Can someone explain to me Bama’s hatred for Fulmer?

[TUSKtimes]

There are a lot of reasons to really dislike Tennessee. The snitch is just but one. Now, I'm sure the age of a number of vol fans has got them truly disoriented about the specifics of this ancient rivalry. I don't expect that to change in that confusion usually followers the orange youth movement around pretty much all the time these days. Maybe you just had to be there. There are still plenty of of fans that experienced all this.

Fulmer's obsession with Bama came from his personal hatred and natural disposition as a low life human being. He wasn't the first nor the last to invest that heavily. But definitely the most sinister of the bunch, right coach Majors? Plenty has been written and said about this rivalry from both sides since way back. https://www.volnation.com/volsblog/2...-crimson-tide/

So to blame the intensity of bad feelings these days on one thing, will always have fans coming up snake eyes. I'd personally rather take an azz kicking down on the Plains than lose this game. And I take delight in one record more than any other. Let me give you orange folks a hint:

 

[bamawriter]

This is incorrect. Although Fulmer was not the only one as stated for bringing the Means issue to light, Alabama almost died of the self inflicted wound. Alabama was a repeat offender that literally almost got whacked.

One of the better articles on this aspect:

When Alabama was in legitimate danger of receiving the death penalty

And? Who wound up better off? Let's take the names off, and start with 2002:

Team A went 167-48 overall, had 12 10-win seasons, 2 losing seasons, won 6 conference titles, 5 national titles, and went 14-3 against Team B.

Team B went 121-99 overall, had 3 10-win seasons, 8 losing seasons. won 0 conference or national titles, and went 3-14 against Team A.

If you put that information in front of any layperson and asked which team got hit with massive sanctions heading into the 2002 season, who would he pick?

 

[Tin Man]

All real Bammers hate Phil Fulmer and curse his name every time it is spoken in their presence. Anyone who has the gall to give honest testimony when called to do so in an investigation of Bama cheating is guilty of rubbing Bammers' faces in their beloved Tide's transgression. That is unacceptable to Bammers, worse than the cheating itself. That the person giving honest testimony was Big Orange through and through Phil, well, to Bammers, he's worse than Admiral David G. Farragut.

 

[VOLstuckinKY2]

It goes back much further than Fulmer. All the way back to the beginning of time, when God said, "Let there be Vols" and Satan said, "Let there be Alabubba"...We've been hating on each other ever since...

 

[Pepe]

There are a lot of reasons to really dislike Tennessee. The snitch is just but one. Now, I'm sure the age of a number of vol fans has got them truly disoriented about the specifics of this ancient rivalry. I don't expect that to change in that confusion usually followers the orange youth movement around pretty much all the time these days. Maybe you just had to be there. There are still plenty of of fans that experienced all this.

Fulmer's obsession with Bama came from his personal hatred and natural disposition as a low life human being. He wasn't the first nor the last to invest that heavily. But definitely the most sinister of the bunch, right coach Majors? Plenty has been written and said about this rivalry from both sides since way back. https://www.volnation.com/volsblog/2...-crimson-tide/

So to blame the intensity of bad feelings these days on one thing, will always have fans coming up snake eyes. I'd personally rather take an azz kicking down on the Plains than lose this game. And I take delight in one record more than any other. Let me give you orange folks a hint:

Okay folks, there is the poster boy for Bama style mental acuity and stability.

 

[rjd970]

Nothing explains the Bama culture better than blaming someone for NCAA sanctions resulting from THEM blatantly cheating.

Houston Nutt and other coaches had equal or more involvement in the inquiry, but Fulmer owned them on the field so that is where the anger gets directed. Living in Bama my newsfeed has been bombarded with Bammers and Fulmer hate. The uninformed elitism is both sad and laughable at the same time. It can't be because somebody was just better than Bama...no, no. It HAS to be something else. Give me a break.

I hate Bama because Saban destroys us ever year, Bammers hate Fulmer because he owned them. Creating a narrative of snitching is just sad, stupid, and pathetic.

 

[MurphyVol]

For some reason, Bama fans didn’t blame Nutt or Spurrier for also turning them into the NCAA. Fulmer got all of the blame and hatred.

I don't think any of them told recruits that "Bama will be out of the football business soon" that was one thing I remembered from the whole fiasco. Something about some missing audio tapes comes to mind for some reason but can't remember what that was all about

 

[ksgovols]

Those were halcyon days on the old Gridscape message boards. TennStud was applying the pressure to those Bama boosters in Memphis. Tommy Gallion, an attorney in Montgomery famously was going to serve Coach Fulmer a subpoena at SEC media days. The truth, as has already been posted, is that Houston Nutt and Steve Spurrier were every bit as involved in bringing the Tide to justice. They cheated and they got caught over a kid that never amounted to much on the playing field. Albert Means wound up at Memphis and Bama wound up on probation. Damn, I hope this is on tonight's episode of Saturdays in the South.

 

[Orange defense]

If anything, Alabama fans should be mad at the people that did wrong in their organization, not Fulmer. Those people committed the penalties, not Fulmer. It occurs to me that Alabama fans, will blame someone else, besides their own football program. These Bama fans are the most ruthless people that I’ve ever seen.

