I’ve changed over the years

#77
#77
Volanta said:
None of this stuff should ever ruin your day
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It used to.

I think I started realizing how stupid it was to let it get to me after the 2015 gater game. For some reason that one reached the depth of my soul and I saw a manifestation of Behr the football fan and he was a pathetic human being.
 
#78
#78
I would say it comes and goes for me. I found myself getting invested and optimistic this season because it seemed like we were just a few breaks or "what-if's" away from being undefeated and living up to our potential. Now after there is a big enough sample size it seems like we just are what we are. I think I will make a conscious effort to enjoy it for what it is: entertainment. At this point I could almost be some of these players dad and it is a bit silly to be so emotionally invested in something that will inevitably let you down. I try to visit Volnation instead of just scrolling social media but I am getting more and more to just wanting to read a good book and spend my time doing stuff more productive. It is rare I come across a thread these days with new information or a perspective that isn't already obvious. At the end of the day it is just a game and it can be tough to separate the passionate fan in me from the reality of sports. There will always be one winner and one loser.
 
#80
#80
Ever since we won the NC in 98, we went through up and down seasons. I wanted so badly to see a Vols version of Bama/Georgia that we've seen in the last decade or two where other teams dreaded playing us. Half way thru the 2022 season I thought we'd finally reached that status where nobody wanted to play us, but Georgia and SC popped that balloon.. After the Georgia game this year when we had the game won and just gave it away, I've come to accept just having a winning season is probably the best we're going to see. Fingers crossed that one season we get the recruits on both sides of the ball that can win it all. Meanwhile I'm happy we're not a cellar team anymore
 
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#81
#81
Batman1948 said:
This method may help you bud. I record every game that's on TV and don't watch the game until the following day. Here's the key though, I watch the game if we win and I delete the game if we lose.

Doing this has probably made me a better person and definitely added a few years to my life :) :) :). It's also best to avoid this site after a loss. Some of our posters will cry and want everyone fired after a loss. Do yourself a favor and follow my method----you can thank me later
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😆 I can’t do that. I watch the game even if we are getting blown out, I’ve just started to not torture myself with watching replays and interviews after a loss.
 
#82
#82
Zues1 said:
Tennessee is the 4th or 5th best team in the conference year in/ year out. Once or twice in a lifetime the stars may align and they could win it all. I've seen one championship, I probably won't see another.
It is what it is
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Once in a lifetime indeed= just look at LSU when Joe Burrow drove them to a NC. He was a once in a lifetime talent and just happened they had a few other players around him to seal the deal. Look how they fell off the map since that season. I still hope the Vols can catch lightning in a bottle and win a NC
 
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#83
#83
I’ve watched since mid 90s. I became very apathetic until the ‘22 season and since then I’ve been hooked again, watching like a kid. Thanks, Heupel. Lol

For better or worse, being a vol fan will follow me to the grave.
 
#85
#85
Flipdaddy said:
I wonder how many of you have as well. After a loss, I used to watch every press conference especially from the head coach, every columnist article I could find and then call in talk shows for the next few days trying to hear opinions on what went wrong.

Since 2023, after a loss, I quit listening or watching a single thing about the previous game and it’s not that I forced myself not to, just didn’t have the stomach for the why or excuses. After a loss, just a big disconnect. Not gonna wast any more days on being miserable after a loss especially like last Saturday’s lack of effort. Anybody else moved into this mode?
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That’s me but I’ve found that as I’ve gotten older I forget about a loss as soon as it’s over and move on. It used to absolutely ruin my week! Just not worth getting so upset about something that’s not under my control.

When I was young I had no real worries in life really. Now that I’m older I have a grown son and two granddaughters and just realize there’s more to life than sports.

Trust me, I absolutely love Tennessee sports and watch every game I can. When I was young it l killed me to miss a home game and I couldn’t understand the older people that said they didn’t want to deal with the crowds and would rather stay home instead of going to the games. But now I’m that guy.

I just don’t put much more energy in it anymore. Too many other things that require my time and attention.
 
