Question and a little help from Vol Nation?

[Bvols48]

The question is more for the "Brake pumpers" than anyone else.

But first if you don't mind a little Bio. I've been a Vols fan for over 50 years. Through ups and downs, thick and thin. My favorite years among others 1969, 1985 and of course 1998. In 1969 was I was in Vietnam with the US Army. Vols were doing great. Had already beaten Auburn and the 3rd Saturday had rolled around. Few things going on so was hard to find the score. Asked everyone if they had heard any scores form the Armed Forces Network, nothing. Remember thinking, man going to have to wait on a letter from home to find out what happened. Then about 4 AM this dude is waking me up and saying "Hey Sarge you got a phone call". Get up, head for HQ thinking what the he-- could be wrong. Lump in my throat I pick up the phone and my brother says they whipped Bama's a-- 41/14 and oh everybody's alright. At that time he was in the Air Force and some way got a phone call through to the middle of nowhere. I still after 45 years remind him how he about gave me a heart attack.
Well any way on to the question. This is most excited I've been since Manning says he's coming back for his senior year.

The question: Why as Vols fans should we need to be pumping our brakes when we finally after many years we have something to be excited about???

Not saying they are going to win the NC or even the SEC east, but if they improve as much from year 2 to 3 as they did from year 1 to 2 could be a special year. So why can't we enjoy and be excited about what is happening?

Sorry for the rambling, your thoughts Please.

 

[malinoisvol]

Cool story, Bro! Thank you for your service. I am 100% with you on this.


GBO!!!!

 

[BigOrangeD]

The question is more for the "Brake pumpers" than anyone else.

But first if you don't mind a little Bio. I've been a Vols fan for over 50 years. Through ups and downs, thick and thin. My favorite years among others 1969, 1985 and of course 1998. In 1969 was I was in Vietnam with the US Army. Vols were doing great. Had already beaten Auburn and the 3rd Saturday had rolled around. Few things going on so was hard to find the score. Asked everyone if they had heard any scores form the Armed Forces Network, nothing. Remember thinking, man going to have to wait on a letter from home to find out what happened. Then about 4 AM this dude is waking me up and saying "Hey Sarge you got a phone call". Get up, head for HQ thinking what the he-- could be wrong. Lump in my throat I pick up the phone and my brother says they whipped Bama's a-- 41/14 and oh everybody's alright. At that time he was in the Air Force and some way got a phone call through to the middle of nowhere. I still after 45 years remind him how he about gave me a heart attack.
Well any way on to the question. This is most excited I've been since Manning says he's coming back for his senior year.

The question: Why as Vols fans should we need to be pumping our brakes when we finally after many years we have something to be excited about???

Not saying they are going to win the NC or even the SEC east, but if they improve as much from year 2 to 3 as they did from year 1 to 2 could be a special year. So why can't we enjoy and be excited about what is happening?

Sorry for the rambling, your thoughts Please.

Good stuff and I agree. Thanks for serving in that Hell Hole of a place for the rest of us. :good!:

 

[ManningBerry#1]

I'm always exciting about the new season regardless of who's coaching. However, with our current trend, this team is high on Butch and high on Teamwork. I can't wait to see what all of these men do collectively on the field together. We are about to witness something very, very special with these young men. JMO

 

[livefaith]

The question: Why as Vols fans should we need to be pumping our brakes when we finally after many years we have something to be excited about???

Not saying they are going to win the NC or even the SEC east, ...

Therein lies the caveat! It's a cause / effect situation. If people quit extrapolating the Iowa win + solid sophomores + top 5 recruiting class into an immediate SEC Title ... then you'll get a lot less warnings to pump the brakes.

Everyone should be pumped about this season, and yes we could win the SEC etc. It's just the morons who claim to know without a shadow of a doubt that get the rebukes.

 

[ChattanoogaVols]

The question is more for the "Brake pumpers" than anyone else.

But first if you don't mind a little Bio. I've been a Vols fan for over 50 years. Through ups and downs, thick and thin. My favorite years among others 1969, 1985 and of course 1998. In 1969 was I was in Vietnam with the US Army. Vols were doing great. Had already beaten Auburn and the 3rd Saturday had rolled around. Few things going on so was hard to find the score. Asked everyone if they had heard any scores form the Armed Forces Network, nothing. Remember thinking, man going to have to wait on a letter from home to find out what happened. Then about 4 AM this dude is waking me up and saying "Hey Sarge you got a phone call". Get up, head for HQ thinking what the he-- could be wrong. Lump in my throat I pick up the phone and my brother says they whipped Bama's a-- 41/14 and oh everybody's alright. At that time he was in the Air Force and some way got a phone call through to the middle of nowhere. I still after 45 years remind him how he about gave me a heart attack.
Well any way on to the question. This is most excited I've been since Manning says he's coming back for his senior year.

