Ranking the Best College Football Fans in America

[TideinSavannah]

Here's an interesting article that attempts to rank the best college football fans in America. I can't say that I agree with final "selection" but 5 of the top 10 are SEC schools--and Bama is the top school in the SEC! I found this link over on the LSU board where they are moaning and groaning about being ranked 7th--sounds about right to me...

As if these types of lists don't cause enough of a stir, this Top 10 list judges you to determine the greatest college football fans in America.

Stop foaming at the mouth for just a minute while the criteria are explained.

First and foremost, you've got to bleed your school colors. That doesn't mean wearing a team hoodie to the game. I'm talking about painting your house burnt orange.

On game days, you've got to be ready to make life miserable for the opposing team by screaming your head off. And to do that, you can't just roll out of bed and head down to the stadium. You've got to be warming up by tailgating from the crack of dawn until kickoff.

Your RV better be right behind the team bus when your school hits the road, unless there is a family emergency. And for bowl games, even those won't make you exempt.

3. Alabama

Nick Saban got a pretty good idea about how passionate Alabama fans are during the spring game, when over 92,000 people showed up.

Hopefully Saban read a copy of Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer before he arrived in Tuscaloosa to get an idea of what he was in for. A book describing the mania surrounding Crimson Tide football, some of the stories told by journalist Warren St. John seem like urban legend.

Like Tony Brandino, who attended 500 consecutive Alabama football games between 1954 and 1997 (the streak was halted due to a bout with the flu, in case you were wondering).

Or a favorite pre-game snack for Crimson Tide faithful called "Bama bombs," which are nothing more than maraschino cherries soaked in pure grain alcohol.

With Saban on board and renewed hope for Tide fans, it might not be long before Alabama – and its fans – are atop the rankings.

READ ABOUT IT HERE

 

[bamastan71]

Well I would say 92,000+ showing up for a spring game should and IMHO DOES make BAMA fans #1. No other team can even come close to that kind of numbers for a spring game.

 

[Nick4Bama]

Well I would say 92,000+ showing up for a spring game should and IMHO DOES make BAMA fans #1. No other team can even come close to that kind of numbers for a spring game.

loll. Sums it up!!!!

But I like when ESPN calls us obsessed.

They mean it derogatory, but NBC giving nd 40 MILLION a year is obsessed.

 

[liquidvengeance]

With our alumni,fans and population numbers for the state theres no question whos number#1 in the football fan dept. Last time I checked Mich with their so called big house,USC and Ohio st have waaaay more populated areas and cities than the smaller rural area of Ala which should tell anyone how passionate our fanbase is.

 

[AlabamaSooner]

I agree with much of what is said in that article. I think Bama is a top 5 fan school EASY. Their #1 pick of Nebraska is something I totally agree with. The fans are always classy and respectful. I think one of the most awesome displays of Bama fan support was the game in Norman. I can't remember the exact count, but there were around 250 RVs that showed up in Norman for the OU game. The previous record? (At least from my sources back then) 25 RVs from Nebraska. Ever since that day, my Sooner friends finally understood what I grew up with.

I guess I should add that I think South Carolina has a great football fanbase (didn't see that one coming did you?) Still selling out your football games when you're winning only one game a season; that's dedication.

 

[BamaSC]

I guess I should add that I think South Carolina has a great football fanbase (didn't see that one coming did you?) Still selling out your football games when you're winning only one game a season; that's dedication.

SC has a pretty good fan base, but WAY over-rated. SC football games have traditionally been a tailgating event (an excuse to get out of the house, grill something, and get drunk). The fans may go into the stadium for a while, but they didn't usually stay very long. Not very long ago you could pick your seat fairly early in the 3rd quarter of just about every game.

Now that they're playing better football, the fans tend to stick with the game longer, if not to the end. If they keep winning, the actual game may become the main draw.

 

[StoneMtnDew]

I won't really argue Nebraska, but OSU? Come on.

In Ohio you have the Bengals, the Browns, the Cavaliers, the Indians, the Reds and more to distract them. In Alabama we have AU and UA. No pro teams in any sports.

That doesn't mean there aren't some pretty silly OSU football fans, but they just aren't as passionate about their college football as we are.

 

[cmmiller711]

I now firmly believe we should have charged 5-10 dollars admission, and donated it to enterprise just to shut these guys up about other schools charging and to avoid the embarrassingly low dollar amount we gave that day. We still would have had 92k+ in that game and had 100K+ on campus that day if we had charged. I get the nebraska thing because of the Gameday record and such, but OSU???? are you kidding me?

and last time i checked we've sold out every game since before i was born and we've had several seasons with 4 wins or less.

