I have been thinking about Harvey Updyke for a while. I guess since the news about his arrest. What I am about to write is written under the hypothesis that Updyke is guilty. Perhaps he is not. But I am writing under the hypothesis that he is.
One of the points of this column has been to temper fanaticism with good sense. I believe that we have forgotten how to be fans and to retain our dignity, how to be fans and to grant the dignity of our rivals. And I have been writing first and foremost to myself: I am the first of sinners. I knew something had gone wrong when I found myself reacting to anyone wearing Alabama gear as if he had been lobotomized. Dressing children in Alabama gear struck me as pre-schooling them in bloody pagan rites. But that is crazy. Absolutely crazy. Nonetheless, I had such reactions; I was so struck. My guess is that you have been, too, although you may have to change the teams named in order fully to recognize yourself.
I confess this craziness, and I ask you to confess it, because we are all potential Updykes. No trees are safe; no chimes secure; no statues inviolable. We have all lost our minds. The difference between Updyke and me, or Updyke and you, is that he added that sort of craziness to an already systemic craziness. His roots were already poisonous. That pre-existing craziness is the reason why we should pity Updyke. He was and is a crazy man made crazier by fanaticism. He is not an icon of the fans of the Crimson Tide, or he is not only that. He is an icon of the college football fan, particularly the SEC fan, who seems to know no moderation, no self-imposed limits, no fan tact. We all need to keep those unflattering photographs of Updyke in mind: There, but for the grace of God, am I.
“Ok,” you might be saying, “I admit I get a little out of hand. But a potential Updyke? No way. That is crazy talk.” Really? Is it? When is the last time you endangered a family relationship, a friendship, a good working partnership, a pleasant acquaintance, by fan crap? Was it as long ago as Saturday? Is alienating your brother, or your best friend, or a co-worker, or just the guy who serves you coffee at breakfast—is any of that less evil than poisoning a tree? Less public, sure; it involves fewer people, sure: but less evil? I’m not sure.
So am I pleading for everyone to go lightly on Updyke, for the law to go lightly on Updyke? A bit, I guess. The man is crazy, after all. But he will have to face whatever punishment he is given. What I am mostly pleading for is a little relentless self-examination. Will I enjoy an Auburn Iron Bowl victory any less because I respect the dignity of Alabama fans? No. And if your answer to that question, or your version of that question, is Yes, then you are taking pleasure in something that corrupts character. To take pleasure in the suffering of others is itself evil. And it is an evil that goes deep—you might even say: right to our roots.
Leisure with dignity, folks, with dignity.
Related: The Gridiron as Will and Representation / Could this have been what set Harvey off?
Dr. Jolley is a philosophy professor at Auburn University. He works in the theory of judgment, the history of 20th-century philosophy, metaphilosophy and philosophical psychology. He was recently profiled by The New York Times. He also likes football. His book “The Concept ‘Horse’ Paradox and Wittgensteinian Conceptual Investigations” was published in 2007. His column “Leisure with Dignity” runs bi-monthly to monthly to whenever. He blogs at Quantum Est In Rebus Inane. Write to him at kellydeanjolley@gmail.com.
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Schadenfreude is the word you are looking for I think.
Guilty as charged…
Growing up in Bammerham in the 60’s and 70’s…
watching AU lose to Bama 9 years has scarred me…
I admit it freely…
I enjoy Bama losing almost as much as AU winning…
and when AU beats Bama it is a very nice experience…
Dr. Jolley,
But what, exactly is the U of A? How can we seperate the idea of the thing from the people that endorse it, especially when our ONLY contact with it is THROUGH its supporters? Is the secret here the football equivalent of “hate the sin, not the sinner” (trite as that sounds)? How is that even possible when these same supporters are the ones who SHAPE the definition of the U of A?
As usual, your columns are thought-provoking. Mea culpa and all that. I do think that the continual escalation of meanness in this and other rivalries will continue to grow if not tempered with a deliberate turning from bad will to good, so in that spirit, I applaud and agree with your premise here. Long live Toomer’s and down with updykery.
I agree with Elvis… I think.
I loathe U of A and its alumni for one reason, and it’s redneck fan base for quite another.
The U of A and its alumni are hated for their “our shit doesn’t stink” attitude. See the Bromberg’s IB add from a few years ago.
I hate the redneck fans because, in my opinion, the fact that they epitomize the fan base of a marquee program (yes I said it) is a disgrace to college athletics.