The question: Why as Vols fans should we need to be pumping our brakes when we finally after many years we have something to be excited about???

Not saying they are going to win the NC or even the SEC east, but if they improve as much from year 2 to 3 as they did from year 1 to 2 could be a special year. So why can't we enjoy and be excited about what is happening?

Sorry for the rambling, your thoughts Please.

Thank you for your service. And thanks for the story, I genuinely enjoyed reading it (I'd love to see a thread created specifically for stories from the greatest generation, but I digress...)

I believe the answer to your question is comprehensively answered in livefaith's quote below. There are quite a few people who are setting themselves up for a major disappointment by expecting (not just hoping for, but expecting) to win the SEC/NC. It is to those people who the brake-pumpers are directing their brake-pumping advice.

Therein lies the caveat! It's a cause / effect situation. If people quit extrapolating the Iowa win + solid sophomores + top 5 recruiting class into an immediate SEC Title ... then you'll get a lot less warnings to pump the brakes.

Everyone should be pumped about this season, and yes we could win the SEC etc. It's just the morons who claim to know without a shadow of a doubt that get the rebukes.

 

[Frivolous]

I've been conditioned to expect disappointment. I remember being excited in 2012 and Dooley telling the SEC they're not going to have Tennessee to kick around anymore. I remember the whole "unfinished business" thing in 2002, and so on and so on.

I'd rather this team play with a chip on their shoulder rather than going in to the season already thinking they're great.

I do think it's time for Butch to prove he can win at a high level.

 

[FiremedicVOL127]

My thinking is this, yes I am extremely excited about this up coming year and years to come. But I also kinda wanna keep it check a lil bit as well. You all know as well as I do if we let off the brakes the least lil but and just let it coast for a lil bit if we don't meet said expectations we then will be battling those who want a new coach cause ya know everybody said we was better and we would be better. That's really the only reason I even touch the breaks. I don't wanna release em until we have a year where we actually win those games ( a couple) that we shouldn't. Then the expectations are being met. We are Tennessee we should expect to win every game we step on the field to play, but after the last 10 years it's hard to have those expectations without tons of disappointment. But your right were very very close, if not there this year.

 

[volKano]

I don't mind the excitement but people (here) predict wins and loses in Febuary and then get mad if we lose a game in November they feel we should have won. For the rest of the season this site is hijacked by a small percentage of people with nothing to do except find ways of throwing the coaching staff under the bus in every thread.

 

[Volador]

We won a National Championship because all the pressure was off the 97/98 Team. It's human psychology to try harder as the underdog vs being the favorite (that is why repeating any championship is so dang hard to do). From my decades of watching the Vols, IMO, we almost always perform better when we are unranked or playing better teams. Therefore, I admit that I am a card carrying member of the UT PTB Union. And please don't rag on me because of this as I have been trained for decades on how/when to get excited about the Vols. (and FYI, of course I am inspired right now but talk of bowl games, individual awards, comparisons, etc is for me, and maybe not for anyone else, a bit premature) GBO

 

[Bvols48]

We won a National Championship because all the pressure was off the 97/98 Team. It's human psychology to try harder as the underdog vs being the favorite (that is why repeating any championship is so dang hard to do). From my decades of watching the Vols, IMO, we almost always perform better when we are unranked or playing better teams. Therefore, I admit that I am a card carrying member of the UT PTB Union. And please don't rag on me because of this as I have been trained for decades on how/when to get excited about the Vols. (and FYI, of course I am inspired right now but talk of bowl games, individual awards, comparisons, etc is for me, and maybe not for anyone else, a bit premature) GBO

I agree with you and most of the other replys. I am not trying down any ones opinion because I have felt the same way over the last decade, like most posters here, just waiting something to go wrong.

I guess the point I'm trying to get across is all the excitement around Vols football with the views of the "talking heads" is something we've been waiting on for a long time. We should enjoy what is happening now because its going to be a long summer until fall camp. I think one thing we all can agree on It Is an exciting time to be a Vols fan. GBO

 

[jackaro]

A good reason to pump the breaks is the situation on the offensive line. They were atrocious last season, just awful. There are some talented freshman coming in but offensive line is a development position. The guys really need to be in the system for a couple years with coaching and the strength and conditioning program before you should realistically expect them to contribute. Above all else, we need an answer at left tackle, the fact that Blair redshirted does not fill me with confidence and we need him to step in and contribute. Not having seen him play a down of football it is impossible for me to have faith that he can step up and secure that LT spot.

