"Respect The Tide!", Aka The Legend Of KennieBloggins and His Furious Anger (or how to intimidate your friends and scare away strangers)

the events of September 22nd 2007 may be known to Georgia fans as the night Stafford beat Alabama with a touchdown pass to Mikey Henderson in overtime, all while one of the announcers was talking about Britney Spears...but for me, an Auburn fan who was watching the game with a group of UGA fans and one very drunk Bama fan (my good friend KennieBloggins) it will always be known as "RESPECT THE TIDE! night".

it is hard to sort out the fact from fiction around such an event as this, especially when one tries to sift through the shouting and the haze of 30 something beers, but as best as i can remember it Mr. Bloggins and I were sitting down for a night of good old SEC football with me having no real rooting interest in the game and Mr. Bloggins feeling very positive about his Tide in their first year under new headcoach Nick Saban. it was a night game that followed an entire days worth of drinking, shit talking, and football watching among good friends who just happen to be rival fans. but sometime around kickoff or possibly early in the 1st quarter the Bloggins residence was invaded by a posse of UGA fans, all of whom were ready to talk some shit and rile up our host. it should be noted that Georgia fans by nature are douchebags through and through. it should also be noted that Kenniebloggins likes him some drank on gameday and is a noted sore loser. i could see it early on that things could get ugly quickly.

Georgia jumped out ahead of the Tide early on and at half time had a 10-3 lead. the UGA fans were in full on taunt mode and our friend KB was stewing in it. but Bama came charging back, tied it up with a John Parker Wilson QB sneak. but the euphoria of that score would not last as the Dawgs drove down the field on the next possession, sparked by the coming out party of one Knowshon Moreno who had a run where he knocked over a Bama defender and did a little dance...the Georgia fans being easily impressed by things like good solid running and little dances jumped and shouted and taunted our Bama loving friend. it was at this moment that the darkness began to take hold of the evening. Georgia scored on that drive with a touchdown run from Knowshon which resulted in another volley of insults and taunts and this was the breaking point. KennieBloggins left the house to go outside and consult the werewolves and goblins currently inhabiting his brain.

i took this moment to inform our UGA fan friends that they were jackasses and should know better. moments later KB returned and it was then that all hell broke lose and the fabric of reality was torn asunder as Kenniebloggins unleashed a profanity laced tirade chastising everyone in attendance who had come to start some shit and make trouble and informed them that they would in fact "Respect The Tide!" if they wanted to continue to watch football in his home. it was a speech that lasted no longer than 5 minutes but seemed like a lifetime. it was there and then that i understood what real madness was. it's the moment that friendships can turn into triple homicides over the outcome of an intense college football game. luckily noone was killed on this night, but many of us returned to our homes after Georgia's victory psychologically scarred, but with a very real and very well earned new found respect for Mr. Bloggins and his love of the Tide...however insane it may be.

and so on this Saturday night for those of us who were there in 2007, i ask that each of us take a moment in the game and say a little prayer for Kenniebloggins and his raging alcohol fueled passion and thank him for teaching us all a valuable lesson on that night. Sometimes we all must respect the Tide, not because we want to, but because it's what must be done for the good of all.