GT Fan versus pulling for ACC

poodleface

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
209
Location
Atlanta, GA
Yeah UGA is a team I can definitely say I have never pulled for and have always rooted against.

When I went to Charlotte for the ACC champ game, one of my favorite moments (apart from the 2nd half of the game) was going to a sports bar beforehand and hearing a crowd of Georgia Tech fans watching the SEC championship, yelling

ROOOOOLLLLLLLL TIDE

Also, Johnny Knoxville was there, inexplicably.
 

awbuzz

Helluva Manager
Staff member
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11,423
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Marietta, GA
Always pull for the ACC team when game is OOC. That is for all sports, not just football.

As pointed out that effects the perception of GT if we are playing against "good" teams.
 

CuseJacket

Administrator
Staff member
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18,898
When I went to Charlotte for the ACC champ game, one of my favorite moments (apart from the 2nd half of the game) was going to a sports bar beforehand and hearing a crowd of Georgia Tech fans watching the SEC championship, yelling

ROOOOOLLLLLLLL TIDE

Also, Johnny Knoxville was there, inexplicably.


I agree that was fun tailgating with the GT alumni at Black Finn with the SEC championship game on in the background. I'll add one qualifier... One of the most embarrassing moments was walking into BofA stadium right before our kickoff. Many GT fans were more interested in watching the conclusion of the UGA game to the point where they missed kickoff.
 

gtdrew

Banned
Messages
740
Location
Decatur
Surprise, surprise, I'm with Peedawg. I could give two craps what any other ACC school does. Leave that "Conference Pride" nonsense to people with nothing else in their lives. I'm a GT guy.
 

GTFan62

Jolly Good Fellow
Messages
156
I pull for GT, anyone playing UGA and also for whoever is playing any team that might be ahead of us in our division.
 

stevo0718

Georgia Tech Fan
Messages
86
Last year, #5 FSU vs middling NC State... Who were you rooting for?

FSU for national perception and a NC contender, or the fun exciting underdog at home?

This may add a different perspective.
 

GruffyMcGuiness

Georgia Tech Fan
Messages
75
Location
Atlanta, GA
Tech, VT, FSU, Clemson and Miami need to beat up on the lower teams on the totem poll. I have no problem with any school in the ACC other than thug U and VT and even like Clemson so I root for them all except when they're playing us. We need to get some respect back in the ACC and the only way to do that is to win.
 

AE 87

Helluva Engineer
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13,015
As long as my team is winning, I don't care about the others. They could all go 0-11 and I wouldn't lose any sleep. This whole 'conference prestige' is a term developed by ESPN anyways.

I suspect that this statement isn't entirely true. For example, I suspect that you would not actually like GT to move down to FCS or even to a non BCS conference in which they would have greater chance to win all their games. If this suspicion is true than there is some degree of hope that the ACC be considered a top-tier conference which, in turn, entails the hope that the ACC teams don't completely crap their beds.
 

daBuzz

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
965
The only reason I care about the perception of the ACC is because it affects the perception of GT. I'd be happy to win BCS bowl games coming out of the worst conference in the country. I don't think anyone would could argue with our merits if we did that consistently.

I disagree. I'm fairly confident they would indeed argue the merits if you come out of a weak conference.

With the new 4-team playoff coming next year, they would indeed pass over the winner of a weak conference and take a 1-loss SEC champion instead. For proof, look at the last 2 year's national championship games. Hell, two years ago, Alabama lost to LSU in regular season and ended up playing LSU a second time...for the national championship. All because people thought the SEC was so dominant that they took two 1-loss SEC teams over other 1-loss teams.

One of those 1-loss teams was Boise State. However, even before they lost that one game, there was speculation on ESPN and other media outlets of "Does an undefeated Boise State team deserve to be in the national championship game over a one-loss SEC team?"

The best way to ensure your chances in the 4-team playoff is to win your league and for your league to be perceived as strong.
 

CuseJacket

Administrator
Staff member
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18,898
I disagree. I'm fairly confident they would indeed argue the merits if you come out of a weak conference.