Another concern is depth at every position. We can point to depth but most of that will be freshman. We have 2 running backs, after that freshman. One quaterback, after that freshman. When was the last season we had a quarterback play all season? That should worry you. Really the only geniune depth we have is at wide receiver.

These are the reasons I am pumping the breaks, and I believe these reasons to be legitimate.

 

[YankeeVol]

I'm always excited and really and almost always expect more than I know I should.

 

[vollygirl]

The question is more for the "Brake pumpers" than anyone else.

But first if you don't mind a little Bio. I've been a Vols fan for over 50 years. Through ups and downs, thick and thin. My favorite years among others 1969, 1985 and of course 1998. In 1969 was I was in Vietnam with the US Army. Vols were doing great. Had already beaten Auburn and the 3rd Saturday had rolled around. Few things going on so was hard to find the score. Asked everyone if they had heard any scores form the Armed Forces Network, nothing. Remember thinking, man going to have to wait on a letter from home to find out what happened. Then about 4 AM this dude is waking me up and saying "Hey Sarge you got a phone call". Get up, head for HQ thinking what the he-- could be wrong. Lump in my throat I pick up the phone and my brother says they whipped Bama's a-- 41/14 and oh everybody's alright. At that time he was in the Air Force and some way got a phone call through to the middle of nowhere. I still after 45 years remind him how he about gave me a heart attack.
Well any way on to the question. This is most excited I've been since Manning says he's coming back for his senior year.

The question: Why as Vols fans should we need to be pumping our brakes when we finally after many years we have something to be excited about???

Not saying they are going to win the NC or even the SEC east, but if they improve as much from year 2 to 3 as they did from year 1 to 2 could be a special year. So why can't we enjoy and be excited about what is happening?

Sorry for the rambling, your thoughts Please.

This is one of the best posts I've ever read on this website. And I've read a few.

 

[majorvol]

Thanks for the story and your service... I'm right there with you excited as hell ! GBO

 

[1Big_Orange_Fan]

Terrific story. Who cares if the normal folks derail the thread, that was worth reading. Thanks for your service!

 

[joevol33]

Thank you for your service, and story. I'm a Sunshine pumper, even when we lose I'm confident in the next game.

 

[ALLVOL24/7/365]

The question is more for the "Brake pumpers" than anyone else.

But first if you don't mind a little Bio. I've been a Vols fan for over 50 years. Through ups and downs, thick and thin. My favorite years among others 1969, 1985 and of course 1998. In 1969 was I was in Vietnam with the US Army. Vols were doing great. Had already beaten Auburn and the 3rd Saturday had rolled around. Few things going on so was hard to find the score. Asked everyone if they had heard any scores form the Armed Forces Network, nothing. Remember thinking, man going to have to wait on a letter from home to find out what happened. Then about 4 AM this dude is waking me up and saying "Hey Sarge you got a phone call". Get up, head for HQ thinking what the he-- could be wrong. Lump in my throat I pick up the phone and my brother says they whipped Bama's a-- 41/14 and oh everybody's alright. At that time he was in the Air Force and some way got a phone call through to the middle of nowhere. I still after 45 years remind him how he about gave me a heart attack.
Well any way on to the question. This is most excited I've been since Manning says he's coming back for his senior year.

The question: Why as Vols fans should we need to be pumping our brakes when we finally after many years we have something to be excited about???

Not saying they are going to win the NC or even the SEC east, but if they improve as much from year 2 to 3 as they did from year 1 to 2 could be a special year. So why can't we enjoy and be excited about what is happening?

Sorry for the rambling, your thoughts Please.

Thank you for your service, I remember those same teams. I am guessing you have me by about 10 years or so because you were in that Hell Hole and I was just 7 in 69. I appreciate everything you did for our country.

As for pumping the brakes, it is not that I want too. It is just that on here you have to keep the level of expectation down. There are "fans" of the Vols who expect us to win the Natty every year and go undeafeated every year, they think players will show up here even if we had no coach and could play without a coach and win the Natty. So if one idiot fans says we win 15 games and the Natty and then we go 14-1 and win the Natty they are calling for Jones to be fired because we did not live up to expectations. There is a small group on here that will call for firing coached after almost every lose. So pumping the brakes is because these fans stoke the expectations of other fans and then grip when we lose. It is a hopeless cycle.

 

[vollygirl]

Here's the thing. Everybody is different.

