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He calls himself “the most disliked person in the SEC.� But at this point, he’s become an SEC staple, synonymous with football’s most-famous conference the way certain coaches or mascots or tailgates are. His name is Paul Finebaum. And he’s coming to Columbia. On Saturday, he’ll be live from Mizzou’s campus on the SEC Network show “SEC Nation,� along with Laura Rutledge, Tim Tebow, Roman Harper and Jordan Rodgers. Via phone this week, I asked Finebaum some questions about the SEC and the Tigers, heading into this anticipated matchup against Kansas.

Q: Can you describe your excitement for coming to town and for this rivalry game?

A: It’s pretty high. I'll tell you a quick story. We were over in Atlanta during media day with the 'SEC Nation' crew. We knew where we were going the first weekend. The second weekend we were thinking Ole Miss at Kentucky. One of our guys said, "I think we're just going to go to that game." And I said, ‘Hold on a second!’ I stood up. I said, ‘We might be missing the best game.’ And so they said, ‘What do you mean?’ I said, ‘This Kansas-Missouri deal!’ And they look at me like, ‘Well, what's that all about?’ I said, ‘Let me explain it to you.’

So I told them – the year the network launched, the Kansas City Fighting Tiger Club invited me to come speak. So I flew out there, and after the speech at some place, I had to go do my radio show. And I said to (the person hosting me) that I need to do my show. He said, ‘Where is it (set up for you to host the show)?’ I said, ‘It's in Kansas City, Kansas.’ He said, ‘I'm not going.’ I said, ‘What do you mean?’ And he explained it to me, and I'm like — Oh my goodness, they really take this thing seriously. So I think I got somebody else to sneak me across the state line, but it was the craziest thing I'd ever seen, and I never forgot that.

And I told everybody the story, and they started looking at Laura Rutledge and said, ‘That's pretty amazing.’ I said, ‘I promise you, we've been to Kentucky, it's a nice place, but the atmosphere at this place will be off the charts.' And fortunately, they listen to me for the first time in 12 years.

One of our producers here is a KU graduate. So I've heard it from him. He'll actually be there this week — but I won't let anybody know who he is.

I mean, listen, I spent most of my career in Alabama feasting — and I mean feasting — off the Alabama-Auburn rivalry. I made a career out of that rivalry. … But I think this one's on the same level based on what I'm hearing. And again, I've never been to a Missouri-KU game.

Q: What stands out to your eyes about the Missouri Tiger football team?

A: I think it starts at quarterback. I talked to Coach (Eli) Drinkwitz right before the game (against Central Arkansas). And I just feel pretty good about that (situation). I'm a believer in what Drink is doing out there. I've spent a lot of time this week talking about Alabama (after losing its first game). Fans say, ‘And we got Georgia coming up, and we got LSU in Tennessee.’ And I say to them, ‘And you're also going to Missouri.’

With Missouri, I can't base much on a game like that (against Central Arkansas), because that's just too one-sided. But you're much better off winning that game the way the Tigers did, than having pedestrian performance.

Q: You mentioned Coach Drinkwitz — you've gotten to know him over the years. What stands out to you about him?

A: I mean, I love his personality. He'll come on and just go off in any direction. He's got kind of a little bit of Steve Spurrier from yesteryear, little bit of (Lane) Kiffin, except he's actually more glib than Kiffin. The last time we talked, you may have seen it, he kind of goes into Taylor Swift story, where he manages to insult Oklahoma in the process.

A lot of times I've interviewed him and he'll say, ‘I'm not going to say anything today.’ So then you kind of know that he's already stepped in it a week before. But there are very few coaches that will go that direction — and so, that makes him unique. It makes him popular. We're talk show hosts. I used to be a sportswriter and a columnist, and after the game, you don't go up to somebody (for an interview) who's not going to say anything. You go up somebody who's going to say something interesting.

Q: So I'm very curious to hear your answer about this. Do you feel that traditional SEC teams accept Missouri as one of their own? Or even 10-plus years into this, there's still a prove-it factor in play?

A: Prove it (laughter). I could give you the company line, but you know that I wouldn't be telling the truth. It's still very strange. I can't explain it. And everybody knows all the facts, and everybody knows what Gary Pinkel did, and everybody knows how good Missouri has been.

I told Drinkwitz this story recently. I was on a plane going to the Alabama-Michigan Rose Bowl Game. These two Ohio State fans were sitting in front of me, drinking like fish on a five-hour flight, and we were all watching the Missouri-Ohio State (Cotton Bowl matchup). And it may have been one of the best times I've ever had on a plane, just watching them suffer in their indignity. And they kept looking back at me, and I was trying not to get, you know, thrown off the plane.

Q: And regarding Mizzou, is part of it that they haven’t proven it, in addition to the fact that they're on the fringe (of the conference map) — they're basically Midwest, not southern. So from fans, there's a lot of like: ‘They're not one of us, just yet.’

A: I think that's it right there. It's just, it's just different. Kentucky's a little different too, but Kentucky's been in the SEC for so long. … I understand the conversation, but Missouri's done enough where they shouldn't have to deal with that.

Q: And last question, can you describe why the show 'SEC Nation' works so well?

A: It works because it takes place on Saturday while everybody is at a fever pitch for football. And I mean, it's easy to compare the show to 'College Gameday,' but it's different. It hasn't been on the air for 25 years. But it also has some uniqueness to it. I think we have the best host in college football in Laura Rutledge, and we got the biggest name in college football in Tim Tebow. And I think that really matters a lot when it comes to credibility. And we have the most disliked person in the SEC in me. But we try to keep it light. ... And it’s the first time we’ve been to Missouri in a while.