Loyalty/Hate to break it to them...(merged)

#1
g8terh8ter_eric

g8terh8ter_eric

No Disassemble!
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#1
This is a gut check for some, including myself.

Are you loyal to the University of Tennessee?? Are you loyal to your favorite player here at UT?? Are you loyal to a coach?? Are you loyal to a particular sport??

Ask yourselves these questions and see where you may find yourself. I find myself wondering just how loyal I am at some points in time. Sometimes if we lose badly I am calling for the particular coach or player's head because of stupidity. Although, if we win it's all forgotten about until the next debacle. Is there ever, "They did there best" coming from you when we lose by 1 or 30??

There are several reasons I am starting this thread, and let me make this VERY clear, it's not to call ANYONE out. You know as I read some posts on here and other places I have realized just how fair weather people can be, and yes this includes myself. When nothing is going wrong then it's clear sailing. If someone is struggling though it's time to cut the cord with them. I have even seen what certain players are saying. Some even mention transferring if certain coaches may or may not leave. Yet some of the people that hear this question why the players are even here at UT if they are here for a coach. Did it dawn on some of you, and even myself as I type, that they may be here because of a relationship with a coach that was built from scratch?? Did it occur to us that some would be unhappy and may leave if that relationship was ever taken away?? As I type I keep wondering myself just what the fans really mean to the players or coaches. The only answer I can come up with is, not much at all. If they only cared about us and what we want or think about them , then they don't belong here in the first place. They didn't come to UT because of UT, they came to play football for a D-1 powerhouse that plays in the toughest division and the toughest conference in college football. Your typical fan comes to UT because of tradition and because of the "IT" factor it brings to them based on growing up ALL around it. The players came here to do their best and try to win football games. Winning means more to these players than prestige from what I have seen in college football in recent years. If the players don't think they can win here with the coaches and the other players who are here, then they don't come. We haven't been the best football team that we could be in the past 3-5 years that's for sure. That's one reason recruiting has taken somewhat of a plunge and why the "Top" recruits don't put on the orange and white we all have come to love and cherish. Most of the "Top" recruits are fair weather fans, but there are exceptions. Eric Berry is one of those exceptions. His dad played here and he wanted to play here, so he came to put on the orange and white and make his own UT memories.

I guess what I am getting at here is, who is more loyal to UT the fans, the coaches, or the players?? The answer isn't easy and there maybe no REAL answer. I believe we are all grouped together and no one is more loyal than the next. Don't worry though, the next time we lose on a boneheaded play, I will be the first to call for the coaches or player's head that handled the ball for the next 6 days or until the next game.

So how loyal are you??
 
#2
#2
Damn Loyal.

Football pulled me in. But I take joy and pride whenever the university succeeds in anything. basketball, water polo, hockey, baseball...whatever.

with that said it's a hell of a lot easier for me to be loyal than the players...I typically don't have to sweat to prove my dedication.
 
#4
#4
Crew said:
Damn Loyal.

Football pulled me in. But I take joy and pride whenever the university succeeds in anything. basketball, water polo, hockey, baseball...whatever.

with that said it's a hell of a lot easier for me to be loyal than the players...I typically don't have to sweat to prove my dedication.
Click to expand...

Just wondering, when's the last time you wore your UT water polo shirt?? :p
 
#5
#5
TheVol said:
I just hope we hire an O.C. soon, this is getting out of hand.
Click to expand...

Wait till next year if the new OC isn't working out. That's when servers will crash, mods will start binge drinking, and all the I told you so's will come out and attack the weak. Just something that could happen.
 
#6
#6
Well, fans are sometimes drawn in to teams because of players or maybe even coaches as well. It isn't always about winning. How else would you end up a Vandy fan? haha

But seriously, many of us were born into UT from birth, especially if you're from here. There are various reasons to be a fan, but loyalty and just common sense are often put into question.

Everyone loves a winner and everyone hates losing. Some people can better contain themselves and it shows(especially on message boards).

For example, you can hate Phil Fulmer. You can think he's a terrible coach. You can ridicule him and blame him and KNOW that he isn't a top notch coach. However, if someone wants to try to blame him for every loss, yet give him no credit for the Vols winning a National Championship then they're naive and think they know a lot more about the game than they actually do.

His downfall has been obvious and he isn't the coach he used to be. He was never a GREAT coach, but he isn't a BAD coach. Bad coaches have won championships just like great coaches have not.

Anyway, I've never wavered on my support. No, like many, I'm not all about finding out the latest water polo information, but also like some, if the Vols are in the championship on espn then you can bet your arse that I'll be watching. haha......

There is a sense of pride that goes into knowing that Tennessee wins championships and is elite in a lot of sports. Granted none of these, or even all of these combined, are what football is and mean what football does, but the University of Tennessee is a damned special place and there is nothing I hate more than someone being a fair weather Vols fan.

Many of us talk about how we shouldn't let it get us so down after a loss, but it's okay. We invest a lot of time, money, devotion, and lifestyle into that T. Even if it isn't what the players or coaches put in, we still feel a part of it and the football team plays as important of a role in our lives as Santa Claus or Jesus may in someone elses.((((No, I'm not comparing UT football to Jesus, but be honest.....what do you think about more often? lol))))

My loyalty knows no ends and no matter how bad the train wreck might be on Saturdays, there is no place I'd rather be and nothing I'd rather be doing than watching the Vols.

My support tomorrow is no less or no more than it was in January of 1999.
 
#8
#8
spring2004.jpg
 
#10
#10
Well, I lost my copy/paste on this topic...

Good thread, Eric....

UT fans, IMO, are always loyal to the school. Fans may show up at games to cheer or jeer, but at the end of the day, they still identify themselves as Tennessee fans. So... fans are always loyal, be they Fulmerites or Negavols.

