Fans deserve better

[tbh]

You dont have any control over slot machine. Fans have some say over what happens to a football program.

The average fan has the same amount of say as the casino patron...either spend your money on the entertainment or don't.

 

[BeecherVol]

kiffin had that team in 09 competing with the best teams in this conference. we didn't win like we wanted to that year, but there's no doubt in my mind that had he stayed we would have had a leg up on the rest of the East at that time.

now, if you want to blame the admin that fired fulmer and hired kiffin with such a weak buyout that made it so easy for him to say "c ya", then i'm on board. but i don't think kiffin, in and of himself, was THE problem.

THE problem was the decison making processes by those that make the decisions to fire fulmer, not give him the resources he needed/wanted, and then go make a hire like they did in the way that they did.

the rest, is as they say, history.

this is definitely a top down problem.

Good post.

 

[Behr]

Stop with this BS.

Lulz.

 

[onevol74]

We "deserve" better. What are we, a bunch of welfare queens?

Football is tactical and our tactics have been terrible since we fired Fulmer. What kind of idiots fire Fulmer and hire someone of Kiffin's caliber. Every time since our hiring process has been terrible.

Actually our tactics were horrible two of the four years before we fired Fulmer. Never saw a coach that could waste as much talent as he had at UT and only win two SEC Championships in 17 years. At least Majors won three in his last six years with less talent and we fired him.

 

[beneVOLence]

that's complete BS. the vast majority of fans all off season saw this team for what it was, at best a 6 or 7 win team...just go to a bowl game. there are always a few on either side of that, but the majority of TN fans know what this team would be.

when i see posts like this, it does make me feel like we deserve better.

why are we the ones that have to watch us lose to all our rivals EVERY YEAR. we've 1 game against FL in the last 14. and these are NOT GOOD fl teams. we've lost to Bama 12 years in a row. we're 3-7 against UGA in the last 10. Vandy is 4-2 in the last 6.

enough is freaking enough. the fans are the ones that have been here going thru all this crap.

we're the ones being told to be patient year after year after year.

somebody get me a team that can at least LOOK LIKE It belongs on a field with another SEC team. screw winning the division. win one conf game for crying out loud.

win 1 game you're not supposed to. beat the teams you're supposed to. go to a bowl game.

we talk about having a standard? we haven't come close to that standard in 15 years. we talk about having expectations...BS. we get great hype videos, and lay eggs on Saturdays.

i've been a TN fan my entire life, i graduated from that university. i want to be proud of that program again. not continually embarrassed by it and then be told to keep my mouth shut when it's abysmal, and that i'm part of the problem and an unrealistic fan. bull.

i hope Pruitt is the right guy. i think at his core he's a good coach and we have staff of good coaches.

but they haven't been here the last 10-15 years... WE HAVE. so forgive me if i'm not on the "oh well, there's always next year" bandwaggon.

i wish i was to be honest, it'd be easier. but nope, i'll be watching every saturday like an idiot.

Amen brother!

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

The average fan has the same amount of say as the casino patron...either spend your money on the entertainment or don't.

Lol. So what do you think would haappen if only about 20k people showed up for every game? Do you think things would go on as normal and not change?

 

[BigOrangeTrain]

Actually our tactics were horrible two of the four years before we fired Fulmer. Never saw a coach that could waste as much talent as he had at UT and only win two SEC Championships in 17 years. At least Majors won three in his last six years with less talent and we fired him.

Yeah because clearly we were the only team in the SEc that was talented in his 17 years. Lol.

 

[Vol_0311]

Was that supposed to be blue font?

Anyway, if I go to McDonalds and order a $1 cheeseburger and they serve me a sh!t sandwich, I deserve a cheeseburger. Not expecting a Big Mac, just the cheeseburger.

Just because you paid $1 for a burger doesn’t mean you should expect the best burger you’ve ever eaten. You choose to buy the tickets & then bitch when you don’t get the outcome you “deserve” because you made the choice to invest your time & $. It’s like the people that sit around us in the stands bitching about every single thing the entire game. Why come to the game??? Why even be a fan of the Vols?? If complaining fixed things, we’d be well on our way to consecutive national championships. We can bitch w/ the best of them but in the end that’s only damaging our own mental health.