Every poster here is at a different station in life. We're young. We're old. We've been a fan for a long time, or we're a relatively new fan. Or maybe we fall somewhere in between.

We're at different stations as fans. We're emotionally attached to this team. Or we're a fan because we happen to live in this state. Or somebody we know is a fan and got us interested. Or we were raised by a Tennessee fan. Or we watched a game that one time.

Tennessee football means something different to each of us. Our perspective is our own~as it should be. We all view Tennessee football from a different vantage point.

What works for one doesn't work for the other. But I truly wish we showed more respect to each other. Because at the end of the day, the thing we share is the thing we love, Tennessee football.

 

[Doyle Hargraves]

Thanks for all you sacrificed, OP, my dad is a Vietnam Vet.
I have a real respect for you guys.

 

[Doyle Hargraves]

Here's the thing. Everybody is different.

Every poster here is at a different station in life. We're young. We're old. We've been a fan for a long time, or we're a relatively new fan. Or maybe we fall somewhere in between.

We're at different stations as fans. We're emotionally attached to this team. Or we're a fan because we happen to live in this state. Or somebody we know is a fan and got us interested. Or we were raised by a Tennessee fan. Or we watched a game that one time.

Tennessee football means something different to each of us. Our perspective is our own~as it should be. We all view Tennessee football from a different vantage point.

What works for one doesn't work for the other. But I truly wish we showed more respect to each other. Because at the end of the day, the thing we share is the thing we love, Tennessee football.

Damn fine post!
My dad deserves all of the credit for insuring that my blood forever runneth Orange!

 

[orange4ever]

The question is more for the "Brake pumpers" than anyone else.

But first if you don't mind a little Bio. I've been a Vols fan for over 50 years. Through ups and downs, thick and thin. My favorite years among others 1969, 1985 and of course 1998. In 1969 was I was in Vietnam with the US Army. Vols were doing great. Had already beaten Auburn and the 3rd Saturday had rolled around. Few things going on so was hard to find the score. Asked everyone if they had heard any scores form the Armed Forces Network, nothing. Remember thinking, man going to have to wait on a letter from home to find out what happened. Then about 4 AM this dude is waking me up and saying "Hey Sarge you got a phone call". Get up, head for HQ thinking what the he-- could be wrong. Lump in my throat I pick up the phone and my brother says they whipped Bama's a-- 41/14 and oh everybody's alright. At that time he was in the Air Force and some way got a phone call through to the middle of nowhere. I still after 45 years remind him how he about gave me a heart attack.
Well any way on to the question. This is most excited I've been since Manning says he's coming back for his senior year.

The question: Why as Vols fans should we need to be pumping our brakes when we finally after many years we have something to be excited about???

Not saying they are going to win the NC or even the SEC east, but if they improve as much from year 2 to 3 as they did from year 1 to 2 could be a special year. So why can't we enjoy and be excited about what is happening?

Sorry for the rambling, your thoughts Please.

Great post and thanks for your service. You summed up a lot of fans feelings about the Vols to a T.

 

[orange4ever]

Here's the thing. Everybody is different.

Every poster here is at a different station in life. We're young. We're old. We've been a fan for a long time, or we're a relatively new fan. Or maybe we fall somewhere in between.

We're at different stations as fans. We're emotionally attached to this team. Or we're a fan because we happen to live in this state. Or somebody we know is a fan and got us interested. Or we were raised by a Tennessee fan. Or we watched a game that one time.

Tennessee football means something different to each of us. Our perspective is our own~as it should be. We all view Tennessee football from a different vantage point.

What works for one doesn't work for the other. But I truly wish we showed more respect to each other. Because at the end of the day, the thing we share is the thing we love, Tennessee football.

Outstanding vollygirl.:rock:

 

[knoxvol16]

To the OP (Bvols48),

As others have stated, sincere thanks for your service. Vietnam was a hard time for the country and an especially hard time for those who served.

On to your comments. Again, as others have stated, there's nothing wrong with being excited about the direction of the program - especially after going through one of the worst periods of UT football in its history. However, it's the unfounded expectations that I keep seeing from some of the fan base as well as the talking heads in the media that has me concerned. Failure to meet unfounded expectations yields unfounded disappointment, and unfounded disappointment leads to unfounded disapproval.

Yes, I am a "Brake Pumper."

 

[Bvols48]

Thank you everyone for the Service "thanks". Also thanks for the replys, these discussions were what I was wanting to see. Special thanks to Vollygirl, you sure have a way with words. Especially the part about respecting each other.

Great time for Vol fans. Can't wait for Spring game, Fall camp and the season. Thanks again and GO Vols!!!