1998 Arkansas Fumble...

#76
#76
sorry , after finishing I realized this is a bit long-
(Yes , yes TWSS)
I was sworn to secrecy about this game . My 90 y.o. VFL grandfather , who is still as sharp as a damn tack and watches every game told me to “never tell a soul that we were dumb enough to leave that game “ For the record I didn’t want to leave but I was 19 & the time & he was my ride so didn’t really have a say in the matter.

I don’t feel guilty about telling it today because he ratted us out within a few days.

His first game was 1945 -vs- Vandy , a 45-0 Vol triumph. I now own the first pair of seats that he and my grandmother bought in 1964 (Q34) I have better seats but I sell them and still sit in those seats because not only are they are great seats but the nostalgic value of what all we have seen there is priceless . Unfortunately “stumbled and fumbled “ was not witnessed from Q34 but rather heard from G3.


This was the 1st season that my grandmother did not accompany him to every game . In ‘98 I became his new official weekly guest. We went to every game from then until he quit going in around ‘04 & my wife & I started going to every game.

The week prior OSU was upset & we handled UAB the Big Orange ascended to #1. After the failed 4th down conversion he looked @ me , soaking wet and pissed off for greatness he said “let’s go, been seeing this Sh*t my whole
*#%🤬🤬 life ! As soon as my hand hit the car door handle in G3 the stadium exploded ! Some guy came running out of nowhere and said “PLEASE PLEASE mister .... let me listen to John Ward “. The 3 of us , stranger included listened to Travis Henry take over and as we were pulling away was when my grandfather demanded that I “Never tell a soul about how dumb we were “
 
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#77
#77
Jravol78 said:
sorry , after finishing I realized this is a bit long-
(Yes , yes TWSS)
I was sworn to secrecy about this game . My 90 y.o. VFL grandfather , who is still as sharp as a damn tack and watches every game told me to “never tell a soul that we were dumb enough to leave that game “ For the record I didn’t want to leave but I was 19 & the time & he was my ride so didn’t really have a say in the matter.

I don’t feel guilty about telling it today because he ratted us out within a few days.

His first game was 1945 -vs- Vandy , a 45-0 Vol triumph. I now own the first pair of seats that he and my grandmother bought in 1964 (Q34) I have better seats but I sell them and still sit in those seats because not only are they are great seats but the nostalgic value of what all we have seen there is priceless . Unfortunately “stumbled and fumbled “ was not witnessed from Q34 but rather heard from G3.


This was the 1st season that my grandmother did not accompany him to every game . In ‘98 I became his new official weekly guest. We went to every game from then until he quit going in around ‘04 & my wife & I started going to every game.

The week prior as Penn St. was upset & we handled UAB the Big Orange ascended to #1. After the failed 4th down conversion he looked @ me , soaking wet and pissed off for greatness he said “let’s go, been seeing this Sh*t my whole
*#%🤬🤬 life ! As soon as my hand hit the car door handle in G3 the stadium exploded ! Some guy came running out of nowhere and said “PLEASE PLEASE mister .... let me listen to John Ward “. The 3 of us , stranger included listened to Travis Henry take over and as we were pulling away was when my grandfather demanded that I “Never tell a soul about how dumb we were “
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Such a cool remembrance thank you for that!
 
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#79
#79
Rickyvol77 said:
You have no clue what you are talking about. All three players stated that Ratliff caused the fumble. And Tennessee was only outplayed the 1st quarter and arguably half of the 2nd and was never got “kicked their arse” mode. We never panicked the whole game and took control the 2nd half.
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As long as you believe it, that’s all that matters
 
#80
#80
Turned tv off, started my drive home bc we always watched the games at my grandma's house. 2 minutes later I needed John Ward to soothe me so I turned radio on. Next thing I know, cheese taking it to the house. I never saw it but I lived it through the Voice of Mr Ward. Never forget it. Greatest drive back home ever.
 
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#82
#82
Rickyvol77 said:
Well the three people involved in the play believe it too so....
Click to expand...

Of course Ratliff thinks he caused the fumble. Of course Stoerner is not going to admit he just made a clumsy move and tripped over his lineman. And of course Bullsworth is not going to admit his moving back to quick caused his QB to trip over his foot. You believe whatever makes you feel good as a Vol fan, I just watched it on video countless times and Stoerner trips right before contact is made between Ratliff and Bullsworth.
 
#83
#83
Jravol78 said:
sorry , after finishing I realized this is a bit long-
(Yes , yes TWSS)
I was sworn to secrecy about this game . My 90 y.o. VFL grandfather , who is still as sharp as a damn tack and watches every game told me to “never tell a soul that we were dumb enough to leave that game “ For the record I didn’t want to leave but I was 19 & the time & he was my ride so didn’t really have a say in the matter.

