I have posted this in response to a post over at our Georgia affiliate, Dawg Sports. Much credit to author T. Kyle King for being a voice of reason:
First off, I want to apologize to those who took my post the wrong way. This was never meant as a criticism of all SEC fans, nor was it meant to be an attack of all southerners as "Rednecks. This post was meant toward a certain segment of SEC fan, and I should have made that more clear.
However, the fact is that for some reason, a significant segment of SEC fans have made the Pac-10 the unwarranted subject of their criticism for some time now. I know not why this segment of fans has chosen to make the Pac-10 the subject of their hatred, but I ask them to please be judicous and look at the facts. When you look at the conference's record in bowl games and out of conference competition, it stacks up very well against the rest of the country. USC's dominance, rather than being a sign of Pac-10 weakness, shows just how good that program has been. There is no reason to believe that an Oregon or Cal couldn't hold its own in the SEC, just as there is no reason to believe that LSU or Tennessee would go undefeated in the Pac-10 every year.
The SEC is a good conference, and over the last few years has boasted more legitimate national championship contenders than any other conference. That success is phenomenal, and SEC fans should be proud. But over the last decade, the Pac-10, Big 10, and Big 12 have all had years where they have been the dominant conference. Such things tend to be cyclical in college sports.
While my post was written with emotion and was intentionally trying to get under the skin of a certain segment of people, I will make an effort to make sure that is more clear in the future. However, to the segment of fans that the post was directed to, I give no apology to those fans. No school, conference, or region has a fundamental right to college football supremacy. In fact, part of what makes college sports great is that a Utah, Boise State, or Marshall can play with and beat the big boys. Rather than being disillusioned about one's own team, we need to respect our opponents while still rooting our team on. The track record speaks for itself. And the Pac-10 has done more than enough to earn respect. But for those who choose not to give it, that speaks far more about you than it does the Pacific Ten Conference.