 

[37620VOL]

Actually our tactics were horrible two of the four years before we fired Fulmer. Never saw a coach that could waste as much talent as he had at UT and only win two SEC Championships in 17 years. At least Majors won three in his last six years with less talent and we fired him.

With Fulmer we were in the seccg roughly every 3 years. Dang, I miss that.

 

[37620VOL]

kiffin had that team in 09 competing with the best teams in this conference. we didn't win like we wanted to that year, but there's no doubt in my mind that had he stayed we would have had a leg up on the rest of the East at that time.

What happened to the rest of Kiffin's career? He was a high risk, terrible hire. And a big part of our current situation.

 

[VOLnMiami]

They've deserved better for a long time. No return on the investment for a time..There are more fed up fans at this point than i've seen at any point in the last 3 hires. They've been taken for granted, probably going to start biting back now. Not going to set any attendance records this year.

Yeah it is at the point where fans are fed up and going to stay home...No reason to waste money on a team that doesn't care or seem to care...We dragged the bargain bin at Walmart for coaches and we are now getting what we paid for...Better off running all these players off and starting over fresh...Saban did it his first year at Alabama and won 10 games his 2nd year....Nothing to lose at this point.

 

[UTK]

Not sure we fans "deserve" anything. However there surely will come a time when we quit showing up. Or maybe we will just become like Ole Miss and talk as much about our tailgates and atmosphere as we do our footbal team.

Uh you damn well be sure us fans DESERVE winning. Are you crazy? How can you not be sure of that? Lol

 

[VOLnMiami]

What happened to the rest of Kiffin's career? He was a high risk, terrible hire. And a big part of our current situation.

Kiffin has absolutely nothing to do with the current state of this program...He took a 5-7 team and got them to a bowl game his 1st year and turned Crompton into a decent QB...He would've had us winning at a high level for years to come had he stayed but his dream job came open and he followed his heart.

 

[VolFreakJosh]

I agree that we deserve better but that doesn’t change the fact that we have dumb fans acting like it should be an immediate fix with a 1st year HC.

 

[IPleadInsanity]

What good is it though to dog the team and the coaches 24/7. What recruit would want to go to a school where their own fans trash the program. People need to learn how to be patient. We have a whole new coaching staff.

You need to worry about what players would want to come here after the performance in game 1 and 4. Going to be difficult to get 5 star players to match the competition.

 

[GetYouSomeofThat]

Uh you damn well be sure us fans DESERVE winning. Are you crazy? How can you not be sure of that? Lol

Because we arent the ones out there busting our ass at practice, in the weight room, in the classroom, etc.

We also aren't the ones who's livelihood depends on the winds, who get their names trounced on social media, whose family has to put up with buttholes at school or the grocery store, etc.


Most of us are just overweight schlobs who never played past high school and have only bought a t-shirt and a ticket. Not sure how that makes one deserving of anything.

 

[GetEmVols]

Yep. It's all CBJs fault. Totally to blame that this staff hasn't focused on fundamentals. He could not be more to blame that the admin provided a 3 ring circus coaching search and settled on our 7th choice

CBJ the man with more control than anyone deemed possible.


yep CBJ is apparently the devil

You must be catholic.

 

[PineyBluff Vol]

We were downtown yesterday taking in the game day atmosphere. There was orange everywhere. There was an air of excitement and anticipation.

On the way up, we drove along Neyland Drive. Tailgaters were everywhere. Millions of dollars worth of beautiful Vol Navy boats lined the docks four deep and the party was on at Calhoun's.

Downtown at the bars and shops and on the streets, there was a lot of friendly talk about the team, the new coach and talk of optimism, tempered by unknowns. There was good-natured jawboning with the few Gator fans around. A sign outside Clancy's said "feels like 98."

We saw families and kids from all over, all decked out in orange. As we made our way down towards Cumberland, we saw one kid wearing a Peyton Manning jersey walking with his dad towards Neyland Stadium. The kid was grinning from ear to ear.

When we got to Cumberland, there was a sea of orange. There were tailgaters in every available space. The mood was electric. Fans clogged the streets, sidewalks and bars. There was music and dancing. It was party central.

