Life as an avid sports fan, especially of the Arkansas Razorbacks, can lead to a life of unnecessary emotional distress. Heartbreaking losses followed by extraordinary wins, followed again by frustrating defeats—the roller coaster is the reason sports draw massive audiences. However, one Colorado fan couldn't handle the dips in the track during the NFL draft.
When the Buffalo's star quarterback, Shedeur Sanders, slid to the 144th pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, some football fans (mostly Colorado and Deion Sanders' fans) were livid. Specifically, a self-proclaimed "dedicated fan of Colorado football," who lives in *checks notes* Georgia, sued the NFL for impacting his "emotional well-being."
The notion of fans suing the object of their fandom had never crossed my mind (nor the minds of any sane sports fan, but I digress). On one hand, it's basically biting the hand that feeds, but on the other, if any fanbase had legitimate gripes, it would be those in the SEC. Here's why each fanbase should sue its sports teams.
Why each SEC Fan base should sue its team
Crimson Tide fans have become accustomed to a certain lifestyle of double-digit wins in football and perennial national championship aspirations. After the conductor who orchestrated the Alabama dynasty, Nick Saban, finally retired, Alabama's athletic program tried to frame Kalen DeBoer as the next Saban, and the person to extend the Crimson Tide dynasty.
However, after falling short of 10 wins for the first time since 2007, the Bama faithful have a valid claim for false advertising.
Emotional distress is an understatement. In the 2024-25 season alone, Arkansas athletics has shot themselves in the foot in all three major sports. Arkansas football blew a double-digit lead against Oklahoma State that would've improved their record to seven wins instead of six. Basketball did the same thing, only it was during the Sweet Sixteen versus Texas Tech. And of course, we can't forget baseball's collapse less than a month ago in the College World Series against LSU.
Over the years, it's been equally terrible. Bobby Petrino's motorcycle, Chad Morris, "The Drop" in 2018, and Stan Heath followed by John Pelphrey are just a few of the things Arkansas fans have had to deal with in the last quarter century.
Programs around the SEC have given second chances to coaches who've fallen short of personal expectations. Ole Miss gave Chris Beard another shot after allegations of domestic abuse resulted in his termination at Texas. Even Arkansas has given Bobby Petrino another shot after his disgraceful exit in 2012. However, there's a line and Auburn may have crossed it.
The Tigers have had a bevy of coaches who don't exactly check the ethical box. Brian Harsin was accused of pulling a Petrino and fraternizing with a grad assistant as well as treating players "like dogs." Then, Auburn replaces him with Hugh Freeze, who was fired from Ole Miss after it was discovered he made multiple calls to an escort service. And of course, there's Bruce Pearl, who was fired from Tennessee after providing the NCAA with false information regarding recruiting violations.
Florida has a storied football program, filled with Heisman winners, SEC Championships, and national titles. They also had a blue-chip ratio (the number of 5-star plus 4-star rated players out of high school compared to 3-stars on a team) around 63 percent in 2024, which is more than enough to win another national championship.
That's what the Gators used to lure fans into the Swamp, and like true ambush predators, they crushed fans' hopes and dreams with an 8-5 season.
Georgia is the creme de la creme of college football programs. Not quite to the level of Nick Saban's dynasty, Kirby Smart's team is as good as it gets nowadays.
But what about the rest of the athletic program? Basketball is basically nonexistent. Baseball had a decent year in 2025, but if you asked random Dawgs fans about it they may not even know Georgia had a baseball program. We all get that football is king, but at the same time, stop neglecting the rest of the athletic teams.
On the other end of the negligence spectrum, Kentucky is spending way too much for its football coach. First of all, Kentucky is a basketball school. If the Wildcats were to spend $9 million a year on any coach, you'd think it would be Mark Pope, but no.
Instead, Mark Stoops, who checks in with an all-time .513 record at Kentucky, is paid an awful large stack of cash to be a mediocre football team. In no way is the performance worth being the fifth-highest paid coach in the conference.
Before Brian Kelly arrived in Baton Rouge, LSU's defense was one of the most feared year in and year out. Players like Marcus Spears, Devin White, and the Honey Badger himself, Tyrann Mathieu, were products of the Bayou Bengals defense.
Now, instead of Tigers, the defense plays more like kittens, giving up the sixth-most yards per game in the SEC in 2024. LSU also gave up the third-most points (24.3) per game. It may have tarnished the Tigers' defensive reputation, and by proxy, the fans', for years to come.
Bulldogs with cowbells, make it make sense. Fans around the conference have had to deal with the annoying metallic clanging anytime their favorite teams played in Starkville. But at least they only had to experience it at most once every couple of seasons.
Mississippi State fans, on the other hand, have to suffer through it every single home game. It's a tradition that was started by fans, but the university allows the cowbells in the stadium. And at that volume, there are bound to be multiple cases of tinnitus going around the Magnolia State.
This one's simple. Missouri doesn't belong in the SEC. They're the sports program equivalent to Steve Buscemi's "How do you do fellow kids," scene on "30 Rock." It doesn't even matter if the Tigers win at an elite level, they'll never be accepted into the SEC culture.
When transitioning from the Big 12 to the SEC, Oklahoma lost something—its offense. Fans were promised a smooth transition over to their new conference, but literally half of the team was missing. Well, not literally. There were people on the field, but one could hardly classify it as an offense.
Sooner Nation is owed monetary compensation for the damages that occurred in the move to the SEC. And if money isn't an option, maybe just a few wide receivers would suffice.
Kind of like Missouri, Ole Miss is pretending to be something it's not. The difference is that Ole Miss belongs in the SEC, but not in the position they think.
Along with the Vandys and Mississippi States of the conference, the Rebels have been a bottom-dwelling team in the SEC, historically . It wasn't until Lane Kiffin came along with his sassy X posts and competent offensive schemes that the Rebels became relevant.
Now, Ole Miss thinks it's cool and edgy. But in reality, it's just buying popularity (and players) and branding itself as the new guard of the SEC. Meanwhile, they're still losing to 4-8 Kentucky at home.
The Gamecocks have one of the SEC's rising stars in LaNorris Sellars. He has the chance to shine this season, but with the embarrassing effort of USC's offensive line, that's not a likely scenario. However, embarrassment isn't new to folks in Colombia. They've grown quite accustomed to it, even embracing it with "Beamer Ball." Or at least, Shane Beamer's version of it.
Beamer ball has become a meme and everyone outside of the Palmetto State knows it. It's time South Carolina fans come to terms with reality and take action to at least recoup some dignity.
Nico Iamaleava made a fool out of Tennessee. He took a big fat check, led them to a 10-3 record and a College Football Playoffs appearance before... wait a second. That doesn't seem too bad.
Instead of giving the kid a raise and likely going to the CFP again, Tennessee decided to play hardball and ended up with Joey Aguilar out of Appalachian State. It seems like the real losers in the contract negotiations were the Volunteer fans.
Honestly, every college sports fan should sue for exposing us to that awful shade of orange.
With the money that Texas A&M produces, the product that fans and boosters bought should turn out one national championship after another. They've been elite in recruiting and made (at the time) a brilliant hire at head coach with Jimbo Fisher.
But instead of churning out natties, it turned a national championship-winning coach into a retired multimillionaire without as much as a CFP appearance.
Except for the magic that Diego Pavia has brought to Vanderbilt last season, the Commodores have been the conference's punching bag in almost every sport except for Baseball. If Vandy fans have to suffer through one brutal season after another, they should at least be compensated.