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#86
#86
I think there are a LOT of dynamics constantly shifting for each of us. Some of them:

1. We are all maturing at our own rate (which could mean, some of us, not at all lol). As we mature, we tend to take things more in stride. To get better at putting things in context. That can play out as, "it's just a game, doesn't bother me as much as it used to," or "doesn't excite me as much as it used to," or "doesn't interest me as much as it used to." So this one can go in any of a dozen directions. That's part of it.

2. The game is changing. Money corrupts everything it touches, and it has been touching college football in a BIG way for a lotta years now. For the longest time, that was limited to the school administrations and the coaches (the players under the table was relatively small potatoes). Now it reaches down into the very rosters in a huge way. That should thrill some (like parents and friends of players) and concern most everyone else. Money corrupts. So you're not gonna feel the same way about it as you once did, whatever your opinion of it.

3. The world around us is changing. Everything--everything--is more polarized. Everything is grounds for disharmony and angst. That is true even in sports and entertainment. It's never a good feeling, to be in conflict, for most people anyway.

Put these and several other unmentioned dynamics together, shake vigorously, and the net result is probably going to be less enjoyment as time goes on. At best, a calmer more reasoned form of enjoyment.

*shrug* That's life in the world today.

Go Vols!
 
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#87
#87
Flipdaddy said:
I wonder how many of you have as well. After a loss, I used to watch every press conference especially from the head coach, every columnist article I could find and then call in talk shows for the next few days trying to hear opinions on what went wrong.

Since 2023, after a loss, I quit listening or watching a single thing about the previous game and it’s not that I forced myself not to, just didn’t have the stomach for the why or excuses. After a loss, just a big disconnect. Not gonna wast any more days on being miserable after a loss especially like last Saturday’s lack of effort. Anybody else moved into this mode?
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I'll be honest, sports do not matter to me nearly as much as I get older. Some of it is I got more used to losing over the years, especially from 2008 to 2022. If I'm really honest, I think something changed after the 2001 SEC Championship. That was really the last time a loss really affected me, in football at least. I was pretty much in shock for days after that.

A big part is just growing up and realizing at the end of the day, I love sports but it's not life and death. It's really not that important. And that's every sport, not just Tenenssee football and basektball.
 
#88
#88
A loss to Florida or Bama used to ruin my attitude all week. The 2010s took that away from me. It’s not worth it. I usually get ticked or upset after or during the game and flush it. The UGA loss this year did stay with me a bit, still does really
 
#89
#89
Reading the comments in this thread, it strikes me how many base their passion and emotions and whether or not to watch entirely on whether or not UT is winning or losing. I mean, there are threads about 2026 already!

I'm going to watch the games and care just as much regardless what the record is, I just dont let it affect me once the game is done. If you're only a fan if the team is winning, are you really a fan?
 
#90
#90
I agree I also too stopped watching the press conferences. I used to hang on to every word but after 2023 and 40 seasons we either win or we don't.
 
#91
#91
Delmar said:
Agree. I find my grandkids and improving my golf game much more enjoyable than living and dying with college sports. Still enjoy the wins but I don’t agonize over losses like I used to. As you said, there’s a pecking order in life the older I get. I also try to avoid this place for a few days after losses. Not worth the trolls and incessant whining.
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Possible "Post of the Year!" award.
 
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#92
#92
Flipdaddy said:
I wonder how many of you have as well. After a loss, I used to watch every press conference especially from the head coach, every columnist article I could find and then call in talk shows for the next few days trying to hear opinions on what went wrong.

Since 2023, after a loss, I quit listening or watching a single thing about the previous game and it’s not that I forced myself not to, just didn’t have the stomach for the why or excuses. After a loss, just a big disconnect. Not gonna wast any more days on being miserable after a loss especially like last Saturday’s lack of effort. Anybody else moved into this mode?
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I’ve said it before - I follow the “22 - 18 Rule” - I will not let 22 18 year olds ruin my weekend. I’ll pull for the VOLS - enjoy the wins and move on from the losses. Too many other things to enjoy and be thankful for. GBO! Thump Poor Ol’ Kentucky!!
 
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#93
#93
Flipdaddy said:
I wonder how many of you have as well. After a loss, I used to watch every press conference especially from the head coach, every columnist article I could find and then call in talk shows for the next few days trying to hear opinions on what went wrong.

