It is not our job...

#77
#77
lostsheep said:
I agree...it's not about finances for me either. It's about being a life-long fan and living and breathing UT football for as long as you can remember. Unfortunately we don't have the ability to turn that on and off...it's just there. However, the last decade has exhausted many fans in my opinion. We all can suffer through a few bad years because we accept that's just part of the cycle...but at this point, I don't see a light at the end of the tunnel, other than the freight trains of Auburn and Alabama heading our way.
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Yeah. I think the end of the tunnel is farther off than that, too. Maybe MUCH farther off, like next year farther.

But there is an end to it.
 
#78
#78
VFL-82-JP said:
The OP doesn't say we shouldn't discuss. Even critique.

Discussing what went well, and what didn't, is fan activity, for sure.

Denigrating players and coaches--when we mostly don't know what we're talking about anyway--is silly. It's the polar opposite of supportive. It does no one any good.

I get that we all need to let steam off when things aren't going well. But don't do it in a destructive way, and don't aim the vitriol at our team. Go punch a bag, or run it off, or howl at the moon. Not our lads or coaches, who are all putting a hell of a lot more blood, sweat and tears into making things better than any of us are.

There. That's the less enigmatic version of the OP, for those who seem not to have gotten it.
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Its talk on the internet from anonymous posters. If it effecting the team in anyway we have bigger issues.
 
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#80
#80
VFL-82-JP said:
Yeah, absolutely. I'm not saying let's don't discuss the team (seems some folks here are interpreting the OP that way, but that's not what it meant). Just saying let's don't criticize for the sake of criticism, don't hate, don't throw tomatos, and don't lecture the coaches on how they should be doing their jobs (very few of us are qualified to do that last one, anyway).

Seems some of us get so focused on discussing the team that we forget to support the team.
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I definitely misunderstood. I see what your saying. I wish we had hired a coach that would have put 100,000 butts in seats for the Spring game and that was have 99.9% of us nodding our heads in unison at every word that spills out of his mouth. We didn't make that kind of hire and this staff will have to earn that sort of support if they want it. For all I know, there may be people posting here who know more than the current staff. I'm not claiming that knowledge myself but from time to time I am surprised by the football IQ of posters on this board. Interestingly, I did see some sweeps and other calls yesterday that posters here were expressing disappointment at not seeing during UF game. Maybe the staff is here taking notes?
 
#81
#81
VFL-82-JP said:
It is not our job to fix things.

It is not our job to provide advice on how to fix things.

It is not our job to complain about how fast or slow things are getting fixed.

It is not our job to "apply pressure" or "let them know" or "put our foot down."

...

As fans we have one job, just the one: to support our team, to support our team fanatically.

Lot of folks in these boards seem to think we have other jobs. We don't.

We have just the one job.

I'm gonna do that. How about you?
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Fan at ic al



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#82
#82
volfannbama said:
Its talk on the internet from anonymous posters. If it effecting the team in anyway we have bigger issues.
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You might be surprised how attitudes and habits formed or exhibited here grow legs.

We're only a small minority of the Volunteer Nation writ large. Maybe 10,000-20,000 regulars here (most of whom rarely post), out of a fan base that numbers in the millions. We are almost certainly less than 1% of the entire Nation.

And yet, we're the active part. Folks who go out of their way to find and read a fan board are the same folks who will respond to a player on twitter or facebook. The same folks are far more likely to drop an email to a coach or the AD's office. The same folks are far more likely than most to pick up the phone and call someone to complain and offer 'advice.'

So, yeah. Attitudes you see here--in some cases, attitudes formed here--are more likely to reach out to our lads and coaches in other ways as well.

If this thread stops a few belligerent "fans"--whether they think they are anonymous or not--from tweeting hate toward a Tennessee player or further frustrate an already-overworked coach? Good.
 
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#84
#84
VFL-82-JP said:
Okay, so this is an easy one to get offended by.

It's easy (wrong, but easy) to take the word "job" literally.

It's easy (wrong, but easy) to adopt a reducto ad absurdum position and claim the original point keeps us from discussing football.

It's easy (wrong, but easy) to assume that if you're not bitching, the only alternative is to be a cheerleader.

All these counter-arguments are wrong. Those who make them are either (a) choosing to misunderstand to avoid a point that maybe doesn't paint them in a positive light, or (b) truly not bright enough to see how those responses are wrong. Lazy counter-arguments.

There have been a couple of valid counter-points (the Schiano one was the best). Mostly, though, those who have disagreed have taken one of these lazy tacks.

Be a fan. Not a smart-ass, not a troll, not a douche, not a petulant child. Just be a fan.
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No one is offended
 
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#85
#85
Yesterday the program looked like a dying mouse being batted around by an unmotivated, lazy cat. I have been rooting actively for TN for 41 of my 51 years, when I became old enough to really have an emotional investment. I'll define my own role as a fan, thanks.
 
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#86
#86
VFL-82-JP said:
It is not our job to fix things.

It is not our job to provide advice on how to fix things.

It is not our job to complain about how fast or slow things are getting fixed.

It is not our job to "apply pressure" or "let them know" or "put our foot down."