 

[StoneMtnDew]

and last time i checked we've sold out every game since before i was born and we've had several seasons with 4 wins or less.

We've had 3 seasons of 4 wins or less since 1958.

 

[AlabamaSooner]

I now firmly believe we should have charged 5-10 dollars admission, and donated it to enterprise just to shut these guys up about other schools charging and to avoid the embarrassingly low dollar amount we gave that day. We still would have had 92k+ in that game and had 100K+ on campus that day if we had charged. I get the nebraska thing because of the Gameday record and such, but OSU???? are you kidding me?

and last time i checked we've sold out every game since before i was born and we've had several seasons with 4 wins or less.

I thought I remember reading a few years back that the sell-out streak actually had ended during one of our down seasons. I could be wrong, but does anyone have some actual evidence/links? Thanks.

 

[JPT4Bama]

Yeah, these polls are always interesting but still based solely on the writer's opinion. So...we wouldn't be "true" fans unless we disagreed with any ranking but 1st!

Just how much the Crimson Tide actually "means" to us fans can never be measured by any poll, etc. You simply cannot put a value or number on love and devotion.

:BigA: ROLL TIDE!!! :BigA:

 

[bamacpa70]

Did you guys see the UF description? Throwing urine on opposing fans and players makes you some of the "best" fans?? Those people make the WVU fans look civilized.

 

[theBIGyowski]

We have sold out every home game since 1988 I believe.

Also...I can't believe he didn't mention Dick Coffee Jr. when talking about people who haven't missed a game. He's been to over 700 Alabama games without missing one. I believe he hasn't missed a game in 50+ years. I'm pretty sure no one else in the nation has ever done anything like that...possibly any sport save baseball because they play so many.

 

[LSU63]

I'm biased, so no comment on LSU's rating.

But I've been to all the SEC schools except Starkville. Been to Texas a&M, (worst stadium, took all day to get out) Notre Dame, and the Orange Bowl Jan. 83.


Fla-Most obnoxious, profane fans in the world

Ark- Froze to death!! coldest I've ever been at a Football game.

Tenn/Bama- Friendliest fans to opposing team (sorry guys, Tenn people were great to us)

I hear the horror stories about LSU and mouth breathers are at every stadium, but I think a lot of the ones I read on a lot of message boards are bull, I've seen mistreatment here, but 90% get teased a little and fed alot.

Just my 2 cents

 

[Tennessee]

On The Other End:
Miami (FL): There isn't a bigger group of fair-weather fans in all of sports than those cheering and jeering the Miami Hurricanes.

Even when they played for the 2001 and 2002 national championships, the Rose Bowl and Sun Devil Stadium looked like home games for Nebraska and Ohio State due to the number of fans wearing red.

And with five national championships since 1983, nothing short of a national title will satisfy Miami fans. As Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi put it, UM fans are "preposterously unrealistic." And they jump ship quick. A mere 23,308 showed up for the 2006 home finale against Boston College during a dismal campaign.

Miami fans in all sports are terrible...I've always loved the excuse, "well, there's alot more to do in Miami than other places..." Not sure what that has to do with whether or not you support your team, but whatever...

 

[chris]

I'm biased, so no comment on LSU's rating.

But I've been to all the SEC schools except Starkville. Been to Texas a&M, (worst stadium, took all day to get out) Notre Dame, and the Orange Bowl Jan. 83.


Fla-Most obnoxious, profane fans in the world

Ark- Froze to death!! coldest I've ever been at a Football game.

Tenn/Bama- Friendliest fans to opposing team (sorry guys, Tenn people were great to us)

I hear the horror stories about LSU and mouth breathers are at every stadium, but I think a lot of the ones I read on a lot of message boards are bull, I've seen mistreatment here, but 90% get teased a little and fed alot.

Just my 2 cents

BEST road trip i've taken was Bama-l.s.u. in '92. met a tulane grad prior to the game,he was a big tiger fan,he took us to a pregame tailgating that included all sorts of dignitaries then took us to one of his resturants,on perkins road,following the game. he dined and wined us on his tab! i've never had a better game expierence!!

 

[chris]

We have sold out every home game since 1988 I believe.

Also...I can't believe he didn't mention Dick Coffee Jr. when talking about people who haven't missed a game. He's been to over 700 Alabama games without missing one. I believe he hasn't missed a game in 50+ years. I'm pretty sure no one else in the nation has ever done anything like that...possibly any sport save baseball because they play so many.

i went to the Bama-u.c.l.a. game in 2k in pasadena and bought the local paper on gameday. mr coffee and his son were featured on the front page!