As football season gets closer, tensions grow stronger. When tensions run high, verbal hate gets spewed. And while it's great to be passionate about your team, and it's even cool if you really dislike all other teams, it's still probably healthy to have a moderate level of respect for other conference foes. That's why this thread prompts us to say something nice about another team. I mean we can trash each other's programs in every other thread but in here we give nothing but props.

For instance, when football season is right around the corner and there are a bunch of arguments on the board about whether Houston's program is as strong as ECU's, it makes me not really like the Coogs that much. Notwithstanding my dislike and bias against them, I am still comfortable enough with my fanhood to acknowledge that:

Case Keenum was a bad man that made me sweat every time ECU had to lace 'em up against UH. I even pull for him to make it in the pros. I think he just needs one more year to prove it on the next level. I'm not even afraid to admit that I own a Phi Slamma Jamma t-shirt that I got from the Houston airport. How can you not have love for 2 of the greatest in NBA history, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler? I was really glad when they finally won it all together with the Rockets way back in '95.

See that wasn't that hard, maybe I'm a closet Houston fan in a way. Even though I really don't like UH right now, I do have a healthy respect for what they bring to the table here in the AAC.