I'm not sure you're actually disagreeing with me. I said if we consistently won BCS games then no one would argue with our merits. It seems like you're talking about our merits to get into a BCS game in the new playoff structure which is entirely different. I agree with your assertion that it will be harder to be selected if we come out of a weaker conference.
 

dressedcheeseside

Helluva Engineer
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14,027
Surprise, surprise, I'm with Peedawg. I could give two craps what any other ACC school does. Leave that "Conference Pride" nonsense to people with nothing else in their lives. I'm a GT guy.
But that's the thing, nobody has that SEC version of "conference pride." It's just a logical thing because it helps the national perception of GT. Weak ACC hurts GT's perception. Strong ACC helps it.
 

Bruce Wayne

Helluva Engineer
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1,870
DCS, it is not your normal m.o. to make exaggerated or binary statements. There is an option "c" for your "idiots" or "SEC mockers" chanting "ACC!" That option are ACC fans genuinely pleased and enthused when they see a scoreboard flash that another conference team is beating up on a SEC opponent.

Also Big Ten fans, in my experience, are extremely conceited about their conference, both academically and athletically. Most fans of teams want to think the best of their conference. The most significant exception I am familiar with are some fans of ACC teams (most especially GT or those generally in the Deep South it seems) who prefer to be provincial and sullen and bemoan that their team is not part of the SEC which dominates for the attention of this region. The fact that Tech used to be in the SEC makes the moaning most poignant for those Tech fans inclined to self-pitying envy.
 

GTJason

Helluva Engineer
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1,566
This is a purely football discussion. I think the issue is outside of ACC country (mid-atlantic) other people roll their eyes at the chant of ACC and in ACC country there is no need to chant it. The reality is most people don't chant for their conference. Do you know any Alabama fans that chant SEC (I don't know any actually so this is a semi-serious if rhetorical question?) They don't need to. UGA fans do it because they need an excuse for their few losses per year - sometimes it's a good argument. I know a few TAMU grads who openly mock teams like UGA for chanting SEC. The argument they have is they beat the national champion last year. I don't think the LSU fans cheered SEC after the MNC game 2 years ago.

The reality is the SEC has a few teams each year that could beat up on almost everyone in the country and they have a few that wouldn't do well in the former big east. The ACC has many teams that are pretty much middle of the road. How close were we to beating the #10 team in the country and getting to play Northern Illinois in the Orange bowl? Would it have been a good thing for the conference had we gone 8-6 with an orange bowl win? No not at all, but we would have loved it. What if we went 7-7 with an orange bowl loss to NIU? We did good work for the conference this past year beating USC and I enjoyed that matchup - mostly because I expected to get killed and we won by more than the scoreboard indicated. My point is the ACC won't be respected until we have a juggernaut or 2 that can beat up on everyone in the country. FSU and Clemson have all of the "intangibles" but can't seem to win. The reality is none of us are going to be happy unless GT is the team to hoist the crystal ball. Let's say Clemson runs the table and plays in the MNC and our only 2 losses are to them (reg season + ACCCG) and we win a BCS bowl. Are we cheering for Clemson in the MNC game or are we saying f' Clemson for screwing up our season? I'm thinking the latter but that's how I am, many would cheer for conference pride

TL;DR version: Winning cures everything
 

Blumpkin Souffle

Bidly Biddington III
Messages
1,367
Funny you mention A&M fans, I've seen a bunch of the here (Houston) doing the SEC chant before they even played a game in the SEC.

Bottom line, the way rankings are now you want a strong conference to make your wins have a greater impact.
 

daBuzz

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
965
This is a purely football discussion. I think the issue is outside of ACC country (mid-atlantic) other people roll their eyes at the chant of ACC and in ACC country there is no need to chant it. The reality is most people don't chant for their conference. Do you know any Alabama fans that chant SEC (I don't know any actually so this is a semi-serious if rhetorical question?) They don't need to. UGA fans do it because they need an excuse for their few losses per year - sometimes it's a good argument. I know a few TAMU grads who openly mock teams like UGA for chanting SEC. The argument they have is they beat the national champion last year. I don't think the LSU fans cheered SEC after the MNC game 2 years ago.

I went to an Alabama game in 2011 with a very good friend of mine who is a season ticket holder at Bama. The entire stadium was yelling S-E-C at one point, so yes, they do yell it.
 
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