On why we hate Tennessee (And How LSU WON!)

I lived in Louisiana for a number of years, so I have a definite affinity for the LSU Tigers.

Clearly, my affinity nowhere reaches the intensity of my love for the Badgers, but they're my SEC team. I've been to a few games in Death Valley and really, it's never been an issue between the two teams, they don't meet or compete for the same BCS spots .. so it works for me.
If you know anything about the SEC, you know that the one thing all the teams will universally agree upon is a hatred of Tennessee. It's hard to explain. It's not jealousy, because most time the others teams (like Florida, Georgia, and LSU) are better then Tennessee. It's just a general distaste.

Tennessee is known for having run-ins with the law. Over at EDSBS.com (Every Day Should Be Saturday - a must-read college football blog) they keep track of college team's arrests in what they've dubbed the Fulmer Cup, for Tennessee coach Phil Fulmer.

So after LSU went into Knoxville last night (ranked 13) and beat Tennessee (ranked 8) for the first time in four years (at Neyland Stadium), a couple of Tennessee players went ahead and made some headlines of their own (notice the last paragraph):

From ESPN.com

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee starting running back Arian Foster and two other players were arrested early Sunday after police were called to a fight at a nightclub.

Foster, safety Antonio Wardlow and fullback David Holbert were charged with disorderly conduct and underage consumption, police said. Wardlow also was charged with public intoxication. All three players are 20.

The police arrived at an area nightclub at about 3 a.m., several hours after the No. 8 Volunteers fell 28-24 to No. 13 LSU. The loss meant Florida clinched the Southeastern Conference East division title ahead of Tennessee.

Athletic department spokeswoman Tiffany Carpenter said school officials were gathering information about the arrests and would likely have a statement from coach Phillip Fulmer on Sunday afternoon.

Police said they found people shouting at each other and fights about to break out at the scene.

"The officers were able to initially break up most of potential problems, however, they observed Mr. Arian Foster shoving another individual," police said.

"Shortly thereafter they found two other individuals involved in an altercation. Those individuals -- also University of Tennessee football players -- were identified as Antonio Wardlow and David Holbert. As a result of the fight and disturbance there at [the] nightclub all three individuals were arrested."

Some media outlets reported they had been released from jail, but officials would immediately comment on their status.

Foster had 10 carries for 44 yards against LSU to lead the Vols' running game. Holbert and Wardlow played in the game, but did not register any statistics.

Tennessee had a problem with players getting arrested before the 2005 season, which ended with a 5-6 mark. Eight players were arrested or cited between January and July 2005. This summer, the Vols had four players arrested, and one was dismissed from the team.