Fan Fatigue

#26
#26
coffeevol said:
Anyone else kind of burnt out after the last freaking decade. I still watch and care but with each passing year of subpar on the field performance it is terribly hard to get excited. I use to follow recruiting like a mad man, my 10 year old daughter has never seen TN beat Alabama. She has only seen the Gators go down once. She has seen a team at or below the level of the bottom tier of the SEC. A decade ago South Carolina, Kentucky, Vandy were all wins every year. I know it has gotten more competitive but how about you all.....Do you care as much as you use to?
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Invest on an emotional level with the people you care about, not 18-21 year olds wearing your favorite jersey that you will most likely never meet.
 
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#27
#27
Hacksaw11 said:
Good topic. I am 68 and have literally endured the ups and downs of UT football. In HS I remember the Doug Dickey years in which UT was one of the few teams competitive with the Bear. I was shocked when Dickey bolted for Florida and equally shocked when UT chose to hire a 27 year old unproven Bill Battle as its head coach. Until the Dickey talent ran out, we had a good run for 2-3 years but once again began to fade. Here comes the legend Johnny Majors to save the day fresh off a NC with Pittsburg and Tony Dorsett. Johnny's early philosophy was to fill the roster with Tennessee recruits which turned out to be horrible as there were simply not enough quality players from which to field a competitive team. Johnny was not a good football coach and while we had a couple of good runs against Bama, more often than not they were having their way with us over a decade. The most memorable games during Major's tenure were Bear's last year and the 35-28 win in Neyland where the goalposts came down (UT had a mediocre team that year), the Johnny Jones run to win at Legion field, the 16-14 win at Legion where Dale Jones intercepts Shula to preserve the win and of course the 35-7 Sugar Bowl thumping of the Canes with Jimmy Johnson, Vinnie and Michael Irvin. Majors still struggled with Florida as well. As Majors began to fall off (remember the 9-6 loss to Bama at Neyland during Stallings first year when Bama had lost the first 3 games of the year, internal struggles were occurring which I believe two years later led Phil to take over when Johnny had his heart problems. We know how that soap opera played out but it resulted in UT enjoying its most prosperous football years during the 1990s (sounds and feels like a lifetime ago- difficult to realize that it has been 20 years since the NC). This run was also during a time when UGA was weaker with poor coaches resulting in UT having recruiting success in GA and Bama being on probation and having a carosel of coaches. After the championship game when we lost to LSU and Saban you could see and feel things beginning to change. We had blown another golden opportunity to play for a second NC. The downturn was gradual but noticable and when it came, we were being beaten by the likes of Wyoming. Out the door goes Phil and so begans the sad saga of the decline of what was once the proud Tennessee football program. What transpired next could have been a classic tragic comedy as no program could have screwed things up worse than UT if they had intended to do so. During the last 10-15 years we have now settled in as the worst football program in the SEC. Having your hopes dashed each and every year has taken its toll on lifetime fans. The players that are now recruits were not even born when UT was last great and the college football landscape has changed to make it more difficult if not impossible to recover once that tailspin occurs. We have nobody to blame but the administration for having let the program fall so far when the warning signs were so obvious . I have thoroughly enjoyed the highs of UT sports but likewise I have also suffered simply because I care. I'll still be there week end and week out but it will not be with the same zest and zeal unless and until the program is on the right track. Used to you could depend on the Lady Vols to get us through the hard times. Now even that has become something lost in the past.
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Wall of words
 
#28
#28
winsec said:
majors was not a good coach. laughable and fulmer losing to Wyoming. again laughable. already been told he was gone. some people have serious recollection problems or maybe they do just to fit their narrative.
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Or maybe they have a different opinion. Shocker
 
#30
#30
They havent gotten any donations from me for a few years now.

I'm over subsidizing coaching buyouts for this program.
 
#31
#31
coffeevol said:
Anyone else kind of burnt out after the last freaking decade. I still watch and care but with each passing year of subpar on the field performance it is terribly hard to get excited. I use to follow recruiting like a mad man, my 10 year old daughter has never seen TN beat Alabama. She has only seen the Gators go down once. She has seen a team at or below the level of the bottom tier of the SEC. A decade ago South Carolina, Kentucky, Vandy were all wins every year. I know it has gotten more competitive but how about you all.....Do you care as much as you use to?
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Still care. But not with rabid enthusiasm. There was a time i got nervous with anticipation for big games. Now, i have actually forgotten to turn the game on at kickoff a couple times
 
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#34
#34
AM64 said:
Fans of almost every other team that plays AL regularly probably have sons and daughters who have never seen their team beat AL either. Bama has probably destroyed more coaching careers than any other team ... certainly in recent history. Target fixation at beating the top teams when they were at a peak was what put us in the position of failing to beat the mediocre teams because we (and others) fired good coaches and filled the position with a series of losers - even Bama did that before Saban. One of my greatest hopes is that some day people will realize that changing coaches is a risky proposition and that there are no sure things.
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You would think that after a dozen years of trying to fire and hire our way to success, the fanbase would be more patient with Pruitt than they seem to be.
 
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#36
#36
coffeevol said:
Anyone else kind of burnt out after the last freaking decade. I still watch and care but with each passing year of subpar on the field performance it is terribly hard to get excited. I use to follow recruiting like a mad man, my 10 year old daughter has never seen TN beat Alabama. She has only seen the Gators go down once. She has seen a team at or below the level of the bottom tier of the SEC. A decade ago South Carolina, Kentucky, Vandy were all wins every year. I know it has gotten more competitive but how about you all.....Do you care as much as you use to?
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My entire family is suffering from fan fatigue, and we have been avid VOLS fans for generations. Year after year of poor performance has worn us down. We know that Pruitt needs time, but seriously considering not renewing season tickets. There will be plenty available--if we are ever good again.
 
