I always shake my head a bit at the fans of programs who don’t get the SECSECSEC. It is the simplest of constructs. The perception that the SEC is a better conference had demonstrable and tangible benefit to SEC programs over the last 20 years. This remained true even in years when the demonstrably superior SEC conference in the 2000s (at least in the top tier where I think we won seven (six?) national championships in a row ) became far less superior with the changes in NIL and portal. Even a false and incorrect appreciation of SEC programs being better resulted in higher rankings and better bowl matchups. That was good for every conference program. As a Florida fan, I hate Georgia and want them to lose every game. Georgia aside, if the conference being seen as better than other conferences leads to an advantage for Florida, deserved or not, I will always be all in on that. Why? Because I support Florida and always want the best for Florida. The idea that I would prefer Florida to have lower rankings and less advantageous bowl games simply because some people have a problem with how the SEC attempts to use that narrative to better their individual programs I find astonishing. The sole reason for supporting the ‘SEC is better’ narrative is so that Florida benefits, deserved or not. Because I always want Florida to benefit. I want Florida to benefit from any association with its conference. Just like I want Florida to benefit from bad officiating (Florida usually gets fucked by officiating, but if we got the Bama/Georgia bump, which is real, I would love to have that), I want Florida to benefit from recruits thinking SEC Florida is a better place than non-SEC conferences. I really don’t give a shit if it’s true or not. All I want is for Florida to always be in a better position versus every other SEC team, and to be in a better position than every other non-SEC team. If the perception of the SEC being inferior benefited Florida, I would be all in on everyone thinking the SEC sucked. Benefiting Florida is the only metric I care about, and in the last two decades, it has benefited Florida that the SEC is viewed favorably. A lot of that has been ESPN stanning SEC bullshit. And intelligent fans realize a lot of that is bullshit. But as long as the bullshit benefits Florida, I am 100% behind the bullshit. I get why Texas fans do not buy into any of this. That is rational. But during the timeframe that the SEC won 6 or 7 national championships in a row, the Big 12 did not produce two in a row. ESPN was not going on and on about how great the Big 12 was. When Florida squeaked in by the smallest of margins to play Ohio State in January 2007, the SECSECSEC thing had not yet vomited out of ESPN’s corporate mouth. Florida’s demolition of the buckeyes started the SEC is better narrative. Had the vote between Michigan and Florida in 2006 been held in 2010 it would not have been close. The SEC reputation at that point would’ve guaranteed a Florida matchup instead of backing in by 1000 of a point. The SEC reputation had become a demonstrable advantage for Florida at that point. and as a Florida fan, I want what is best for Florida. Period. As we entered 2026, that SEC superiority thing is gone. Other than people calling into the Paul F’s Bama smooth brain show, everybody knows that it’s bullshit now. That is probably a good thing for college football. To the extent that it’s no longer good for Florida, well, that is too bad, because I only care about what is good for Florida. I just wanted you to know why one SEC program member put up with the SEC conference loyalty concept - a concept that is foreign to Texas, and apparently rustles a lot of Jimmies. Tl:DR if the ‘SEC is better’ thing is not deader than disco now, it should be pretty soon. If you are telling me that Texas is too proud to want to get any benefit from conference affiliation, then I respect that. This Florida Gator is far more mercenary, and will take any benefit to my program that I can get, whether deserved or not.