I don’t feel guilty about telling it today because he ratted us out within a few days.

His first game was 1945 -vs- Vandy , a 45-0 Vol triumph. I now own the first pair of seats that he and my grandmother bought in 1964 (Q34) I have better seats but I sell them and still sit in those seats because not only are they are great seats but the nostalgic value of what all we have seen there is priceless . Unfortunately “stumbled and fumbled “ was not witnessed from Q34 but rather heard from G3.


This was the 1st season that my grandmother did not accompany him to every game . In ‘98 I became his new official weekly guest. We went to every game from then until he quit going in around ‘04 & my wife & I started going to every game.

The week prior as Penn St. was upset & we handled UAB the Big Orange ascended to #1. After the failed 4th down conversion he looked @ me , soaking wet and pissed off for greatness he said “let’s go, been seeing this Sh*t my whole
*#%🤬🤬 life ! As soon as my hand hit the car door handle in G3 the stadium exploded ! Some guy came running out of nowhere and said “PLEASE PLEASE mister .... let me listen to John Ward “. The 3 of us , stranger included listened to Travis Henry take over and as we were pulling away was when my grandfather demanded that I “Never tell a soul about how dumb we were “
Click to expand...
My dad refuses to ever leave early under any circumstances. Doesn't matter if we are losing by 30, winning by 30 or coming down to the wire, he won't leave until after The Tennessee Waltz. One thing I've always wondered about is what Neyland sounds like from the outside when it's really rocking. Guess I'll never know...
 
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#84
#84
The Original Fade said:
Of course Ratliff thinks he caused the fumble. Of course Stoerner is not going to admit he just made a clumsy move and tripped over his lineman. And of course Bullsworth is not going to admit his moving back to quick caused his QB to trip over his foot. You believe whatever makes you feel good as a Vol fan, I just watched it on video countless times and Stoerner trips right before contact is made between Ratliff and Bullsworth.
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“Feel good” lol 😂 facts don’t make me feel good they just are.
 
#85
#85
The Original Fade said:
Of course Ratliff thinks he caused the fumble. Of course Stoerner is not going to admit he just made a clumsy move and tripped over his lineman. And of course Bullsworth is not going to admit his moving back to quick caused his QB to trip over his foot. You believe whatever makes you feel good as a Vol fan, I just watched it on video countless times and Stoerner trips right before contact is made between Ratliff and Bullsworth.
Click to expand...

Bullsworth died a few months after this game.
 
#86
#86
I watched a movie on Netflix last night called Greater. It is about faith, and determination. It is on the life of Brandon Burlsworth the offensive lineman who tripped the quarterback. I enjoyed the movie had pepper in my eyes a few times. Sad ending for the young man.
 
#87
#87
Jravol78 said:
sorry , after finishing I realized this is a bit long-
(Yes , yes TWSS)
I was sworn to secrecy about this game . My 90 y.o. VFL grandfather , who is still as sharp as a damn tack and watches every game told me to “never tell a soul that we were dumb enough to leave that game “ For the record I didn’t want to leave but I was 19 & the time & he was my ride so didn’t really have a say in the matter.

I don’t feel guilty about telling it today because he ratted us out within a few days.

His first game was 1945 -vs- Vandy , a 45-0 Vol triumph. I now own the first pair of seats that he and my grandmother bought in 1964 (Q34) I have better seats but I sell them and still sit in those seats because not only are they are great seats but the nostalgic value of what all we have seen there is priceless . Unfortunately “stumbled and fumbled “ was not witnessed from Q34 but rather heard from G3.


This was the 1st season that my grandmother did not accompany him to every game . In ‘98 I became his new official weekly guest. We went to every game from then until he quit going in around ‘04 & my wife & I started going to every game.

The week prior as Penn St. was upset & we handled UAB the Big Orange ascended to #1. After the failed 4th down conversion he looked @ me , soaking wet and pissed off for greatness he said “let’s go, been seeing this Sh*t my whole
*#%🤬🤬 life ! As soon as my hand hit the car door handle in G3 the stadium exploded ! Some guy came running out of nowhere and said “PLEASE PLEASE mister .... let me listen to John Ward “. The 3 of us , stranger included listened to Travis Henry take over and as we were pulling away was when my grandfather demanded that I “Never tell a soul about how dumb we were “
Click to expand...
Awesome story.
 