Since 2023, after a loss, I quit listening or watching a single thing about the previous game and it’s not that I forced myself not to, just didn’t have the stomach for the why or excuses. After a loss, just a big disconnect. Not gonna wast any more days on being miserable after a loss especially like last Saturday’s lack of effort. Anybody else moved into this mode?
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I think this is called MATURITY! I assure you at one time in my life I was worse than you! And its beyond embarrassing for me to think about it. Especially the way I treated my family after a loss. I left that life style behind several years ago and enjoy the games so much more now. I do feel bad for some of the posters (especially on the same day after a loss) because I see my old self in them. I’m still ALL VOL ….but in a positive, good way now.
 
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#94
#94
I used to live and breath UT football. Losses destroyed me. 2009 to 2023 just wiped it out of me and honestly it’s just something to watch now. The portal hasn’t helped me either.

I also don’t believe CJH can win the big one. Just no feeling of this may be our year again.

98 was awesome and glad I lived it. It’s a memory now though.
 
#95
#95
utvols74 said:
I used to be like this too. It is true that with CJH, I've been more tuned into the team/game outcomes - probably since '22. But honestly, with all that is going on in CFP (NIL, coaching carousel, E$PN, etc.), my fervor of the Vols or CFP in general isn't ANYTHING like it was in the late 80s and 90s. I suppose, now that I'm thinking about it, , my attendance at the 2001 SECCG against LSU was the tipping point. I've been on a very gradual -2 degree slide ever since. '22 was an uplift for sure, but there been several potholes since.
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That ‘01 SEC Championship changed my pos on the Vols. Since then I watch, I feel bad when we lose, and feel worse when we stink it up. I’m happy when we win, but it doesn’t control my life anymore. The NIL/Portal has changed the game forever.
 
#96
#96
camp_steveo said:
Same after a win. No need to follow every detail. I'm glad the Vols are a lot better, but until they stop playing like **** on the road, particularly in huge games, my hopes are not very high.

Just trying to enjoy the football season. I ain't getting any younger...
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This is me as well.

My earliest memories were late 80’s into the 90’s where winning was expected every week. Over the last 15 years it’s been a rough conditioning to the other direction. Glad we are better now, but I’m not emotional either way anymore after a win/loss.
 
#97
#97
I’ve changed in a couple of ways as I get older. First, my interest has shifted more towards the NFL and I’m in better control of my emotions and mentality after a loss. Just not nearly as important as I used to make it out to be
 
#98
#98
I have changed as well. If we are taking a beaten and it’s before half I stopped watching and go do something constructive. Trenching. I get my trenching tool and start making baby ditches in the yard. If it’s a night game, I have a mess to clean up the next day. Considering the last 10 years or so drainage at my house is really really good. My foundation is dry as a bone. Anybody need help?
 
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#99
#99
sami said:
To me, it's not the coaches saying nothing that made me stop watching or listening, it's the fact that the hack media never says anything interesting or enlightening. Ever. They are there to generate outrage and get clicks and views as a result - nothing more and nothing less.

I guess I'm alone in not feeling like a coach "owes" me some sort of explanation for a bad call or poor performance, so the 'coach speak' never bothered me. Same thing with all the inflammatory stuff about Vitello leaving - all the stories about White chasing him out of town to generate clicks and views, when the truth is much more likely that Tony simply got the opportunity of a lifetime.

Never let the facts get in the way of a narrative that sells.
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I haven’t followed the chatter about TV. When I heard he was moving to MLB I knew he was making the right choice for him. We were lucky to have him while we did.
 
#100
#100
tennrich1 said:
I think this is called MATURITY! I assure you at one time in my life I was worse than you! And its beyond embarrassing for me to think about it. Especially the way I treated my family after a loss. I left that life style behind several years ago and enjoy the games so much more now. I do feel bad for some of the posters (especially on the same day after a loss) because I see my old self in them. I’m still ALL VOL ….but in a positive, good way now.
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Don’t get confused, I still 💯 care but I don’t even have an ounce of wanting to watch anything about the game afterwards like I used to. I get what you’re saying tho
 
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