There appears to be absolutely zero love lost between Big 12 and SEC fans as the NCAA Baseball Tournament gets underway this weekend with the Regional Rounds across 16 host sites. Already, there have been issues between Big 12 and SEC fans in Morgantown, West Virginia, and Lawrence Kansas.
On Friday, the first day of the NCAA Baseball Regionals, West Virginia played Kentucky, and according to Kentucky reporter Adam Luckett, there were words exchanged between WVU and Kentucky fans that resulted in law enforcement getting involved.
Fast-forward to Saturday’s Regional games, and law enforcement got involved in Lawrence, Kansas between Kansas and Arkansas fans. Depending on which side of the story you want to believe, it was either intentional, or by accident.
Big 12 vs. SEC Beef
Now, I am in no way here to condone fans dumping or throwing beer onto opposing fans. No way. But two things stand out to me: 1) College baseball is becoming absolutely lit and fans are totally bought in. And in the Big 12, that just wasn’t the case, for most fan bases, as recently as just a few years ago. 2) The Big 12 vs. SEC beef is marching on. It showed itself earlier this week at the SEC Football meetings, when SEC football coaches were whining about the Big 12’s schedule.
You have Joey McGuire, Cody Campbell and Texas Tech calling out the Longhorns after they claimed their 2’s and 3’s could beat the Red Raiders. Tech said, “Let’s Go” and it’s been radio silence ever since from Austin. Go figure.
Rivalries are what make college sports great, and whether it’s team rivalries or conference rivalries, the passion is mostly unmatched by professional sports. We just need to keep it safe. No beer dumping on fans, please. Now, let’s have a fun Sunday and Monday of college baseball.
