Tomatillo

I would be 100% in favor of this, but seriously doubt they make the west that much stronger than the east.

I just really hope the league doesn't plan around preserving a couple rivalries. I'd much rather have 2-3 regular opponents and rotate the rest of the teams. It would make the most sense to do the pods thing with four teams each and rotate the other 12 teams evenly, but that may not happen, largely due to "tradition" and preserving rivalries.

This is great stuff and thank you for doing it, but I don't think the SEC would have the West and River like that as one would be super competitive and the other pretty average. I think they'd switch A&M with Mizzou for competitive balance and also to keep them away from UT and OU. Other than that, I agree with this alignment and the pods. I hope they do something like this instead of 8-team divisions.

On behalf of (most) UGA fans, we don't give shit about playing that game every year. LSU-Fla is not that much of a traditional rivalry and bot h would probably like to give it up and take their chances on a rotation to fill that spot. Ala-Tenn is the only rivalry in which both schools would want to keep it, I'd think. Pods makes the most sense, as teams can play more of the league more often than the current system in which we have still yet to travel to CS and have been to Starkville once since 2009. We'd each play our three pod teams yearly, then presumably 6 of the others teams in the league each year, forcing each team to play much more often than now. Or just screw the pods, play nine teams yearly, all on a rotation, keep maybe one or two rivals on a yearly basis, and top two records play in the SECCG, if it still exists ...

Nashville is a big city to explore over a weekend. UF and SoCar would be nice if you have the time to stay at a beach and drive 1.5-2 hours to the game. UGA is close to Atlanta, and you can stay there for a night or two before driving in for the game. Athens is a great college town, but just one day there should suffice. If you stay there Fri, you can check out the free campus botanical gardens and art museum, then have a nice dinner at any of the quality restaurants in the area (may need to make reservations at some several weeks in advance for a Gameday weekend.) Bars are never-ending downtown if that's what you're looking for. For Ole Miss, you can stay in Memphis and drive to Oxford for Gameday and same with LSU and New Orleans. Lexington is underrated and features the horse races at Keeneland and bourbon tours nearby. Pretty cool trip, especially after the leaves change. Tenn has mountain towns in the Great Smokeys nearby. Nice views and a peaceful getaway if you like mountains and wilderness.

I have a million soccer jerseys, but hate how the club teams have sponsors on the front. Some are okay, others ruin the entire jersey. Like Man U with the Chevy logo. That was the most atrocious look I've seen any major team have in any sport. Just obnoxious. American sports teams are trending in that direction with the NBA selling out. But I guess they have to in order to pay mediocre players $20 mill+ per year.

AU? Arizona is UofA or just UA, I believe. AU is that cow college in east Alabama 😁

These are fantastic. I definitely bought a Vandy t-shirt with the V inside the star last time I was in Nash (this past spring). I just wish they still sold apparel with the yellowish color as opposed to the boring gold everyone using now!

Definitely attention-getting, but I am not in favor. I do applaud the effort, however.

You guys will love the SEC. the outsider perspective is tainted, but once you are in, you will get it and most likely enjoy it. Texas will win big, it is just a matter of when. As an aside, it will be great for the league and for UT to play some of our programs in sports like tennis, golf, swimming, track & field, etc. Baseball will also be fun. You'll definitely fit right in with your tradition and fanbase.

