[jakez4ut]

What the hay, i'll play along.

Originally Posted by vol_freak

Hey there vol_freak,

You seem to be the ringleader around these parts; I was wondering if you'd be interested in an interview to help raise awareness about Tennessee football to the Bay Area. I write for a Berkeley-based website (Cal student here), and everyone in the Cal football blogosphere is pretty preoccupied writing up their season previews, so I thought it'd be cool to reach out to the other side. You can open it up to your regular posters too if you'd like, the more input the merrier. I'll either use your responses or the best of the posters' responses in the interview.

Here are the questions I came up with:
First of all, let's clear up some misconceptions about Tennessee students/alumni, namely that you aren't all rednecks. Tell us what your university has contributed to the academic landscape to get rid of those football sneers.

there are probably plenty of reference materials listing specifics in this area, but two things come to mind right off the bat, UT has been well known for it's logistics and transportation department and boasts some of the industry leaders as advisors, proffessors and consultants. Also, UT's forensic science department is, i believe, among academic leaders in this feild as well.

There has long been a contention that SEC fans are more passionate and diehard in support of their teams, especially in contrast to the laid-back Pac-10. Having lived and travelled through the South in my formative years, I know how much you guys care about it, perhaps tooo much. Is this really a good thing, or does it burn you out (especially after a loss to Florida or LSU)?

yes, it is a good thing. with out getting into a long dissertation about why it is this way, the South as a region for a long, long time had no real professional sports outlet. The only thing we had were our universities and their football teams. and given that the population has done nothing but grow in this region, it's passed down generation to generation, much like that of some professional sports teams in their specific regions, a la the New York sports teams, Chicago sports teams etc....those professional teams have the same loyalty regionally as most SEC schools do. We just have a better atmosphere for displaying it, and college students will do wonders for the median age of the fan base, as well as it's "rowdiness". but it's not all that different than what you might find at say a Green Bay Packers game or a Steeler game etc....but it is so much better. Each school boasts some sort of "uniqueness" to add to the tradition and pageantry of a football Saturday in the South. whether it be the Vol Navy, the Grove, Toomer's Corner, Howard's Rock, the Cockaboose, The Swamp etc....that you just can't find anywhere else.

and no, it never burns us out. we look forward to it every year. when we say football is like religion down here, we mean it. it's a topic 365 days a year, and we're perfectly happy with that. In other sports in other regions, the game is just that, a game. down here, whether you at the stadium or watching at home, the whole day is considered "an event".

and it doesn't hurt that every single one of us on this board have friends, good friends, or relatives that are alumni or fans of one or more of our rivals. Braggin' Rights are big, and having to wait 365 for revenges is tough. Die Hard doesn't come close to accurate description when your best friend is a Bama fan and you've lost 11 in a row to them (as i had to suffer thru with my best friend when i was a kid).

I enjoy having the Warriors shock the world in May, the Giants and As stumbling to last place in summer, the 49ers and Raiders dancing down the standings. Tennessee has the Titans and the Vols. Would you like more sports, or is that all you need? What do you guys do the rest of the year in Knoxville to keep things hustling and bustling sports-wise?

Well, for most of us, we would tell you TN is the #1 thing in our sports world, but as you peruse everyone's posts, we all have other interests, be it Baseball, Nascar, NFL, etc...and we all have allegiances to other teams in the professional ranks that bide our time just fine until college football rolls around. And there is some regional aspects to that as well. you'll probably find a lot of Braves and Reds fans, a lot of Redskins, Saints, Cowboys fans.....but the reality is, it's a hodge podge of different professional sports fans...we got one on here from Oregon that claims allegiance to like 12 different teams (sorry Milo).

I assume most of you were at Rocky Top last year. How much do you think the crowd contributed to the demolition of Cal? Or was the team that much better?

combination of both. the speed and physicality of our team vs. the bears was no accident. but i do fully agree that the atmosphere that they encountered was overwhelming and didn't help their cause.

Why does UT seem to fall into complacency after certain games? You guys were dominant against us and then nearly got knocked off by Air Force the next week. Your teams have so much talent yet have fallen short ever since '98. Any idea where these lapses stem from? Does the team just get too psyched up after huge victories?

good question. this has been debated over and over again on this board. the reality: it's hard to get up for every game. It's easy to get up for GA, FL, Bama, SC....all conf. rivals that can beat you on any given Saturday. You go in to a game against an AF or Duke or whatever, expecting to get a W. the reality of that situation, you get that kind of team's best shot. if you are not ready, look out. it happens to everyone at some point, remember the AZ game last season Cal?

Break down the game for us. Other than the setting, there have been a few noticeable changes. We've lost Marshawn Lynch, a spectator in Neyland, and most of our defensive stars from last year. You lost [WR Robert] Meachem and most of the dynamic receivers that tore up Cal last year, and you won't have Coker available this week. What will be the key changes and matchups that fans on both sides should look out for?

this game won't be a run away for either team. i dont' think either defense will be able to completely stop the other's offense. our secondary against your WR's is a key matchup, as will be your front 7 against our O line and RB's. I look for TN to be very physical, establish a solid running game and play a little keep away from your offense. Goal being to beat up on them for 3 quarters and put it away in the 4th. I look for Cal to test our DB's early and often. If we get sloppy with the ball and give Cal extra possessions , it could be a long day. in the end, I like TN in a much closer game than last year, and a higher scoring affair. I think our defense does just enough, and we get some very good production from the RB's. If we don't turn the ball over, i like our chances just fine.