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#37
#37
MAUSERWERKE said:
You would think that after a dozen years of trying to fire and hire our way to success, the fanbase would be more patient with Pruitt than they seem to be.
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Why? What has Pruitt done to deserve our patience? The name is different but the record is the same. When people are investing their time and money then the program needs to show they deserve our attention.

I have learned from the NFL that there are other things to do on Sunday afternoons. The Vols are not far behind.
 
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#38
#38
I miss SRO for 3-4 games a year. I miss seeing a legit 107,000+ in the stands. I miss driving anywhere in the state on game day and seeing Tennessee flags on half the cars. I miss planning the entire day, work schedule, etc. around the game. I miss Friday's at work when everyone wore their orange shirt. I miss when we expected to win every game, instead expecting to lose.
 
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#39
#39
onevol74 said:
Why? What has Pruitt done to deserve our patience? The name is different but the record is the same. When people are investing their time and money then the program needs to show they deserve our attention.

I have learned from the NFL that there are other things to do on Sunday afternoons. The Vols are not far behind.
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In the span of a year you can change all the coaches and a lot of other things, but rules and practicalities dictate that you can't change the majority of the team, and playing the game with a failed team is simply doing the same thing over and expecting different results. I think we'll all see improvement once Pruitt has more of the right players and can quit with the proverbial trying to teach a pig to sing. Getting more of the right players is a challenge for most teams because in the face of teams like AL grabbing the quality players is extremely difficult - teams like AL win the recruiting war because the best recruits want to play for a winning team - a case of the rich simply becoming richer. It's how football dynasties are built. Blunders like Kiffin, Dooley, and BJ can put a team on a downward spiral that takes years to overcome.
 
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#41
#41
I suppose I'm an ole school fart. This last seasondecade sucked but I choose to look at the upcoming bowls, coach hires, early signing day, NSD and grab a few more rabbits feet awaiting Georgia state.
 
#42
#42
I have been hanging on by a thread for a decade. If things don't change next year..... I wish I didn't care but, I started bleeding orange the day I stepped on campus as a freshman and will support every team who represents my university. Emotionally invested.
 
#43
#43
According to this, we still care with our wallets. #8 in revenue and ahead of Notre Dame, Florida, and Georgia. Now a lot has happened since this came out, but still this was 2017

NOTE - Texas has been just as bad or worse even with seemingly good coaching hires. The fact they are number 1 is a testament to the size of TX as much as anything.

The 27 schools that make at least $100 million in college sports
 
#44
#44
MAUSERWERKE said:
You would think that after a dozen years of trying to fire and hire our way to success, the fanbase would be more patient with Pruitt than they seem to be.
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Ive only seen one guy start a thread saying pruitt should be fired. Almost all the replies said he was stupid.
 
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#45
#45
If you question it, just look at attendance.

I still love the program just as much but dropped my season tix when I realized we weren't committed to winning, which was mamy, many years ago
 
#46
#46
I still get angry when they lose, but this past coaching search took a lot out of me.

I don't know what it did, but I've been having trouble even watching the end of some of these games.

I just feel indifferent to UT sports right. Highly disappointed with my University.
 
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#47
#47
Back when I attended, my best buddy was 3rd string QB and backup punter. We had a great time and I have some memories (and a goal post) that will last a lifetime.

Long after, as I moved away, I used to watch the games yelling at the TV when we scored and was howling when we made a bad play. Wife and son tiptoed quietly.

Last couple of years, when I turn on the game, I am pretty quiet and just do something else while it is in the background. If I miss the game, meh, no big deal really since there is nothing at stake mostly any more.

My dad used to buy his grandson a new UT outfit about once a year as he kept growing out of the last one. I am in NYC and it was a source of pride to wear all my game stuff and my son knew I was from TENNESSEE! Now? I dont think any of my son's stuff fits anymore (pops hasnt sent a new one in awhile) and he doesnt really watch the games.

I still want the team to win of course. Over the last few years. though, it seemed pretty clear that neither the UTAdmin, the coach or even the players cared that much about UT Football or winning. So why should I care? Why would I want to associate my name with the coaches/team that has been on the field? Is there something to be proud of that I missed? Didnt think so. I hope for the future, because that is the kind of person I am but where once I was a hot blooded fan, now I have become a cold eyed observer.
 
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#48
#48
I will never love another team like I do the Vols however, the past few years sure have taught me ( as interest dwindled ) that family time can't be retrieved .. I am thankful for that..
I would love to see them back on top but I believe I will always have my priorities in line from now on.
 
#49
#49
Johnny Majors a good Coach? First 12 years of his UT stint 38-33. That's some real consistent production and that was when you only played 6 SEC games a year.
 
#50
#50
coffeevol said:
Anyone else kind of burnt out after the last freaking decade. I still watch and care but with each passing year of subpar on the field performance it is terribly hard to get excited. I use to follow recruiting like a mad man, my 10 year old daughter has never seen TN beat Alabama. She has only seen the Gators go down once. She has seen a team at or below the level of the bottom tier of the SEC. A decade ago South Carolina, Kentucky, Vandy were all wins every year. I know it has gotten more competitive but how about you all.....Do you care as much as you use to?
Click to expand...
I remember the Fulmer years when everyone was tired of going to bowl games after losing 2 or 3 games all season. We used to be a threat everytime we took the field,got top recruits every year,was in the mix....but just like now-we demand excellence and a championship or we fire the coach. It is unrealistic. I also remember thinking be careful what you wish for changing coaches.
 
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