Clempson under 11.5 Alabama under 11.5

I'm a UGA fan and I totally get it. We played OU in the Rose Bowl and I don't think we chanted SEC at all. Obviously, we didn't do it at the 2018 Sugar Bowl either. That is more for the Ala/Aub fans when they beat someone in the CapOne/Outback Bowl. Not sure if anyone else does it anymore, though it was done fairly often when the Peach Bowl was SEC vs ACC and you had teams going up against the Clemson's and GT's of the world who talk all kinds of garbage about our league. What UT fans should understand is most SEC schools are not stereotypical Deep South people and, frankly, most of us try to distance ourselves from those generalizations as much as possible. Here's a quick rundown for you of SEC fans, towns, schools, etc. .... EAST UGA - Athens is basically in metro Atlanta now, and you will get more of a metro vibe in Athens than country, by far. Athens is typically considered one of the top college towns the country and has a college music scene rivaled by few, namely ... Austin. ND fans took out an ad in the Athens paper to acknowledge how hospitable our fans were and to thank us for being so welcoming. Our rivals will trash our fanbase, but that is how things work. The ND's, Ok State's, Colorado's, Boise St's and UNC fans have had nothing but good things to say about our fans. UF is a different world entirely from the Deep South for the most part. The Swamp is definitely very hostile though. UK is largely an out of state student body with a huge Ohio/Penn/Ill presence. A decent amount of Nashville and Atlanta kids go there as well. Bigtime bourbon and horse racing scene in Lexington and that area of the commonwealth. It's an underrated road trip, especially if Keeneland is open. Tenn has a strong draw to metro Nashville as well and is a fairly popular choice for metro Atlanta kids. Cool stadium to win in and very close to a lot of mountain retreats. Their fans are pretty friendly, even to rivals. SoCar is 1.5 hours from the beaches and draws a ton of kids form the Northeast. You'll find more kids there from NJ than Alabama, for example. A lot from metro Atlanta, Charlotte and Florida as well. Not an overly aggressive fanbase and close to Charleston and the coast, so it can be a nice roadtrip for those with a few days to vacation. Columbia is okay, but tends to be hotter and more humid than you. might think and is fairly average for a town of its size. Vandy is one of the nation's top 25 universities with students from everywhere. Nashville is a fun city to visit if you haven't been there. A lot less country than you might imagine. Mizzou - Texas people are probably more familiar with the Mizzou crowd than I am, but it is far from southern. WEST Ala/Aub - Basically the same crowd, believe it or not. They are both around 2/3 out of state students with a ton from the north and a ton from metro Atlanta and Florida. They have surprising amount from large northern metro areas. Both try to recruit students aggressively from wealthy areas of said cities and are known for giving partial 'ships for pretty much anyone with a decent test score. Both fanbases carry shakers around like some sort of weapon and both think they have the market cornered on "class". I beg to differ. They have been more violent incidences with Ala fans than all other teams combined. They are nuts. Aub fans are not as violent, but tend to be out of touch with reality when it comes to their place in CFB and how good they should expect to be. You can get into an argument with an Aub fan very easily. As far as the towns, Aub is better than its rep and Tusca is worse. Neither is anything special and neither are the stadiums. Ole Miss - Traditionally the school for the wealthy from Memphis or New Orleans, they are now in the mix for the same kids as Ala/Aub. I didn't hear of anyone going to Ole Miss from metro Atlanta 20 years ago, now they are a popular choice. Oxford is the second-best college town in the SEC. The Grove is a must-see, as is the talent. Solid road trip and is fairly close to Memphis for flights and/or accommodations. The red jerseys and powder blue helmets are the second-best look in the league. Miss St - Don't really know much about their students, but they definitely go after kids from Texas and Atlanta. More of a Missipp school than Ole Miss. I've a lot of derisive remarks about Starkville, but it is what it is. They don't pretend to be anything they aren't. It's a small town and the pastures literally run up against the stadium grounds. Not much Gameday traffic and fairly low-key environment. Also, beware the cowbells! LSU - Obviously very Louisiana, but they have huge presence in Houston as many of you may know. Their fans are super vocal and you'll find some who are aggressive and belligerent and others who are your best friend almost immediately. For the serious road tripper, this trip is a must. Stadium is as raucous as any in the country. BR isn't much, but the tailgating is. Arkansas/A&M - Again, you guys know more about them than I do. That said, you will definitely run up against some good ole boys at some of these places, but nothing you can't avoid/ignore. Don't worry so much about the SEC chant. Once UT is in the league, there will be no reason to chant it at your fans ....

This is their best uniform ever and it's not close. They have been doing the Nike iterations and change them constantly to please recruits and get some buzz going nationally (since they have no recruiting base), but the retro-80s/90s look is by far their best, IMHO.

SMU always has some epic uniforms. Helmets have always been tremendous and this new look is a solid addition.

Any gambling plays in Week Zero? There's got to be an easy call on Neb-Ill, right? Hawaii will either lose by 90 or play UCLA really tough. No in-between with them.

I have no idea about the general student population, but Oregon cheer makes me think they should be in the conversation. Oregon cheer is the goat, but the student body is typically covered up and granola most of the year. Definitely some beautiful women in the PNW though. Just not great weather or the type of culture that shows it off.

You will love Athens. Hopefully, UT plays us in the late fall when the weather is cool and leaves are changing. Gainesville will let you down. Fla, the state, has no character, it is Spring Break. Underrated towns are Oxford and Fayetteville. Also for road trips, Lexington and Columbia, SC are surprisingly cool. Bourbon trail and horse tracks in the Bluegrass and you are 1.5 hours from Charleston and the SoCar beaches in Columbia. A lot of fans will stay on the coast/Chucktown for a few days around the SC game.

ASU is the only Pac 12 school that can compete with the SEC. SC and UCLA may have had some hotties in the 80s, now it's a little nerdier ...

Little 5.

Most large cities do right now, but yes, ITP is rife with crime right now.

Roswell is worth it. Brewing company and some good restaurants and bars downtown. About 10 miles north of downtown or 6 miles north of Buckhead.

Welcome to Atlanta, playa.

This thread is not bad, but no one really delved into Va-Hi, Decatur, Brookhaven, Vinings, about 90% of Buckhead and Midtown, all of West Midtown, and a number of suburbs, some of which have some pretty cool spots. Rule from a longtime Atlantan - don't stay downtown and if you do, don't go anywhere there except one of the stadiums, the Aquariums/museums or the CNN Center. Go North or East, young man. Brewhouse is one of the best soccer bars in the US. It's in Little 5. You'll be shunned if you don't know your shit though. You are also in the minority if you're American, regardless of who is playing. However the English and Irish speak pretty good English, so allow them to be your guides. Check out Stone Mountain as well. The carving is obviously controversial, but it is one of the largest rocks in the country (really, it's a huge rock without many trees on it) and you can climb it fairly easily without any gear except some decent athletic shoes with tread. Swallow in the Hollow is also solid for BBQ. This is not Texas, so you may want to try to pork here (either ribs or chopped). Just speaking solely of ITP, you can be in a million different worlds in one day. It's a very low-key diverse city. Buford Hwy, for example, has cuisine from dozens of countries on just a mile or two stretch. Decatur will have you thinking you're in the Bay Area or Greenwich Village, but parts of Buckhead will have you thinking you're in Miami or Southhampton. I now people from each area that has no idea how to get to the other or why they'd go. It's pretty funny, actually. Enjoy. This is a truly underrated city.