<
>

Ohio State fans show up at SEC media days to troll Alabama

HOOVER, Ala. -- Alabama's day at SEC media days brings out all kinds of fans. From the annual appearance of the guy with the championship ring on his head to the occasional Bear Bryant impersonator, it's always quite the spectacle.

But the most notable fans Wednesday weren't Alabama fans at all. They were Jeff Moorer and James Rivers, a pair of Ohio State fans from the Birmingham area who came out to support their Buckeyes and do a little trolling in the process.

"[We came] just to let them know," Moorer said. "Everybody is talking about what Alabama is going to do preseason, and they don't want to show the Buckeyes no respect.

"We won the first playoff system. And if you can remember, nobody was expecting Ohio State to get in the playoff. We kind of got in there at the last minute, but it gave us the opportunity to face the uncrowned, the so-called best team in college football, Alabama, and we did.

"Nick Saban -- they say to be the man, you've got to beat the man. Well, we beat the man. Urban Meyer beat the man. Urban Meyer beat the legend, the myth."

The two friends arrived in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Birmingham around 6 a.m. ET to get a front-row spot for the Crimson Tide's arrival. Moorer had been there before, but it was Rivers' first time attending media days.

As for being an Ohio State fan in the middle of SEC country, it's not easy.

"It's awful," Rivers said. "At work, it's Alabama nation, SEC nation. I'm an Auburn fan, too, which makes it a little easier, but being a Buckeye fan, they think it's not even real down here: 'You shouldn't even be a Big Ten fan. You should be Alabama and be SEC.' Nah, we're Big Ten."

"It is [hard] because the SEC always says that they're the dominant conference in college football," Moorer added. "But the last two national titles came from the ACC and Big Ten. That makes you say, 'Hmmm.'"

Needless to say, the two Buckeyes fans did not get an autograph from Saban.