It's Football Time in Tennessee (or Not)
Some seasons it feels like you are just taking the steps down instead of up in football…
AUTHOR: ARTSY CHOW ROAMER
It’s Football Time
IN TENNESSEE (OR NOT)
If you’re from Tennessee or even just went to UT…you know we take our football very seriously. Nothing beats the roar in Neyland Stadium on that first Saturday when they announce “It’s football time in Tennessee” and the band tears into Rocky Top.
Don’t get me wrong. I like to win and all but you can’t win all the time. Try tellin’ that to our fan base. They put a lot of money into that football program and they expect to win. Patience is not a virtue in the world of SEC football especially at UT.
So it seems more than a little frustrating that they keep going through coaches like some folks change their underwear and we keep telling ourselves we are building; you know….just in that building stage only it seems to be lasting quite awhile. Ahhh the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat…
The thrill with Georgia and the agony with Florida…Photos courtesy of the University of Tennessee
The agony shows up with a routineness that is a little stunning this season (having won only two games so far). And those might be the only wins this season. I can’t really remember a season that was worse.
THOSE WERE THE DAYS MY FRIEND
We certainly thought they’d never end. The winningest coach at UT was Robert Neyland with a staggering .829 percentage. 173 wins, 34 losses and 12 ties. Pretty impressive-hence the name Neyland on one of the biggest stadiums in the SEC.
Tennessee has tried to repeat that and has never quite made it. John Barnhill has a slightly better percentage but with a third of the years of service and games played. The big years I remember the most were Bill Battle (.723) who coached from 1970 to 1976 and Johnny Majors (.645) who coached from 1977 to 1992.
Both were during the years of the powerhouse days of Alabama, the Crimson Tide and coach Bear Bryant (.824) who was our Robert Neyland with 25 years of service and a record of 232-46-9. Unbelievably our greatest enemy shifted from the school of smarties known as Vanderbilt to Alabama and on to Georgia and Florida today.
We moved on to Phillip Fulmer (.743) in 1992-2008 for a pretty good run while Alabama went through a series of building. UT wrongly decided to move on from Fulmer and has changed coaches routinely ever since in their efforts to capture gold while Alabama seems to have found it in Nick Saban (.879).
Smoky the mascot and Davey Crockett perform on the sidelines…Photo courtesy of the University of TN
BUT WHAT ABOUT THE BAND?
Tennessee has had a marching band since the Civil War. It was first organized with a corp of cadets and made its first appearance at a game with Suwanee in 1902. Throughout the years the band was all male and appeared in various different war uniforms.
The 1940’s saw significant changes with women allowed to march under the direction of Major Ryba; himself a former member of the John Phillip Sousa Band. It was during this time that a sports reporter named Ed Harris coined the name “Pride of the Southland” Marching Band.
The zippy uniforms designed by Dr. WJ Julian on The Pride of the Southland Marching Band
The 1960’s brought another set of dynamic changes in the form of Dr. WJ Julian. For the next three decades under his direction the band grew in size, prestige and reputation. The band was moved from ROTC into the College of Education.
He designed the zippy uniforms that remain a tradition today with the white spats on black shoes that show every error a marching foot could make; hence they don’t make ‘em. The band was revolutionized in style and performance level and grew to over 140 members.
They introduced circle drills which had never been seen or done before on the marching field. In 1972, they introduced the song, Rocky Top, that became the unofficial fight song of the team. The opening of the T in every pregame ceremony as well as the spelling of the shortened version of the name would remain traditions as well.
The band has performed in 15 Presidential Inaugurations and over 50 Bowl games. When they take the field, the players, the fans and the alumni are all indeed very proud. I look forward to the half time show as much or more as the game itself. If you were in band like me, you know how hard it is to do what they do; they are simply the best.
IT’S ABOUT THE COACH…OR IS IT?
So where was I? Oh yeah, it’s about the coach right? Well, let’s see since they decided they weren’t happy with Fulmer…we have had Lane Kiffin (big mistake), Derek Dooley (who would have thought a Dooley couldn’t get it done?) and poor Butch Jones (I feel sorry for him for some reason I don’t know why) all in the .500 world which we already know is unacceptable.
And now on to the world of Jeremy Pruitt (stolen from Alabama’s Nick Saban staff of .879 fame) only to fall into disgrace to the .368 world of SEC football agony. How long do you think this guy will last with that record….hmmm?
CONCLUSION
As in any endeavor, sometimes it just isn’t what one man can do. It takes a village. It takes that magic something seen in countless movies and on countless for real fields across this nation and abroad. The combination of the right coach for the right players at the right time with the right help and the right fans.
You know…that magic something that turns into the beautiful moment of an undefeated team. Something that seems almost heroic in college football that somehow becomes brutal and over violent by the time it makes it’s way into the professional wing of the sport.
The wing I rarely watch unless it involves a player with a last name like Manning….as in Peyton or Eli. And then it is just because there is still just a little bit of Tennessee there and a love for a sport that is fast becoming not the first choice for you to put your kids in these days….but that’s another blog for another day.
If you like what you read, you might also read other blogs of a similar nature under Just Because. You never know what you are going to find there. Until next time…
Cheers,
ArtsyChowRoamer
TO MY READERS: Tennessee went on a five game winning streak to end up in the Taxslayer Gator Bowl on January 2nd, with the Indiana Hoosiers. Their record coming in was 7-5 and Indiana’s was 8-4. Tennessee squeaked by for a 23-22 win bringing their finishing record to 8-5. Not fantastic but better than anyone thought would happen for sure from the first of the playing season. We can thank #3 Eric Gray for that win since he recovered the onside kick and made the touchdown to bring Tennessee to a 22 to 22 score. #42 Brent Cimaglia was a busy kicking guy too for the extra point and the win. Jeremy Pruitt just might be building a powerhouse team once again for the University of Tennessee. This post was updated 1/3/2020
TO MY READERS: Jeremy couldn’t get it done so now it is up to Coach Josh Heupel (who????) and his staff. Something about famous offensive brought from Florida…or so they say. We will see what happens with the opening game this year on Thursday evening at Neyland with Ball State. This post was updated again on 8/30/2022
#3 picking it up to run in a touchdown for the tie at the Taxslayer Gator Bowl
Highlights of the Vols
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