.
Missouri needs to do something October 12th to jumpstart the heat. My suggestion? Gary Pinkel needs to hire a consultant on how to get an edge that riles things up. And I’ve got the perfect candidate – he’s even got a familiar name. Of course, that kind of stuff can backfire on you if you’re not careful.
Helpful suggestions for Bill are, of course, welcomed in the comments.
Get The Picture 
“Glad to have you.” “Thanks for making the trip.” Was the familiar refrain.
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So far, I haven’t seen anything hateable about Mizzou. Hell, I root for them 11 games out of 12.
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Yup. I kind of don’t mind not hating them…I hate everybody else enough…:)
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I sat on the 50 yard line in the MIZZOU section. No one said a word other than “nice to have you here”
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‘Harridan’ Very nice.
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It was a NATS fan with long hair. It’s not fair to blame the other gender. Oh!, and they call it old gold, not piss yellow. My reference has changed through the years because I don’t know what piss yellow looks like anymore. You will understand this remark when you get older.
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I for one am dreading the Mizzou game this year. After the way they treated our group last year I am obligated to buy every Mizzou person I see a beer (hell they were buying us pitchers). This could get expensive real fast.
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Did you go to their downtown beerfest before the game? Some of you guys were supposed to put up a big “Bluto –> here!” sign for his good works reward.
The Mizzou game: The 2012 rise of Jarvis Jones. And Murray pulling the D’s fat out of the fire.
Put a message on the Jumbotron: “Welcome to UGA and Sanford Stadium – Now lose and go home!”. That oughtta piss’um off.
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I just hope some of our fans don’t act like assholes.
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+1
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True, I respect the Mizzou fans for acting like classy humans and miss the days when the SEC fans acted civilized outside the stadium and ferocious on the field of play. We don’t need any more Florida and South Carolina type groups. Texas A&M fans are a good example of enjoying your traditions, treat guests like true Southerners, and playe competitively on the gridiron.
My only siggestion to Missouri is look back to the 80s and see how great your uniform looked before you started letting design teams tell you how to dress. They may have taken the biggest fall in the before/after uniform debate.
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Who knew you were a style maven
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Style “Harridan”, you mean. Mac, get your fingers away from the cuss key.
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I am feeling a little light in my Docksiders this morning, been floating all over the house.
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There’s only one cure: Needs moar campfire songs!
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Hire Petrino as OC. That’ll do it.
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The problem Mizzou faces is that they weren’t really wanted by the fans of the SEC. They were mostly a solution to a numbers problem. That’s my two cents, but YMMV.
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I had a great time in Columbia. What shocked me the most was how DEAD their downtown area (and tailgaitin’ in general) seemed to me. There was one main drag of bars and we walked in multiple ones where WE WERE THE ONLY ONES THERE!!! All I heard was how since it was their first SEC home game, there was going to be a big atmosphere…..but with their colors and the ‘ol jalopy that came on the field before the game, it had a touch of a ‘GA Tech feel’ to it. Yuck.
The people were wonderful though. I had not one problem with fans and everyone was welcoming. I hope our fans (though I have doubts) will act the same.
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I thought it was kinda pitiful the tailgaters squeeze into little spots parallel to the main drag into campus. Camped out right there on the side of the road.
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I feel you JC. Pre-game, downtown was empty, and post-game they shut down everything at 1. How are we supposed to damage their property and ride off on their women by only 1 in the morning???
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“….and ride off on their women by only 1 in the morning”.
Lamenters or Moaners?
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That’s the problem — at 1 am, the distinction still matters.
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I don’t think we’ll ever have a fierce series with Mizzou. It might be competitive and eventually put on all-time classics, but I just don’t see the off the field stuff boiling over. That’s mostly due to how far Columbia is from Georgia. They’re roughly 700 miles away. Most of their graduates probably end up in the St. Louis market or wherever. Most of ours are Atlanta. There’s just less opportunity for interaction. What makes Florida, Tech, Auburn, Bama, Skarelina, Tennessee, etc so fierce is we can and do run into their fans every single day. That just doesn’t happen with Mizzou.
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I read the full article and saw that Vandy fans apparently spent time instructing Mizzou about how they’d have to get more physical to play in the SEC. Vanderbilt. Damn. Tough year to be a Mizzou fan.
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I hope UGA-Missouri ends up like UGA-Kentucky; we dominate the series, but there’s no hard feelings.
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If Mizzou were to beat the Dawgs 3 years in a row the game would become a major rivalry. Look what’s happened with the UGA-USCe game. Mizzou has got to get better for that to happen.
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UGA-USCe is still ranked below rivalries against Florida, Georgia Tech, and Auburn by a good bit (and we’re 7-2 combined against them while we’ve been 0-3 against South Carolina). I’d say it is about even with Tennessee right now, the USC game just matters more because Tennessee sucks so badly.
Recent results matter, but tradition matters far more.
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“……because Tennessee sucks so badly.” Ain’t it great? 😉
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I question that GT is really a rival of UGA any longer. In order to be a rival you have to at least be a threat to win the game. In fact, several posters on this blog have openly advocated that we stop playing GT altogether. I myself favor playing them in Sanford Stadium only just like we do with Georgia Southern and Western Carolina–pay them to show up and get beat–with UGA pocketing the profits.
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This sums up how I feel about having them in the conference.
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It’s nice to be wanted though
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http://espn.go.com/college-sports/story/_/id/7063633/missouri-tigers-hope-join-sec-had-wanted-big-ten-invite-most
Kind of hard to get excited about someone being at your party if they don’t even wan tto be there themself. Mizzou just doesn’t excite us, just like we don’t excite them.
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Think we should just diddle them again before sending them to the Big10?
The object here is to propose a way to make them SEC enemies for their sake. Being nice is only going to make us think that they like getting screwed. Propose that we don’t even use a condom this year.
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Dear Missouri…Would you please be so kind as to send one or two rednecks to the other SEC towns and campuses to poison some of our trees or foilage? It would do SO much for the rivalry and would also adjust our perception of you as too genteel (read…we won’t feel the need to buy you beers this year). I know you might be shocked at this proposal, but that’s the way we roll down here. By the way, you’re dawgmeat.
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Missouri fan here…now help me figure something out, if you don’t mind. When Missouri comes to the SEC, the first thing we hear about is this “southern hospitality” stuff. Which is fine, although not what we’re used to from fans around the Big 12, and honestly, it’s not really what a lot of Missouri fans are used to acting like. But we decide to display a little of this, and then suddenly, we’re not “real” members of the SEC because of this?
Mizzou had its worst year in football since 2004. It was minimally related to the SEC. When your entire offensive line is in the hospital and your quarterback is with them most of the time, you are not going to win a whole lot of games, in the SEC, Big 12, or Sun Belt for that matter. Wait until you see a halfway decent Missouri team before you judge. That should occur next year. And in basketball, well, yeah. Maybe we shouldn’t talk about that.
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What is this “basketball” you speak of, David? 😉
Seriously, thanks for dropping in.
I didn’t interpret Bill’s post as being about whether Mizzou is a “real member” of the conference. (Of course it is.) But just because you’re members doesn’t automatically translate into rivalry status.
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Yeah, the SEC had nothing at all to do with those players being in the hospital. The SEC is just as gentle as the Big 12.
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And I wouldn’t take too many comments on this subject seriously if I were you, David. People here and in the SEC in general have impeccable Southern manners.
May I recommend that next time you post an “Ain’t Skeered!” to this cajolery just to show appreciation for the Southernese spoken here.
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I’m glad Missouri joined the SEC. Preferred them over A&M. Besides that, the hospitality of people from the Midwest is second to none.
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