I'm confused by some Vol fans' loyalties

#1
TacomaJPP

TacomaJPP

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#1
What does it mean to be a loyal college football fan. Better yet, what is a VFL? What exactly is a VFL loyal to?

Is a VFL loyal to the university, the athletic director, the players, the coach, the program?

Everyone will have their own definition and opinion. That's fine. What confuses me is how some fans seem to put their loyalty to a coach, rather than the program. Coaches come and go. Coaches get paid. Being a coach is a job. Coaches can be motivated by many factors and swayed by many other factors. Coaches are men and can disappoint.

I've watched "VFLs" vehemently defend some of our recent coaches (Fulmer in the end, Dooley until the end, CBJ getting a raise). Do I think they have ill intentions? No. Maybe just misguided loyalties.

I want to see the program succeeded. That means young men succeed and grow. That means coaches succeed and grow. Some players won't, neither will some coaches. As fans we should support them, but our loyalty should belong to the long-term health of the program. It will make us better fans and help us make decisions that are steeped in logic and strategy and less in emotion and reaction.

As a disclaimer, I like CBJ and think he's got us on the right track, I just get really confused by people putting coaches (and not just giving CBJ a raise for instance) ahead of the program.

Flame away.
 
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#2
#2
TacomaJPP said:
What does it mean to be a loyal college football fan. Better yet, what is a VFL? What exactly is a VFL loyal to?

Is a VFL loyal to the university, the athletic director, the players, the coach, the program?

Everyone will have their own definition and opinion. That's fine. What confuses me is how some fans seem to put their loyalty to a coach, rather than the program. Coaches come and go. Coaches get paid. Being a coach is a job. Coaches can be motivated by many factors and swayed by many other factors. Coaches are men and can disappoint.

I've watched "VFLs" vehemently defend some of our recent coaches (Fulmer in the end, Dooley until the end, CBJ getting a raise). Do I think they have ill intentions? No. Maybe just misguided loyalties.

I want to see the program succeeded. That means young men succeed and grow. That means coaches succeed and grow. Some players won't, neither will some coaches. As fans we should support them, but our loyalty should belong to the long-term health of the program. It will make us better fans and help us make decisions that are steeped in logic and strategy and less in emotion and reaction.

As a disclaimer, I like CBJ and think he's got us on the right track, I just get really confused by people putting coaches (and not just giving CBJ a raise for instance) ahead of the program.

Flame away.
Click to expand...

VFL= Loyalty to UT for life
 
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#6
#6
I don't think VFL applies to the instant gratitude generation. They don't have the patience for it.
 
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#12
#12
Never liked the term VFL. Makes me think of Dooley. Tell me he didn't coin the phrase and maybe I'll use it
 
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#13
#13
I don't care what you say, I am a vfl! I always support the university and the team. I have supported coaches as well. I support whole heartedly when the coach is "all in". We have that now. He has invested more hours already than the previous 2 coaches. I do believe he will get the job done. We definitely need stability in all aspects of the game as of now. Way too much change over the last 5 years to do any good.
 
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#16
#16
If I love something (Tennesee football), I find things to love about it (players, coaches, etc). Not sure if that explains my "loyalty", but that's my MO.
 
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#17
#17
TacomaJPP said:
What does it mean to be a loyal college football fan. Better yet, what is a VFL? What exactly is a VFL loyal to?

Is a VFL loyal to the university, the athletic director, the players, the coach, the program?

Everyone will have their own definition and opinion. That's fine. What confuses me is how some fans seem to put their loyalty to a coach, rather than the program. Coaches come and go. Coaches get paid. Being a coach is a job. Coaches can be motivated by many factors and swayed by many other factors. Coaches are men and can disappoint.

I've watched "VFLs" vehemently defend some of our recent coaches (Fulmer in the end, Dooley until the end, CBJ getting a raise). Do I think they have ill intentions? No. Maybe just misguided loyalties.

I want to see the program succeeded. That means young men succeed and grow. That means coaches succeed and grow. Some players won't, neither will some coaches. As fans we should support them, but our loyalty should belong to the long-term health of the program. It will make us better fans and help us make decisions that are steeped in logic and strategy and less in emotion and reaction.

As a disclaimer, I like CBJ and think he's got us on the right track, I just get really confused by people putting coaches (and not just giving CBJ a raise for instance) ahead of the program.

Flame away.
Click to expand...

I believe that if you hire a coach to build a strong program,you support him or her with positivity and gusto until he or she proves they don't warrant said support. This method doesn't require mute and blind loyalty but DOES require that you don't shoot em in the hamstring with a sniper rifle just to cover yourself emotionally on the off chance they don't meet your expectations...works...give it a whirl. :yahoo:
 
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#18
#18
MurphyVol said:
Never liked the term VFL. Makes me think of Dooley. Tell me he didn't coin the phrase and maybe I'll use it
Click to expand...

He might have shortened it to initials, but players were being a Volunteer for Life in the Tennessee football family long before Dooley got there.

Does that help any?
 
#19
#19
Anyone who's been around the last 5-6 years and still claim themselves as VFL, then they are true VFL. It can't get much worse than the last few years as a Vol fan.
 
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#21
#21
Giving Butch a raise because he is doing a good job and what's best for the program are not mutually exclusive. Honestly, both those ideals are more aligned than you think. Compensating for a job well done, as well as retaining the current leader of our football program, will indeed pay great dividends for the program at large.
 
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#22
#22
AGREE 1000% - GREAT POST. I support the boys and girls in Orange and White all the time. Whomever is there, under contract or on scholarship, THAT's who I pull for.

GO VOLS, BEAT EVERYBODY. And when our coaches leave, it's not the end of the world, we just say "Next Man (or woman) up!" and keep rollin' like we do on Rocky Top. GBO
 
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#23
#23
TacomaJPP said:
What does it mean to be a loyal college football fan. Better yet, what is a VFL? What exactly is a VFL loyal to?

Is a VFL loyal to the university, the athletic director, the players, the coach, the program?

Everyone will have their own definition and opinion. That's fine. What confuses me is how some fans seem to put their loyalty to a coach, rather than the program. Coaches come and go. Coaches get paid. Being a coach is a job. Coaches can be motivated by many factors and swayed by many other factors. Coaches are men and can disappoint.

I've watched "VFLs" vehemently defend some of our recent coaches (Fulmer in the end, Dooley until the end, CBJ getting a raise). Do I think they have ill intentions? No. Maybe just misguided loyalties.

I want to see the program succeeded. That means young men succeed and grow. That means coaches succeed and grow. Some players won't, neither will some coaches. As fans we should support them, but our loyalty should belong to the long-term health of the program. It will make us better fans and help us make decisions that are steeped in logic and strategy and less in emotion and reaction.

As a disclaimer, I like CBJ and think he's got us on the right track, I just get really confused by people putting coaches (and not just giving CBJ a raise for instance) ahead of the program.

Flame away.
Click to expand...

We're all $$$$ whores, some do have their limits though.
Coaches should be paid a base salary with bonuses
based on team performance and no by outs. Examples of over compensated coaches…dooley muschamp. :crazy:
 
#25
#25
IBleedOrange said:
Agreed. Unless you played on a team at the school. You're not a VFL
Click to expand...

Not accurate ^.
It may have started out that way with the Dooley regime, but the University has expanded it. I'm an alumnus and season ticket holder (did not letter in a sport) and received the aforementioned VFL license plate (as posted by Freak) and stickers.

Were they trolling us?
 
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