it finally dawned on me today why there is so much reaction, good or bad, to coach kiffin inside big orange country.
it's culture shock. for the better part of most all our lives, this program has had one culture, carefully developed over 30 some odd years. from johnny to phil and all the assistants and position coaches, the culture was what it was.
brash, bold, outspoken, it definitely wasn't.
the closest we ever got to hearing a verbal punch taken at a rival is fulmer accusing spurrier of playing too much golf.
and don't get me wrong, that culture served this program very well for a very long time.
but as we all know "these times is a changin'".
we see and hear reaction to today's back and forth between us and them, and we don't know what to do with it. can't get our heads around it. Some see it and love it. Some think he's getting in over his head.
one thing's for sure, it's different. And yes, it would have been nice if our new coach had boned up on the rules before publically saying this, but in the end, all he was intending to do was excite TN boosters at a breakfast.
Personally, i like it. i like the fact he's confident enough to point at the big bully on the block and say "No More".
as for the Pahokee High deal, i don't think there's anything there that can't be mended very quickly. I don't think CLK is endangering future recruiting efforts. Heck, a few weeks ago a Tucker, GA high school told Steve Spurrier he'd never get another kid from his high school for backing out on a scholly.
You don't think Saban or Miles or Meyer have ruffled feathers?
Heck, we're just late to the party. But it does appear we've shown up.
all that said, i'd be lying if any of this bravado made me think we were going to beat FL next seaosn. There is the small issue of them still being better than us you know. but what's wrong with building up this rivalry? what's wrong with trying to get in some heads?
nothing in my book.
We'll lose games to FL, GA, Bama and LSU in the future, very likely the near future, of that i have no doubt. but from what i can see so far, we won't be losing those kinds of games due to the Pucker Factor being on level 10 like it has been in the past. whether it was Johnny against Bama or Fulmer against Florida, we've lived thru two decades, and then some, of losing head games that translate to losing the game.
i think those days are, at least, behind us. I'm perfectly fine with that.
and i don't think it will be all that long before we are back in the saddle of honestly competing with FL and Bama for tops in the SEC again.
And Lane Kiffin, if you haven't already figured it out, knows it. Doesn't that just sound good?