College teams are supposed to represent the school, not the general populous.
Does this make me an Updyke? Considering I have not killed or vandalized anything, I don’t think so.
Don’t hate em’ all. Have some friends who are UofA grads. It’s the sidewalk alums that get me, you know the ones that when you try to engage them in civil conversation you get that “Cam got paid” crap only to find out the answer to your “when did you got to Bama?” question is: I didn’t go to Bama, I’m from Ohio response. Seems that Bama has more traveling fans (and loud ones at that) than even Notre Dame. I guess they caught Bears disease in the 6’s and never got over it-easy to back a winner.
Oh, and I didn’t much like the 4 Bama golf shirt, Bama hat, crappy golfer knuckleheads that backed up the entire course on Sat. because they insisted in looking for every ball they hit in the woods or spent 15 mins at the drink cart-she was cute though. To my credit, I never said a word to them even though I wanted to. I guess we’re just better than that.
Intriguing, as always. I’ve found myself looking ascance not just at people wearing Bama gear, but also the hordes wearinig Boston Red Sox caps/shirts who have seemingly taken over the country. I promise to do better. Still, War Eagle and Go Braves!
I don’t still don’t think he’s crazy crazy … I just think he’s mean as a snake and dumb dumb DUMB!
Dumb enough to be manipulated and warped by the steady drumbeat of “Auburn is cheaters” last year, and dumb enough to be manipulated by Finebaum now.
That said, the column is incredible and thought-provoking for sure!
The minute-long monologue at the 15:00 mark in this video sums up rather nicely how I feel about bammers. Beware, there is some language:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYLbAVKPOLA
Excellent and thought provoking as always.
As someone who has moved away from the center of the craziness to Virginia, it is easy to look from a distance and go “wow, that is a little too much.” But then again, I don’t have to go to work with any obnoxious bama fans either.
One of the things my brother and I were talking about this week was just taking a break from message boards, talk radio, etc that deals with auburn / bama stuff all the time and you will be a happier fan and person.
I myself took some of the time when I was out of work all this past football season to look into the traditions of our SEC and other rivals (the controversy with the Ole Miss Rebel Bears got me curious about “hotty totty”). I was pleased to see that all our rivals, especially our historical rival Georgia Tech, took their traditions as seriously as we AU folks do. Traditions are what MAKE college football, in my opinion. this process gave me more respect for all our opponents, including Alabama and Georgia.
However, when folks like Updyke claim to represent the objects of their fandom, and, as Elvis said above, fans equal what-we-consider-as-the-program (e.g., the whininess of UGA fans after last year’s game), it is hard to grant respect to any program represented by those that revel in namecalling, carpetbagging, and follow-the-winner-ism. I mean, it seems to me based on what I see on the blogs I follow (here and TrackEmTigers mostly) that we AU fans are the first to tell their fellow fans to pipe down when their “enthusiasm” crosses the line from rivalry to down-and-dirty hatred. I really don’t see that kind of self-policing in certain other programs (look at Gators and Bammers, for example).
The “there’s good and bad fans everywhere” argument doesn’t hold when most of a fanbase ARE bad fans and define themselves by being bad fans. That is what I like about Auburn; we try to self-police as much as possible to keep it classy. And I think that is what hacks us off the most when BS accusations get flung at us like last year, especially from the mainstream media, who should know better, but also from other programs’ fans.
Michael Val
(who nonetheless believes the the “reverse rammer jammer” does NOT show any lack of class, and will watch those videos of last years’ one until my compter explodes!)
Just another “sidewalk alumni” who couldn’t attend his beloved University if he paid someone to take his ACT/SAT!!!!
Another damn IDIOT BAMMER!!!!!!
Let’s vet medieval on his ass’s and stone him or feed him his little “BB” Balls!!!!!!!
I respectfully disagree with one point: to kill the Toomer’s Oaks is far more evil than to one harm one’s personal relationships.
I agree no one should be ugly to family, friends or acquaintances solely because they pull for the other team. (I graduated AU; my folks UA). Some fans take sports far too personally.
However, to let one’s fanaticism affect his personal relationships is not tantamount to launching a fatal attack on a deep tradition which will affect thousands of people, including kids, forever. Updyke may poison his life. But to poison thousands of lives is far, far more evil.
Sometimes our courts must remind fans to take leisure with dignity, especially when indignity reaches this level. I urge our courts to make an example of Updyke and deter similar hateful crimes.