We need a tradition for RECRUITING

#53
#53
OrangeSoddyDaisy said:
Other big time football schools have tradition. Recruits like this. We need to establish a tradition like other schools have like between the hedges, the Grove, Toomer's Corner, the swamp. It would cause big time athletes to take notice and would engender a better fan relationship.

Any thoughts?
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Butch, I thought you were gone?
 
#55
#55
I thought you meant we need a tradition of good recruiting again. We lost 2 WRs (Higgins, Rogers lead receivers for Clemson) from Knoxville and Oak Ridge , an OL who has played all 5 games as a freshman and started at RG yesterday Cade Mays playing for Ga from Knoxville, a WR from Franklin (Emanuel Hall) leading rcvr yds in the SEC at Missouri, starting LB (Dodson) at A&M and 2nd leading tackler from Franklin, and starting ILB at #5 LSU (soph) Jacob Phillips from Nashville.

These are instate guys we haven't been able to recruit and to establish a tradition of Good recruiting, we need to nail down the borders as a start. Don't you?
 
#56
#56
TNnative said:
Auburn folks seem to like it. Never been there, but might drive through someday so I can say I did. But they have won a fair share of championships, so I can't disrespect that. Might be worth the trip.
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I think that's why they go there. And that's why kids go where they go. Traditions are only important to these kids once they get here.
 
#58
#58
DeerPark12 said:
Boise State already has a dog that retrieves the kickoff tee.

The only thing worse than manufacturing a gimmick because you don't like the numerous other traditions we already have is to steal a dumb one from a Mountain West school.
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Wait for real that's a tradition? Merde. That's - I don't even know what to say.

Traditions are a fascinatingly strange convergence of timing, charisma, salesmanship, but most of all, fan acceptance/ownership. I think a great comparison here was the whole "Rock" deal, as compared to the naming of the Swamp. I recall Fulmer stating at one point that he thought fans should call Neyland "the Rock," (because we were about running the ball or somesuch). It never took, and quickly became forgotten in the wake of larger things. I recall his words coming off more as an attempt to echo Spurrier's whole Swamp idea, except Spurrier pulled that out as Florida was rocketing into its ascendance in the 90s. Perfect timing. When things are going well, and people are invested -- when they're "there" for the birth of something, they feel participatory. Like they own a small piece of that. They're part of the story. So they adopt the tradition, and observe it, and pass it on to others who signify their support by also adopting it. Meanwhile, Tennessee was on the tail end of their 1998 glory, struggling not to be eclipsed by Florida yet again ... so him wanting to start a new name for the stadium had no momentum. Had he done that in 1998, during *the* year, we'd be calling Neyland the Rock today. Or we might have, I don't know, losing to Florida the next two years really ruined the shine on Tennessee's aura. But it would have had a chance.

But even setting aside the winning or timing, there's the charisma. Spurrier was a cocky SOB and that charisma fed into people being bought in about the name change. He's the kind of guy you'd run into at a bar and have a beer with, or at least that's how he looked from the outside. Fulmer meanwhile was a true Tennessee boy and a great coach for the program, but he was never the most charismatic person. So the idea ended up just feeling forced, and was dismissed as such.

Sometimes there's random flukes. A coach saying something in a post-game presser a reporter describing something as a "Crimson tide," or a fan yelling "WOO" at the end of Rocky Top until everyone starts doing it. Once people start doing it, and then other echo it to show their adoption, you just have to hit critical mass and boom, takeoff. That's how you get the woo. For better or for worse.

Finally there's the manufactured stuff. A lot of corporate and pro teams feel like this to me. They have "traditions" but almost all of them feel fake, all marketing pushes with calculated intent. Sometimes it's just advertising under another name. Fans can't really own those so I'm not surprised many die on the vine. Some have a history and are real, but many just seem like the advertisement campaign of the season. They feel uncool. They often die being uncool. In my opinion most of those don't last, and you have to hunker for a very long haul to make any of these authentic.

And even in spite of all this, it can be hard to tell them apart. At the start of their wrestling tag team career, a group called the New Day would shout "Newwww Daaaaay!" and no one would say a word. Nothing. For a year. But then, a year in, there's this video of a crowd at an important live event and you can hear a few people in the crowd yelling it. Was it the fans? Were they plants? Was it forced? We'll never know. The WWE has a history of manipulating crowds and setting up scams. Carney stuff. A month later, another crowd, even more people yelling "New Day!" And then more. It caught on. If the WWE planted it, then hey, it worked. The fans adopted it, and that was that. Tradition born. Albeit a very thin, very mindless one. But that's a lot of wrestling so I suppose it fit.

Point being -- A DOG? Getting a kickoff tee? Huh. I kind of want to see Uga have to get a kickoff tee. That'd be hilarious. But forcing new traditions? Much less hilarious. I'd suggest we focus on winning for the time being. That's the only tradition Tennessee needs to bring back.
 
