Putting together that previous post made me think of our traditions and how they must look seen through the eyes of a new player...
...starting with becoming part of a numbered team, Team 119, and all the history that gets blanketed over you when you think about the number's significance...
...then discovering The Rock for yourself while getting to know campus...
...finding out about the Vol Navy, maybe getting invited to join in an evening-prior tailgate dinner there...
...and then the rush of so many strong traditions in a row on game day: Vol Walk ... suiting up, including the Power T helmet ... going over Neyland's Maxims with the coach ... slapping the sign in a vow to Give My All for Tennessee Today ... standing in the tunnel seeing the Pride of the Southland Band forming the T ... following Smokey and Davy Crockett out Through the T ... the game starting, with Voices of the Vols calling it in the background ... Tennessee's first score in those beautiful checkerboard endzones, followed by Rocky Top sung by 100,000 souls ... and then, one day a year, looking up to see an entire stadium checkered ...
And then, as that freshman who became a sophomore became a junior became a senior plays his last game for Tennessee, realizing that it will never truly be over as he is welcomed into the Vol For Life fraternity...
We and our players and coaches are blessed at Tennessee with so many wonderful traditions. Chokes me up a little just thinking about them all.