With the exception of the Colquitt family, I really can't think of any other player(s) who have fan-type devotion to the school. I'm sure there are a few who grew up as Tenn fans and came to the football team with that in mind. These types of guys are the ones who would play for Tennessee, regardless of who's on the coaching staff.

But by and large, I think the majority of the players do not grow up as Tennessee fans. They see Tennessee as an opportunity to get playing time and they see Tennessee as a program that can maybe help get them to the NFL. Other programs offer the same ticket, and then it may come down to things like "Well UGA and Tenn are even keel right now, but I like Trooper Taylor better than his UGA counterpart, so.. I pick Tenn."
So again, this type of mentality does not equate to "school loyalty"..

And that's why, when we see this kind of mass coaching overhaul we hear guys talking about or thinking about jumping early to the draft or transferring to a nother school.

This is really just not so surprising to me.

Kids go to Bama because of school loyalty.
Kids go to Auburn because of school loyalty.
Kids go to Oklahoma, Nebraska, and Texas because of school loyalty.
By and large, kids don't come to Tennessee because of school loyalty.

If new, big name coaches were being hired today at Tennessee, I seriously doubt we'd be hearing much, if any, talk of transferring or jumping early.

As it is, there's confusion and the unknown, and thus, the rumor mill of who's staying and who's leaving.
 
#11
#11
Hate to break it to you Rogers and Foster, but if you can't get behind whatever coaches come in, and have pride in playing for the University of Tennessee, then take a hike!! Sorry if this comes across as harsh, but we cannot let the inmates run the asylum. Where is team pride? What happened to playing as a family? Playing for the guy lining up next to you? Tenneesse was a strong program before you got here, and the tradition will live on once you leave. The game of football can do much more for you than you can do for the game of football. Maybe this is the problem with the football team all along. It is not about bad coaching, but about "me first" attitudes among the players. There are tons of players that have and are currently still playing the game of football that would have loved to have worn that orange "T" on their helmet. They would have loved to had the opportunity to run thru the "T". But we have players that have the gall to "threaten" the program over a coach? Get over yourselves. There should be a sense of pride that comes with playing football at UT. You don't want to be a part of it? Okay, then leave. This type of attitude is a cancer that will destroy a team. I wouldn't want to go to war with someone who was that fickle. Where is your pride Vols? Where is your heart? Sounds like to me it is not in the right place, and that just may have been our problem all along....That's right, I said it, this attitude is not part of the solution, it is part of the problem. Evidently, we have players that we thought were part of the solution, but all along, they were the problem......what a sad day for the University of Tennessee football program.
 
#13
#13
Wow
Almost speechless at the threads
Players are loyal to each other and to the coaches, they love the attention from the fans but they are only LOYAL to each other. They are a family. I think our players spoke about and proved their loyalty to CPF this year. It was many of you "the fans" that they were defending our coach against. And now those same "fans" want to question our players loyalty. Orange Shame on all of you that do. Players will come and go. Its part of the game.

I wish our great state was a HS talent rich as Bama or LA or Fla. And yes the Local talent is improving and yes we Could go to Memphis and Buy some players like the Bammers did, but top to bottom the reason why Bama or Aub or Fla have kids that play for them that are life long "Loyal" fans is due to the quality of HS talent. The Vols have NEVER had that Luxury as long as I can remember. We have always had to go get kids from out of state and show them how great it really is to be a TN Vol.

AS i read all of your post i can understand why fewer want to come to the Big O.
 
#14
#14
Honenstly, I've seen about 100 posts saying "don't question the loyalty of the players." I can't recall a single post where someone said anything about a player's loyalty. I've heard a few people say that if a guy wants to follow Trooper Taylor, then have at it. That isn't exactly saying a player is disloyal.
 
#16
#16
NationofVols said:
Well, fans are sometimes drawn in to teams because of players or maybe even coaches as well. It isn't always about winning. How else would you end up a Vandy fan? haha

But seriously, many of us were born into UT from birth, especially if you're from here. There are various reasons to be a fan, but loyalty and just common sense are often put into question.

Everyone loves a winner and everyone hates losing. Some people can better contain themselves and it shows(especially on message boards).

For example, you can hate Phil Fulmer. You can think he's a terrible coach. You can ridicule him and blame him and KNOW that he isn't a top notch coach. However, if someone wants to try to blame him for every loss, yet give him no credit for the Vols winning a National Championship then they're naive and think they know a lot more about the game than they actually do.

His downfall has been obvious and he isn't the coach he used to be. He was never a GREAT coach, but he isn't a BAD coach. Bad coaches have won championships just like great coaches have not.

Anyway, I've never wavered on my support. No, like many, I'm not all about finding out the latest water polo information, but also like some, if the Vols are in the championship on espn then you can bet your arse that I'll be watching. haha......

There is a sense of pride that goes into knowing that Tennessee wins championships and is elite in a lot of sports. Granted none of these, or even all of these combined, are what football is and mean what football does, but the University of Tennessee is a damned special place and there is nothing I hate more than someone being a fair weather Vols fan.

Many of us talk about how we shouldn't let it get us so down after a loss, but it's okay. We invest a lot of time, money, devotion, and lifestyle into that T. Even if it isn't what the players or coaches put in, we still feel a part of it and the football team plays as important of a role in our lives as Santa Claus or Jesus may in someone elses.((((No, I'm not comparing UT football to Jesus, but be honest.....what do you think about more often? lol))))

My loyalty knows no ends and no matter how bad the train wreck might be on Saturdays, there is no place I'd rather be and nothing I'd rather be doing than watching the Vols.

My support tomorrow is no less or no more than it was in January of 1999.
Click to expand...

Very, Very well played Sir.....My sentiments 100%
GO VOLS!
 
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