USF: The Most Hated Team in Florida

[Griggsy]

It's a fact.

I recall reading a thread on here where someone was complaining that the problem with USF football is that no one hated us. They assessed that the lack of hate essentially equated to a lack of being taken seriously.

Folks, those days are over. If you need proof, go peruse the "Big 3" boards for a few minutes. I got my first clue after having technical problems opening the now infamous FSU News article called "USF is no FSU".  I googled it and found a duplicate on tallahassee.com.  Venture over there and read what people are saying.

It's downright ridiculous. (Many) Big 3 fans will say ANYTHING they can to tear USF down. It seems they need, in their own minds, to justify to themselves that USF isn't really legit. Like an Estella's dinner gone horribly wrong, they simply cannot process it. Once the football arguments have been exhausted, they move on to anything they can drudge up .... fans, students, students' moms, etc.

I try to imagine what I would feel like if, say, UCF suddenly appeared in the Top 10. I can't honestly pretend I'd be happy about it, and I may even criticize their SoS. But would I really resort to namecalling and bringing up arguments that have NOTHING to do with football? No, and I'm not even bound by the rules of journalistic integrity.

Like an only child who acts out in kindergarden when first confronted with the concept that they are no longer the center of everyone's attention, I think the best thing we can do is ignore Big 3 fans.  Is there misinformation out there? Yes. Will stepping in and defending USF or trying to correct information do any good? Maybe some, but remember that "truth" is not what these folks are seeking.   These "football snobs" who inexplicably link their personal identity to their school -- even to the point that they (no kidding) believe they hold a higher station in life because of the school they attended -- simply need to (as cliche as it sounds), tear USF down to build themselves up. Any opposing fan who is so critical of USF that they resort to personal attacks who claims that this is not the case is deceiving themselves. Irrationality.

I actually had a gator fan tell me (after the LSU loss), that he didn't think wins and losses should be considered in deciding the national champion. He was serious! In his logic, the polls should rely on program reputations alone to determine who 'deserves' to play for the BCS title game.

Bottom line: Don't be looking for friends out in the Florida football establishment any time soon.  It will take years of successful USF football for the Big 3 fans to run out of excuses for explaining away our up and coming team. (If ever).  And, until UCF or another non-BCS school rises and begins challenging the establishment (at which point Big 3 fans may begin lumping us in), we will always be the unwelcomed new kid on the block.

[Rocky Style]

Well, Miami fans shouldn't be talking right now.  Are they?  Maybe later on in the season but not after losing to UNC.

[ProudBull]

I don't want friends i want respect.  All this attention just means that they are finally realizing that we are on the big stage with them and they don't want any new guys at the table (two metaphors in one, woohoo)  They can talk and we will play...one game at a time

[BullsWinBucsWin]

I don't want friends i want respect.  All this attention just means that they are finally realizing that we are on the big stage with them and they don't want any new guys at the table (two metaphors in one, woohoo)  They can talk and we will play...one game at a time

I think you have broken the all-time record for most cliches in one post! 

[TheBullies]

LOVE THE HATE! BRING IT ON!

Rather have the hate than the lack of recognition that we've lived with for 10 years.

[kingkoon]

Exactly bring on the hatred....

As the great yoda said, "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

[Rocky Style]

Exactly bring on the hatred....

As the great yoda said, "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

I think he said that in the new trilogy though so it doesn't count.

[Rizman]

Gee I thought it was Florida followed by Florida state.

[MarketingGuy]

Exactly bring on the hatred....

As the great yoda said, "Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering."

New sig!

[RSSMOOTH]

There is fine line between love and hate. Both emotions imply that you care.

I don't care about any of the other Florida schools that much to hate them.

I may dislike them but they're certainly not important enough for me to hate them.

So in essence these other schools may hate us, that just means they really care about us enough to be jealous.

Just think about it, we have the most impressive wins out of any team in Florida. We beat Auburn who in turn beat UF.

We beat UNC, who in turn beat UM. We beat WVU who arguably would beat all 3 of them. We are the highest ranked team in the state and have the best chance at making it to the national title game. They hate us because they want to be where we are right now.