 

[Pepe]

The first thing I ever read about Albert means was on the old gridscape message board that the word was put out among all recruiters that Albert means was a poison that must be avoided because whoever won his services would get them in big NCAA troubles.Apparently the only recruiters who did not heed this warning were at Bama.

 

[esarmstrong]

For some reason, Bama fans didn’t blame Nutt or Spurrier for also turning them into the NCAA. Fulmer got all of the blame and hatred.

The "tater diggers" are very selective in how they direct their hatred. That being said, it really is nice that we can be such a burr in their saddle, even when we are at an all-time low as a program.

 

[TUSKtimes]

All real Bammers hate Phil Fulmer and curse his name every time it is spoken in their presence. Anyone who has the gall to give honest testimony when called to do so in an investigation of Bama cheating is guilty of rubbing Bammers' faces in their beloved Tide's transgression. That is unacceptable to Bammers, worse than the cheating itself. That the person giving honest testimony was Big Orange through and through Phil, well, to Bammers, he's worse than Admiral David G. Farragut.

Who are you trying to kid? There has been many a vol thread that has taken up bandwidth over here about how fulmer got his HC gig. How he's being portrayed by Bama fans is altogether in line with many a Vol that has had his say about this guy's character flaws over the years. That's no accident or just someone having a bad day. Coach Majors has never reminded me of a guy that goes out of his way about ostracizing people. But his reaction to this guy's tactics has been a source of deep, bitter consternation since the coup happened. Thinking that a college football fan has to travel all the way to Tuscaloosa for a unique perspective into this guy's character is fundamentally flawed. Check your own bandwidth?

 

[bamawriter]

The truth, as has already been posted, is that Houston Nutt and Steve Spurrier were every bit as involved in bringing the Tide to justice.

This is simply not true. Yes, Spurrier and Nutt both reported what they'd heard about Bama (as did the coach at Michigan State, though I forget his name). However, none of them actually sat down with the NCAA's investigators; that was all Fulmer. And the NCAA violated their own bylaws by trying to give Fulmer anonymity. On the heels of Tennessee skating on the Tee Martin issue, it came off like Fulmer and the NCAA had a quid-pro-quo agreement. It was an easy conclusion for Bama fans to draw. Whether that conclusion matches reality is ultimately neither here nor there.

Maybe you think Fulmer was completely in the right on this issue. That's fine. Again, it really doesn't matter anymore. But to say that Bama fans unfairly focused on him over other coaches is to ignore how it all went down.

 

[JonGrudensAgent]

Wyatt Earp:
What makes a team like Bama, Doc? What makes them do the things they do?
Doc Holliday:
A team like Bama has got a great big hole, right in the middle of themselves. And they can never kill enough, or steal enough, or inflict enough pain to ever fill it.
Wyatt Earp:
What do they want?
Doc Holliday:
Revenge.
Wyatt Earp:
For what?
Doc Holliday:
Bein' born.

 

[tbones0711]

I’ve believed for sometime the beginning of the end for Fulmer was the scrutiny he got from the NCAA after he reported the violations. His recruiting never returned to what he had shown prior to that time.

The media likely portrayed him as a "snitch" and that could have turned some good players away. Drama is distasteful to young athletes in that they perceive it could hinder their development. Our current staff should recruit well as the higher rated recruits are yearning to be developed.

 

[DeepSpringsVol]

Albert Means and Logan Young. Then pile on that Coach Fulmer beat them silly for that stretch in 90s.

 

[ksgovols]

And? Who wound up better off? Let's take the names off, and start with 2002:

Team A went 167-48 overall, had 12 10-win seasons, 2 losing seasons, won 6 conference titles, 5 national titles, and went 14-3 against Team B.

Team B went 121-99 overall, had 3 10-win seasons, 8 losing seasons. won 0 conference or national titles, and went 3-14 against Team A.

If you put that information in front of any layperson and asked which team got hit with massive sanctions heading into the 2002 season, who would he pick?

So, money well spent huh Bammer?

 

[bamawriter]

So, money well spent huh Bammer?

Absolutely.

 

[VolunGator]

Even though Coach Fulmer was a key figure in the investigation, I have heard/read many times that it was Steve Spurrier who actually turned them in.

But you never hear the Gumps spew their vitriol in the direction of the Old Ball Coach the way they have toward CPF over the years.
I think part of that is compounded by the fact that we play them every year and CPF was steadily whipping them.

-------

The Gumps went after Fulmer because they knew as many others that Fulmer was running an academic fraud system to keep the dumb ones eligible. Internet search Robin Wright and Bensel-Meyers who is quoted,

"Here is the lesson to be learned from this history: academic improprieties will stop when all academic tutoring within the Office of Student Life is overseen by an academic official from the (university) campus and not someone involved in sports management within the athletics department,"

One example of Fulmer's system was Travis Henry. You know the guy doing 20 plus in prison for very serious drug crimes, father 11 kids with 10 different mothers. Like many less-than-intelligent former NFL players ended up with nothing after a lengthy pro football career.
Travis Henry rushed for over 4,000 yards his senior year at Frostproof High School and not one of the Florida Big 3 (UF, Miami or EVEN FSU) talked with him. Why? It was well known that he was literally dumb as a rock and absent any moral fiber. Surprised was EVERYONE that UT somehow got him eligible and surprised no one that UT kept him eligible via Fulmer's academic fraud system.