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#89
#89
The Original Fade said:
You‘re delusional. That play was 100% luck. Stoerner tripped over his lineman and made a bone headed decision to break his fall with the ball. No one pushed the lineman into Stoerner. Stoerner tripped before the defense made contact with the lineman. Don’t get me wrong, I’m SO glad it happened, but let’s deal with reality and not make that play into something it wasn’t.
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You must not be looking at the film of the game. If you go frame by frame, you will see Ratliff CLEARLY into Burlesworth's chest and Stoerner still upright. A frame or two later, Burlesworth, with Ratliff in his chest, is MUCH deeper than any of the other linemen, indicating that Ratliff drove him backward and Burlesworth had to extend his right leg behind him to maintain balance, causing Stoerner to trip. The assertion that "Stoerner tripped before the defense made contact with the lineman" is absolutely absurd.

Billy Ratliff is a UT football hero. When I talked to Darwin Walker at the 2000 Senior Bowl and asked him about Ratliff, he choked up and said, "I love Billy Ratliff!"
 
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#90
#90
The argument seems to be whether we were lucky that Stoerner tripped or whether we forced it. Take that part of the game away. Whether we forced the stumble or not, there’s no doubt we were lucky that Stoerner decided to steady himself with the ball as I’ve maybe only seen that one other time in over 30 years of watching college football. And then it just so happened he dropped it as well. That was lucky for sure. But the flip side is Arkansas had us down 21-3, caught a lucky break on the safety, and still could have stopped us after the fumble. There wasn’t a single thing lucky about what we did after that fumble and there’s no one that can argue that.
 
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#91
#91
Jravol78 said:
sorry , after finishing I realized this is a bit long-
(Yes , yes TWSS)
I was sworn to secrecy about this game . My 90 y.o. VFL grandfather , who is still as sharp as a damn tack and watches every game told me to “never tell a soul that we were dumb enough to leave that game “ For the record I didn’t want to leave but I was 19 & the time & he was my ride so didn’t really have a say in the matter.

I don’t feel guilty about telling it today because he ratted us out within a few days.

His first game was 1945 -vs- Vandy , a 45-0 Vol triumph. I now own the first pair of seats that he and my grandmother bought in 1964 (Q34) I have better seats but I sell them and still sit in those seats because not only are they are great seats but the nostalgic value of what all we have seen there is priceless . Unfortunately “stumbled and fumbled “ was not witnessed from Q34 but rather heard from G3.


This was the 1st season that my grandmother did not accompany him to every game . In ‘98 I became his new official weekly guest. We went to every game from then until he quit going in around ‘04 & my wife & I started going to every game.

The week prior as Penn St. was upset & we handled UAB the Big Orange ascended to #1. After the failed 4th down conversion he looked @ me , soaking wet and pissed off for greatness he said “let’s go, been seeing this Sh*t my whole
*#%🤬🤬 life ! As soon as my hand hit the car door handle in G3 the stadium exploded ! Some guy came running out of nowhere and said “PLEASE PLEASE mister .... let me listen to John Ward “. The 3 of us , stranger included listened to Travis Henry take over and as we were pulling away was when my grandfather demanded that I “Never tell a soul about how dumb we were “
Click to expand...
Good stuff. Funny thing is it never occurred to me to leave, I was too mad after Tee threw it away on 4th down. My best friend left early in the second quarter but my future wife stayed with me to the end. I seriously thought the upper deck was going to come down when we got the fumble. I was a student and had never sat in the upper deck but we were in row 5 and had great seats.

One minor correction, it wasn’t Penn St that lost, it was Ohio St. They lost to Michigan St and that’s what put us up to number 1.
 
#92
#92
hUTch2002 said:
One minor correction, it wasn’t Penn St that lost, it was Ohio St. They lost to Michigan St and that’s what put us up to number 1.
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good call, just looked back & you are correct.Funny what the mind can convince you of! I had that confused with remembering PENN ST. being upset the following year in ‘99. Was on the way to the ND game & remember now that it was a big deal because we were in the top 5& PSU was #2 so obviously had an opportunity to move up some more by handling ND.Notre Dame was handled in front of one of the most raucous Neyland crowds in memory.

Sadly was all for nothing because the Vols crapped the bed the next week vs Arkansas.
 
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#94
#94
FBtime said:
Also what people seems to forget was the refs absolutely F'd up the call when the ball was snapped over the punter's head. It should have been our ball where the ball was kicked which was about the 10 yard line.
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It should have been Tennessee ball at the spot of the kick, plus a 15-yard penalty for "illegal touching". My understanding of the rule is that would have been the result because by rule it is 15-yard penalty and loss of down. It was 4th down so the ball would go to the Vols as a turnover on downs and then the penalty should have been assessed from the spot of the foul, by my recollection approximately the 10-yard line; so walk off half the distance to the goal and the end result is Tennessee football at the 5 yard line, 1st and Goal. All is well that ends well and if the correct call had been made and we score on the first play then Stroener has 2 minutes and a time out left.
 
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