Then we came home to watch the game. The fans in the stands were loud and proud. 108 decibels, the announcers said. Then, disaster.

When it was all over, I felt bad for all those fans, especially the families and the kids.

UT puts on a grand spectacle. It is one of the greatest traditions in sports. The marketing and hype around the program is as polished and as good as it gets anywhere. People spend millions of dollars supporting the team. Little kids look up to the coaches and players for inspiration. And despite the downward spiral in recent years, they still believe. Little kids are still excited to go to the game with their dad sporting their Peyton Manning jersey.

The faithful showed up for the game.

The team didn't.

There's plenty of blame to go around. Fans get it that the program is in transition and that the path back to greatness is long and difficult.

Fans deserve better than what they got yesterday.

But, Did You Have A Good Time?

 

[jakez4ut]

What happened to the rest of Kiffin's career? He was a high risk, terrible hire. And a big part of our current situation.

That's still not HIS fault.

 

[tbh]

Lol. So what do you think would haappen if only about 20k people showed up for every game? Do you think things would go on as normal and not change?

That would likely get the attention of the administration, but it's as likely to happen as it would be for gamblers to quit showing up at casinos. Even then, it would have no immediate impact on the Vols' success on the field. Back to my original point that the notion that fans somehow deserve anything more than a seat in the stadium when they purchase a ticket for a game, try to apply some reason and logic to your 'train' of thought. If you feel as though that purchase, or the purchase of a few hats/shirts/bumper stickers somehow entitles you to some kind of birthright to a successful football team, well, that's simultaneously sad and hilarious.

 

[barryjim]

We were downtown yesterday taking in the game day atmosphere. There was orange everywhere. There was an air of excitement and anticipation.

On the way up, we drove along Neyland Drive. Tailgaters were everywhere. Millions of dollars worth of beautiful Vol Navy boats lined the docks four deep and the party was on at Calhoun's.

Downtown at the bars and shops and on the streets, there was a lot of friendly talk about the team, the new coach and talk of optimism, tempered by unknowns. There was good-natured jawboning with the few Gator fans around. A sign outside Clancy's said "feels like 98."

We saw families and kids from all over, all decked out in orange. As we made our way down towards Cumberland, we saw one kid wearing a Peyton Manning jersey walking with his dad towards Neyland Stadium. The kid was grinning from ear to ear.

When we got to Cumberland, there was a sea of orange. There were tailgaters in every available space. The mood was electric. Fans clogged the streets, sidewalks and bars. There was music and dancing. It was party central.

Then we came home to watch the game. The fans in the stands were loud and proud. 108 decibels, the announcers said. Then, disaster.

When it was all over, I felt bad for all those fans, especially the families and the kids.

UT puts on a grand spectacle. It is one of the greatest traditions in sports. The marketing and hype around the program is as polished and as good as it gets anywhere. People spend millions of dollars supporting the team. Little kids look up to the coaches and players for inspiration. And despite the downward spiral in recent years, they still believe. Little kids are still excited to go to the game with their dad sporting their Peyton Manning jersey.

The faithful showed up for the game.

The team didn't.

There's plenty of blame to go around. Fans get it that the program is in transition and that the path back to greatness is long and difficult.

Fans deserve better than what they got yesterday.

is it true that each of the hundred thousand fans is paying $5 each to cover Pruitt salary......not me anymore!

 

[jakez4ut]

The average fan has the same amount of say as the casino patron...either spend your money on the entertainment or don't.

i would tell you most of this fan base has a little more invested in this program than the average slot machine player.

when you stick money in a slot machine, you're a customer paying for entertainment.

not the same thing, and you know it. weak sauce. if i simply wanted to be "enterained" by a better product, i'd go to Alabama games and spend my money on that. if that was my only motivation.

it's not, and that's why it's stupid comparison.

and when i talk about fans deserving better, it's in direct response to "volnation" being called out to show up, be loud, impact the game.

we just saw a hype video with Admiral narrating it telling the fans just how important it was for us to show up and be loud. and now, we're just supposed to shut up? it's unfair for fans to then be upset or demand better?

eff that. i'm not calling for anyone to be fired. but if you're going to spend time and resources trying to engage the fan base to not only show up but be AN ACTIVE PARTICIPATANT that can affect the outcome of the game, then yeah, we deserve better than what we've gotten. no question in my mind. and like i said, that doesn't mean you have to win championships right now.

just look like you belong on the same field with another 4 win conf opponent. don't lose to every single rival almost every freaking year. WIN A CONF GAME. go to a bowl. is that too much to ask? am i being unrealistic? am i part of the problem, or am i part of "volnation" that is asked to come affect the outcomes of games by being loud?

you can't have it both ways.

