I don't give a flying flip about conferences or their records in bowls. Last I checked it's a team sport and I only give a shit about 1 - mine. People make way too much about conferences. It's stupid.
When I was in school, I used to see a plethora of SEC conference baseball caps and shirts on campus. I haven't seen one in years. I used to have one.
Pre championship game, when we would split the title 2 or even 3 ways, winning the SEC wasn't an automatic bid to the perceived national championship game. So, I think that the conference pride has been a good thing and helped to get us to the pinnacle.
We used to always hear the SEC chant and still do to some degree.
I am proud of our conference but it's hard for me to want competing teams to win, although that makes not a damn who I want to win as I sit on my couch.
Now, I'm leaning more to your position. I'm still proud of my conference but the fact that I feel that we are overrated and that I'm tired of the blatant cheating in order to succeed, I'm giving less of a shit.
We may be headed for what happened to the old SW conference. A complete implosion.