...

As fans we have one job, just the one: to support our team, to support our team fanatically.

Lot of folks in these boards seem to think we have other jobs. We don't.

We have just the one job.

I'm gonna do that. How about you?
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Yup
 
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#89
#89
VFL-82-JP said:
You might be surprised how attitudes and habits formed or exhibited here grow legs.

We're only a small minority of the Volunteer Nation writ large. Maybe 20,000 regulars here (most of whom rarely post), out of a fan base that numbers in the millions. We are almost certainly less than 1% of the entire Nation.

And yet, we're the active part. Folks who go out of their way to find and read a fan board are the same folks who will respond to a player on twitter or facebook. The same folks are far more likely to drop an email to a coach or the AD's office. The same folks are far more likely than most to pick up the phone and call someone to complain and offer 'advice.'

So, yeah. Attitudes you see here are--in some cases, attitudes formed here--are more likely to reach out to our lads and coaches in other ways as well.

If this thread stops a few belligerent "fans"--whether they think they are anonymous or not--from tweeting hate toward a Tennessee player, good.

Yes, that has an effect. Let's don't do it.
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We are the active part, as you say....which to me means we support the team regardless of varying opinions. So do we really need to be preached to about supporting the team? Id say threads like this have an adverse effect of what you hope to achieve, because you are not going to change the mind of people like me, bv, vl and others, but you also see negative from people who are rarely negative because they are tired of being preached to about supporting the team. Jmo
 
#91
#91
volfannbama said:
We are the active part, as you say....which to me means we support the team regardless of varying opinions. So do we really need to be preached to about supporting the team? Id say threads like this have an adverse effect of what you hope to achieve, because you are not going to change the mind of people like me, bv, vl and others, but you also see negative from people who are rarely negative because they are tired of being preached to about supporting the team. Jmo
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It is not "supporting the team" to spew hate and vitriol. Here, or in a player's twitter feed, or to a coach's email account.

It's just not.

A big part of the issue is that a significant minority of the folks here think that is how to "support the team" when things aren't going well.
 
#93
#93
BearCat204 said:
Example of how any of the reaction to these stellar look at me threads goes right over your head.
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It is an indicator of weakness in your character that you think this is a "look at me" thread.

I guess in your mind, that's what it would be if you created it.

Not my motivation at all.
 
#95
#95
VFL-82-JP said:
It is not our job to fix things.

It is not our job to provide advice on how to fix things.

It is not our job to complain to the AD or coaching staff about how fast or slow things are getting fixed.

It is not our job to "apply pressure" or "let them know" or "put our foot down."

...

As fans we have one job, just the one: to support our team, to support our team fanatically.

Lot of folks in these boards seem to think we have other jobs. We don't.

We have just the one job.

I'm gonna do that. How about you?



EDIT: added a few words in the third line because a lot of folks misunderstood it.
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Finally someone with a brain. You sir are not a snowflake. Thank you for a good post.
 
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#96
#96
JonGrudensAgent said:
I sincerely doubt most posters are following players and coaches around campus trying to give them advice.
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Physically? I don't know.

Electronically? Oh yeah, they are. Not most, but still far too many.

And not even limited to advice. Some flat-out hate, as well. Directed at the players and coaches alike.

Entirely the polar opposite of being a fan, though the demented folks who are spewing it think they are.

And maybe it's born here, in VN.com, some of the time. A fella gets on here, starts spewing crap (anonymously, as one crap-spewer pointed out earlier in the thread), finds out he's not alone, that others enjoy him spewing crap, so he takes his show on the road, to twitter and facebook and emails and who knows where else.

I'd be really interested in a survey that could accurately determine how many VN.com members have directed tweets or facebook posts at Tennessee players, coaches, or AD staff, and what percentage of those were (a) unqualified support, (b) "advice", and (c) hate.

I think we all be surprised at how that survey would turn out. Not happily.
 
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#97
#97
ptcarter said:
The instant gratification crowd can be annoying if you feel like things have a chance to move in a better direction. It’s too soon to bash him. It may be warranted a year from now, but at this stage it seems counterproductive.

.
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Agree.
It's hard for a mechanic (coach) to fix a car if he doesn't have tools (players).
 
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#98
#98
VFL-82-JP said:
Okay, so this is an easy one to get offended by.

It's easy (wrong, but easy) to take the word "job" literally.

It's easy (wrong, but easy) to adopt a reducto ad absurdum position and claim the original point keeps us from discussing football.

It's easy (wrong, but easy) to assume that if you're not bitching, the only alternative is to be a cheerleader.

All these counter-arguments are wrong. Those who make them are either (a) choosing to misunderstand to avoid a point that maybe doesn't paint them in a positive light, or (b) truly not bright enough to see how those responses are wrong. Lazy counter-arguments.

There have been a couple of valid counter-points (the Schiano one was the best). Mostly, though, those who have disagreed have taken one of these lazy tacks.

Be a fan. Not a smart-ass, not a troll, not a douche, not a petulant child. Just be a fan.
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Uh...what if im a fan and an expert smart-ass? Asking for a friend.
 
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