 

[tbh]

i would tell you most of this fan base has a little more invested in this program than the average slot machine player.

when you stick money in a slot machine, you're a customer paying for entertainment.

not the same thing, and you know it. weak sauce. if i simply wanted to be "enterained" by a better product, i'd go to Alabama games and spend my money on that. if that was my only motivation.

it's not, and that's why it's stupid comparison.

and when i talk about fans deserving better, it's in direct response to "volnation" being called out to show up, be loud, impact the game.

we just saw a hype video with Admiral narrating it telling the fans just how important it was for us to show up and be loud. and now, we're just supposed to shut up? it's unfair for fans to then be upset or demand better?

eff that. i'm not calling for anyone to be fired. but if you're going to spend time and resources trying to engage the fan base to not only show up but be AN ACTIVE PARTICIPATANT that can affect the outcome of the game, then yeah, we deserve better than what we've gotten. no question in my mind. and like i said, that doesn't mean you have to win championships right now.

just look like you belong on the same field with another 4 win conf opponent. don't lose to every single rival almost every freaking year. WIN A CONF GAME. go to a bowl. is that too much to ask? am i being unrealistic? am i part of the problem, or am i part of "volnation" that is asked to come affect the outcomes of games by being loud?

you can't have it both ways.

Look, I was there to at Neyland and watched the bloodletting this past Saturday. I got loud. I was bummed out by the way the game went. But in the end, the tickets/apparel/etc are, at their core, marketed products (the price being the time and resources that you mentioned) and not entitlement programs. I don't believe anyone is saying the fan base should sit down and shut up and like where the program is at currently...but this whole feeling of entitlement among a segment of the fan base is laughably sad.

The fact is, there's no silver bullet and no quick fix to the depth of dysfunction that the program is in. No one is happy with the way things are at the moment, at least no one I am aware of. A change was made last year, and we're 4 games in to what appears to be (another) rebuilding season. It is what it is.

 

[jakez4ut]

Look, I was there to at Neyland and watched the bloodletting this past Saturday. I got loud. I was bummed out by the way the game went. But in the end, the tickets/apparel/etc are, at their core, marketed products (the price being the time and resources that you mentioned) and not entitlement programs. I don't believe anyone is saying the fan base should sit down and shut up and like where the program is at currently...but this whole feeling of entitlement among a segment of the fan base is laughably sad.

The fact is, there's no silver bullet and no quick fix to the depth of dysfunction that the program is in. No one is happy with the way things are at the moment, at least no one I am aware of. A change was made last year, and we're 4 games in to what appears to be (another) rebuilding season. It is what it is.

where do you get "entitlement" from my post? where do you get quick fix? this program has been dying the the slowest death possible for more than decade. the players and coaches that have been involved with it, have all gottent to move on at some point and leave it in the rear view. coaches still getting fat pay checks.

we're the ones left holding the bag. i know it is what it is. we all do, or should by now. hell, it's been "it is what it is" for a very long time.

there's no entitlement in my post, and there's no mention of "quick fix". win 1 conf game. look like you belong on the same field with another 4 win program, in your own stadium. is that really too much to ask? i've never once mentioned winning anything close to a championship. just go to a bowl game. pass the eye test....jeez.

how about the program show the same level of committment and pride as the fanbase?

my whole thing here is not about immediate turnarounds or competing with GA or Bama or any program in the upper tier of the conference. we all know we're not close to that right now.

i'd settle for simply not getting embarassed at this point.

 

[SKBubba]

how about the program show the same level of committment and pride as the fanbase?

This.

Sums up what I was saying... shorter version minus the pathos.