As a former member of the Million Dollar Band, I’ve experienced some hostile football environments.

The 2008 Tide game in Death Valley was Nick Saban’s first time visiting LSU as Alabama’s head coach. Reportedly, some LSU faithful would spit before and after they mentioned his name. I counted over 200 middle fingers between entering campus and arriving at the stadium, and the MDB had to walk into the stadium through a police barricade due to the hostility of the fans.

Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium, Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium, and Georgia’s Sanford Stadium all factor into my hostile environments list. However, while LSU ’08 easily ranks first among my experiences of hostility and loathing, second place on my list might surprise you.

Bryant-Denny.

As an MBA student, I enjoy the privilege of sitting in the MBA block section, which is located next to Pi Kappa Alpha’s seating section. Now, due to some unusual circumstances, I was later than normal in arriving at the stadium for the Vanderbilt game, and due to my section being full, I sat on the edge of the Pi Kappa Alpha block.

Of course, this was after confirming with stadium staff that all sections were fair game for seating 45 minutes before kick-off. As expected, a flood of pledges and their dates converged upon the section about 20 minutes before kick off, and some inebriated red-headed step child of a pledge pointed me out and demanded that I leave his section.

My friends and I responded calmly that, per block seating rules, we were within our rights to remain in the section, and that we weren’t moving. If he had a problem, he could consult with the police or Gameday staff and ultimately learn that we were right in our stance.

I was utterly shocked (sarcasm) to discover that this civil alternative was not the preferred course of action for this fine young and upstanding pledge. Instead, he response was as follows:

“Well, if you want to stay, then that’s on you. You probably won’t enjoy it. Don’t be surprised if you end up with spit on your back or your face.” Another fraternity “nicely” warned me that I would probably be infuriated, if not humiliated, by the time the game ended.

Now, I’ve dealt with senses of entitlement, but this was ridiculous. I am unsure of how a young college student here gains the foolish gall to blatantly threaten other students at a game in which we are all present to support an athletic team…about a seat. He pushed my girlfriend before leaving to find his big brother, and I somehow managed to control myself in telling him to get away from us rather than taking violent measures.

Over the next ten minutes, we were approached by an older Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity brother, a Homecoming Committee member and organizer (who said we should move because he hadn’t slept all weekend and he was late due to being at the President’s Mansion, like we were supposed to just give up our seats for his large, sweaty pleasure), and heard numerous sorority girls screaming lines regarding “f-ing GDIs” needing to leave.

We also noticed an SGA officer wearing his nametag while pouring alcohol from a disposable flask into a pledge’s cup. Fortunately, as we directed each of these hostile, overly entitled students to the stadium staff, they each were reminded of block seating regulations and given no choice but to let us be. Our fine red-headed friend did return a few more times, attempting to force us to leave. Ultimately, everything turned out fine.

After all, the section was empty after halftime, as it always is. Life just has so many ironies.

I won’t bore the student body or further arouse emotions by using this experience as a springboard to argue about the hypocrisy and stupidity of block seating. That argument has been made, and is probably pointless to perpetuate.

However, I am appalled at the uninformed hostility that fellow Alabama students so easily display towards other fellow students, over seating, in spite of our being in compliance with block seating rules.

Fraternities and sororities, if you are going to champion your undeserved special sections, inform yourselves on how they work.

Try to make sure your pledges come just a few minutes earlier to the games if they want to sit down. Don’t make a pledge enforce attendance in your seating sections. Finally, to my fellow GDIs, go sit in your favorite fraternity’s section. Just wait until 45 minutes before kick off and go camp out.

They probably won’t be there to stop you when you get there…and they’ll only be at the game for about an hour anyway.

Ryan Davis is an MBA student.