Book excerpt: SEC Football: Religion of a Region celebrates the passion of America's greatest conference through the eyes of an intense, devout, and fanatical follower. Author Kelly McKeethan relives the last thirty-plus years of SEC football action season-by-season with details of games played during his lifetime. In addition to presenting statistics, scores, big plays, and analysis, McKeethan also pours out his emotional reactions to the key games. The author also shares his life experiences, which enables the reader to watch him grow from a child in Knoxville to a family man in Chattanooga, a melting pot of SEC fans. As such, the work also highlights reactions of McKeethan's friends, relatives, coworkers, and fellow church members, many of whom support teams other than Tennessee. The author also opens up his faith journey to his audience, which reveals the intertwined nature of religion and football in the South. McKeethan shows that the peaks and valleys of life are analogous to the highs and lows on the gridiron. Even his Sunday school teachers and pastors have not been immune to football fever!