SEC Media Days: The Kiss Of Death

Ah, SEC Media Days.  It unofficially begins the season for the SEC.  Rabid fans like myself anxiously await the hoopla and craziness that surrounds it.  It gives each coach and usually two his players to talk about the upcoming season, and we as fans eat it up. With all the excitement that surrounds Hoover, Alabama this time of year, there is one thing that must be taken into consideration.

The Kiss of Death.

For those who have followed SEC football, you know what I'm talking about.  To those outside the conference, let me explain.  During media days, votes are cast by members of the media to project the order of finish in each conference and the conference champion. 

You may say, "Hey, other conferences do this too!" , and you would be correct.  However, its a completely different beast in the Southeastern Conference.  In the South, superstition goes hand-in-hand with tradition.  Receiving the votes to win it all in the conference is usually a death knoll to the team.

"Your just making this up!" you may say, but I kid you not.  The record stands that out of the last 16 years that the media has picked the winner, only 3 have actually gone on to win the SEC crown.

Florida in 1994 and 1995, and LSU last season in 2007 are the only teams that have gone on to win the SEC after being picked during media days.  Last time I checked, that isn't a good batting average.

So lets look at this season.  Though the frenzy starts tomorrow, it will more than likely be Georgia to win the "honor" this year.  Georgia on paper looks to be the team to beat this season, and they will no doubt carry the most coverage during media days. 

All of this may sound like a huge coincidence, and it maybe so.  It also sounds like some made up reason to why Georgia will not win the SEC this season (after all, this is a crazed Auburn fan that is writing this article). You may claim I am a Georgia hater, which last time I checked, Auburn and Georgia do have a bit of a rivalry going on for over 100 years.

(And yes, I despise Georgia about a hair less than I despise that other school across with the elephants.)

So I say this to you, oh fellow reader.  Talk to a SEC fan and ask what he thinks about media days and winning the pre-season pick for SEC champion.  I guarantee you they don't want to hear it or talk about it.  Instead, they will immediately reach for their rabbit's foot or horseshoe with the four-leaf clovers all over it. 

Three for sixteen are not good odds, so call me a crazy, stupid homer, or whatever you wish.  The point is clear as far as this is concerned.  In my early prognostications, Georgia will NOT win the SEC this season.