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#59
#59
ptclaus98 said:
I think that's why they go there. And that's why kids go where they go. Traditions are only important to these kids once they get here.
Click to expand...

Well it all depends on what they grow up with. As for Auburn and Toomer's corners, that idiot Harvey Updyke killing their oaks in the long term added value to that location. Not only to Auburn people but to college fans in general. In the aftermath, several alumni groups have taken interest in investing in and improving that crossroad area.

That is why I discourage anyone vandalizing Vanderbilt. I am hoping that place just dries up and blows away.
 
#60
#60
Voltopia said:
Wait for real that's a tradition? Merde. That's - I don't even know what to say.

Traditions are a fascinatingly strange convergence of timing, charisma, salesmanship, but most of all, fan acceptance/ownership. I think a great comparison here was the whole "Rock" deal, as compared to the naming of the Swamp. I recall Fulmer stating at one point that he thought fans should call Neyland "the Rock," (because we were about running the ball or somesuch). It never took, and quickly became forgotten in the wake of larger things. I recall his words coming off more as an attempt to echo Spurrier's whole Swamp idea, except Spurrier pulled that out as Florida was rocketing into its ascendance in the 90s. Perfect timing. When things are going well, and people are invested -- when they're "there" for the birth of something, they feel participatory. Like they own a small piece of that. They're part of the story. So they adopt the tradition, and observe it, and pass it on to others who signify their support by also adopting it. Meanwhile, Tennessee was on the tail end of their 1998 glory, struggling not to be eclipsed by Florida yet again ... so him wanting to start a new name for the stadium had no momentum. Had he done that in 1998, during *the* year, we'd be calling Neyland the Rock today. Or we might have, I don't know, losing to Florida the next two years really ruined the shine on Tennessee's aura. But it would have had a chance.

But even setting aside the winning or timing, there's the charisma. Spurrier was a cocky SOB and that charisma fed into people being bought in about the name change. He's the kind of guy you'd run into at a bar and have a beer with, or at least that's how he looked from the outside. Fulmer meanwhile was a true Tennessee boy and a great coach for the program, but he was never the most charismatic person. So the idea ended up just feeling forced, and was dismissed as such.

Sometimes there's random flukes. A coach saying something in a post-game presser a reporter describing something as a "Crimson tide," or a fan yelling "WOO" at the end of Rocky Top until everyone starts doing it. Once people start doing it, and then other echo it to show their adoption, you just have to hit critical mass and boom, takeoff. That's how you get the woo. For better or for worse.

Finally there's the manufactured stuff. A lot of corporate and pro teams feel like this to me. They have "traditions" but almost all of them feel fake, all marketing pushes with calculated intent. Sometimes it's just advertising under another name. Fans can't really own those so I'm not surprised many die on the vine. Some have a history and are real, but many just seem like the advertisement campaign of the season. They feel uncool. They often die being uncool. In my opinion most of those don't last, and you have to hunker for a very long haul to make any of these authentic.

And even in spite of all this, it can be hard to tell them apart. At the start of their wrestling tag team career, a group called the New Day would shout "Newwww Daaaaay!" and no one would say a word. Nothing. For a year. But then, a year in, there's this video of a crowd at an important live event and you can hear a few people in the crowd yelling it. Was it the fans? Were they plants? Was it forced? We'll never know. The WWE has a history of manipulating crowds and setting up scams. Carney stuff. A month later, another crowd, even more people yelling "New Day!" And then more. It caught on. If the WWE planted it, then hey, it worked. The fans adopted it, and that was that. Tradition born. Albeit a very thin, very mindless one. But that's a lot of wrestling so I suppose it fit.

Point being -- A DOG? Getting a kickoff tee? Huh. I kind of want to see Uga have to get a kickoff tee. That'd be hilarious. But forcing new traditions? Much less hilarious. I'd suggest we focus on winning for the time being. That's the only tradition Tennessee needs to bring back.
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Better yet, call Paul Reubens. Let him dress up as Pee Wee Herman, but with an orange bow tie and bicycle. And let HIM ride to midfield to get the tee. Maybe he needs the money nowadays.
 
#61
#61
Kiffin tried instilling the tradition of WhiteTail hunting... worked good too but was frowned upon
 
#63
#63
Does replacing failing coaches every 4 years count? I know it's not yearly, but it's rapidly becoming our most outwardly visible tradition.
 
#64
#64
Years ago you never heard about the crime but a few years back the murders were up and I hear tell that east Tennessee may be the worst place in Tennessee for hard drugs. Thoughts?
 
#66
#66
fgi4rx9.gif
 
#67
#67
The tradition the recruits we want most care about "Preparing and Sending Players to the NFL"
 
#69
#69
OrangeSoddyDaisy said:
Other big time football schools have tradition. Recruits like this. We need to establish a tradition like other schools have like between the hedges, the Grove, Toomer's Corner, the swamp. It would cause big time athletes to take notice and would engender a better fan relationship.

Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
Winning would be a nice tradition.
 
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