Alabama football fan Eric Blackerby created a buzz at SEC Media Day this week when he showed up wearing this “I Hate Auburn” shirt:
Blackerby describes himself as Bama fan whose “love of and loyalty to the University of Alabama football team is unparalleled and completely inappropriate. I hate all other teams, and wish them peril.” He wrote on his site Saban’s Sidewalk that he bought the shirt before the tornadoes hit Tuscaloosa and that he knew it would be a big hit. However, he didn’t realize how much attention it would receive.
“I had no idea that by the end of the day, I would have been interviewed by almost everyone there, including Huntsville’s 97.7 The Zone, The Tuscaloosa News, The Auburn-Opelika News, ESPN Radio, CSS, SEC Network, Atlanta’s 680 The Fan, The Knoxville News Sentinel, The Birmingham News, CBS 42, The Orlando Sentinel, The L.A. Times, Huntsville’s WHNT 19, and at least 15 others that I can’t even remember,” Blackerby wrote.
The Bama devotee was disappointed that Bama coach Nick Saban didn’t appear to be as pleased with the shirt as everyone else. When asked about it, Saban said “I would tell him that it’s not personal. It really isn’t personal. That is not really the way that we should respect the opponents that we have.”
Some folks speculate Saban was just giving a politically correct answer, and that may be the case. It was no less hurtful to Blackerby who loves Saban.
Some people are already comparing Blackerby to Harvey Updyke, the man who allegedly poisoned the trees at Toomer’s Corner on Auburn’s campus. All you have to do is read a few words from Blackerby’s site and you’ll quickly realize they’re completely different. They both love Bama, but Blackerby doesn’t have the same sort of unhealthy obsession Updyke does.
Pic via Mr. SEC