SOS was leading the pack against BAMA but SOS was running a squeaking clean program and was not being a hypocrite.
SOS always ran a clean program, period. It's why his recruiting classes were always ranked lower than FSU and many others despite sitting right in the heart of a recruiting hotbed.

After UT had to clean up the academic fraud system Fulmer had to direct his attention to the legit "student athlete." This was the start of Fulmer's downfall.

 

[Tin Man]

Who are you trying to kid? There has been many a vol thread that has taken up bandwidth over here about how fulmer got his HC gig. How he's being portrayed by Bama fans is altogether in line with many a Vol that has had his say about this guy's character flaws over the years. That's no accident or just someone having a bad day. Coach Majors has never reminded me of a guy that goes out of his way about ostracizing people. But his reaction to this guy's tactics has been a source of deep, bitter consternation since the coup happened. Thinking that a college football fan has to travel all the way to Tuscaloosa for a unique perspective into this guy's character is fundamentally flawed. Check your own bandwidth?

I sense the Bammer in you.

 

[ksgovols]

-------

The Gumps went after Fulmer because they knew as many others that Fulmer was running an academic fraud system to keep the dumb ones eligible. Internet search Robin Wright and Bensel-Meyers who is quoted,

"Here is the lesson to be learned from this history: academic improprieties will stop when all academic tutoring within the Office of Student Life is overseen by an academic official from the (university) campus and not someone involved in sports management within the athletics department,"

One example of Fulmer's system was Travis Henry. You know the guy doing 20 plus in prison for very serious drug crimes, father 11 kids with 10 different mothers. Like many less-than-intelligent former NFL players ended up with nothing after a lengthy pro football career.
Travis Henry rushed for over 4,000 yards his senior year at Frostproof High School and not one of the Florida Big 3 (UF, Miami or EVEN FSU) talked with him. Why? It was well known that he was literally dumb as a rock and absent any moral fiber. Surprised was EVERYONE that UT somehow got him eligible and surprised no one that UT kept him eligible via Fulmer's academic fraud system.

SOS was leading the pack against BAMA but SOS was running a squeaking clean program and was not being a hypocrite.
SOS always ran a clean program, period. It's why his recruiting classes were always ranked lower than FSU and many others despite sitting right in the heart of a recruiting hotbed.

After UT had to clean up the academic fraud system Fulmer had to direct his attention to the legit "student athlete." This was the start of Fulmer's downfall.

Aaron Hernandez says hello from Hell...

 

[rjd970]

This is simply not true. Yes, Spurrier and Nutt both reported what they'd heard about Bama (as did the coach at Michigan State, though I forget his name). However, none of them actually sat down with the NCAA's investigators; that was all Fulmer. And the NCAA violated their own bylaws by trying to give Fulmer anonymity. On the heels of Tennessee skating on the Tee Martin issue, it came off like Fulmer and the NCAA had a quid-pro-quo agreement. It was an easy conclusion for Bama fans to draw. Whether that conclusion matches reality is ultimately neither here nor there.

Maybe you think Fulmer was completely in the right on this issue. That's fine. Again, it really doesn't matter anymore. But to say that Bama fans unfairly focused on him over other coaches is to ignore how it all went down.

But it does, to a lot of Bama fans and they can't let it go.

They simply can't let it go that Fulmer beat them, a lot. That is the real reason for the ire, otherwise Spurrier and Nutt would get the same hate. To say nothing of the fact that if Bama boosters hadn't cheated this wouldn't even be an issue to begin with. The simple story here is Bama boosters cheated, Fulmer and others acknowledged it, he owned you guys, so it's Fulmer's fault you guys got the hammer.

This misdirected hate is past silly and pathetic.

 

[PF4UTNOW]

Is it solely because Bama was Fulmer’s whipping boy for a decade?
Or again, is this just solely because Fulmer spent his career routinely beating them like a drum and they are still salty about it?

The Lion of Knoxville was certainly no stranger to vanquishing our most hated rival. They feared no one as they feared Fulmer, and Saban is not immune to being awestruck by the accomplishments of the first and foremost son of Vol nation.

 

[tbones0711]

I used to work for a guy that was a BIG Bama donor. He hated Fulmer. I would ask him so you are mad because he help bring the fact that Bama was paying High School Coaches for recruits, pay players and their families. He said Fulmer should mind his own business. I pointed out the fact that had Bama not been cheating there would have been nothing to report. He wasn't sorry Bama cheats just that they got caught. He felt like it was Bama and the rules do not apply to them.

Auburn was paying athletes like it was an everyday thing......just an accepted way of life there. I actually think because they did it so much that it tempted Bama to follow suit.

 

[volinbham]

Okay folks, there is the poster boy for Bama style mental acuity and stability.

yep - always someone else's fault - the whole world is out to get Bama...