The South Done Rose Already, Dad Gummit!

In honor of today's Alabama-Florida matchup, The Wall Street Journal tackles the question of the South's dominance in American college football. Among the evidence: 

Today there are 45% more native Louisianans (64) than Pennsylvanians (44) in the NFL, even though Louisiana has only one-third of Pennsylvania's population.

The article might have added that Pennsylvania is traditionally one of the most football-obsessed states in the land. I also like James Carville's contribution:

"Half the people in that stadium can't spell LSU," says political consultant James Carville, an LSU alumnus. "It doesn't matter. They identify with it. It's culturally such a big deal."

It's an interesting article, and really, I don't mind the WSJ treating the SEC as an academically unchallenging, rule-bending cesspool, as long as the they indicate that it is indeed a cesspool of football brilliance in the next breath. 

For something of an alternative point of view, here's inveterate yankee Jon Chait arguing (convincingly) that the South isn't that much faster than the rest of the country.