Just got back Sunday from a 10 day, 3,500 mile trip to D.C. in a RV (and car) with 9 kids and 5 adults. 13 Aggies and Aggie fans plus my t shirt t sip BIL, who was a great case study for show and tell along the way. We ran into folks from every school except Vanderbilt, and we passed though every state except MO, KY, and FL. For those people who are "tired" of the SEC thing already... sorry for you, everywhere we went we heard "Welcome to the SEC!" and "SEC baby!" etc etc etc.
Here is my report:
Arkansas: While most of the state is still technically in a 3rd world state of affairs, the upper class of folks with automobiles invariably have razorback bumper stickers. They also have the biggest bumper stickers many of which cover the entire back window of their beat up old pickup trucks. I didn't have very many good conversations there, but I did get a lot of funny and less than friends looks. I also never knew that the toothbrush was invented in Arkansas... because if it was invented anywhere else it would have been called the teeth brush.
Vanderbilt: I saw absolutely no evidence that Vanderbilt exists.
Tennessee: The Vols that we ran into were very friendly and welcoming. They were also very frustrated with the recent history of their program. The drive up and through Knoxville was fantastic!
Kentucky: I found some wildcats in D.C. Basketball basketball basketball... they really didn't care to talk about football.
South Carolina: These are my new favorite people in the SEC. While in D.C. I was able to spend some time chatting with some folks that approached me and Welcomed A&M to the SEC with big smiles... but were also admittedly bitter that we already stole their AD. They were genuinely excited to be our "permanent rival" and it just felt really natural. I ran into some others traveling through South Carolina and truly enjoyed the conversations.
Georgia: We only stopped once in Georgia, and I didn't really find any bulldogs to talk to. Also, they graded out really low on the bumper sticker index.
Florida: While refueling, I had a big dirty trucker looking guy tell me they were gonna kick our ass on September 8. Awesome!
Auburn: We came pretty close to Auburn and their people were out in full force on the road. Mostly just a single discrete window/bumper sticker.
Alabama: These are by far the most obnoxious big bumper sticker/trailer hitch/personalized license plate and driving like idiots people. I could see them coming a mile away and I'd say "I bet this guy coming in the rearview is a bammer" and sure enough, he'd come weaving through traffic cutting people off and making sure that he cut in close enough for you to read his "RLTDRL" licence plate.
Miss St/Ole Miss: We came through the southern part of MS so we saw evidence of more bulldogs than rebels. I had a good long talk at a seafood restaurant in Bay St. Louis with a Ole Miss grad. He knew pretty much nothing about A&M and was, overall, pretty apathetic. Overall, I cam away unimpressed with either schools' representation.
Louisiana: We are familiar with these creatures and they are somewhat familiar with us... having weaker brains means shorter memories. While very well represented on the road, I didn't find any Tigers to chat with, I think I was using the wrong brand of corndog bait though.
Overall, it was a great experience for the kids to get to see the landscape of the SEC and meet some of the fans. Personally, it was an awesome appetizer for the upcoming season. I've never been more excited to be in the best conference in America!
Here is my report:
Arkansas: While most of the state is still technically in a 3rd world state of affairs, the upper class of folks with automobiles invariably have razorback bumper stickers. They also have the biggest bumper stickers many of which cover the entire back window of their beat up old pickup trucks. I didn't have very many good conversations there, but I did get a lot of funny and less than friends looks. I also never knew that the toothbrush was invented in Arkansas... because if it was invented anywhere else it would have been called the teeth brush.
Vanderbilt: I saw absolutely no evidence that Vanderbilt exists.
Tennessee: The Vols that we ran into were very friendly and welcoming. They were also very frustrated with the recent history of their program. The drive up and through Knoxville was fantastic!
Kentucky: I found some wildcats in D.C. Basketball basketball basketball... they really didn't care to talk about football.
South Carolina: These are my new favorite people in the SEC. While in D.C. I was able to spend some time chatting with some folks that approached me and Welcomed A&M to the SEC with big smiles... but were also admittedly bitter that we already stole their AD. They were genuinely excited to be our "permanent rival" and it just felt really natural. I ran into some others traveling through South Carolina and truly enjoyed the conversations.
Georgia: We only stopped once in Georgia, and I didn't really find any bulldogs to talk to. Also, they graded out really low on the bumper sticker index.
Florida: While refueling, I had a big dirty trucker looking guy tell me they were gonna kick our ass on September 8. Awesome!
Auburn: We came pretty close to Auburn and their people were out in full force on the road. Mostly just a single discrete window/bumper sticker.
Alabama: These are by far the most obnoxious big bumper sticker/trailer hitch/personalized license plate and driving like idiots people. I could see them coming a mile away and I'd say "I bet this guy coming in the rearview is a bammer" and sure enough, he'd come weaving through traffic cutting people off and making sure that he cut in close enough for you to read his "RLTDRL" licence plate.
Miss St/Ole Miss: We came through the southern part of MS so we saw evidence of more bulldogs than rebels. I had a good long talk at a seafood restaurant in Bay St. Louis with a Ole Miss grad. He knew pretty much nothing about A&M and was, overall, pretty apathetic. Overall, I cam away unimpressed with either schools' representation.
Louisiana: We are familiar with these creatures and they are somewhat familiar with us... having weaker brains means shorter memories. While very well represented on the road, I didn't find any Tigers to chat with, I think I was using the wrong brand of corndog bait though.
Overall, it was a great experience for the kids to get to see the landscape of the SEC and meet some of the fans. Personally, it was an awesome appetizer for the upcoming season. I've never been more excited to be in the best conference in America!
