This sounds like a small thing, but I've noticed that the word "kids" has become widely used around the University since I graduated, and I think its ever-present use is holding us back. Botch Jones used it all the time. Its use has become common enough that many of us innocently say it without considering its ramifications. This word might insidiously affect team performance by eroding discipline, responsibility, and pride. I've heard it applied to the football team, to the special snowflakes that used to be the Pride of the Southland, and to pretty much every program operated at UT. It's time we consciously think about avoiding the word in these contexts. Our team is composed of adults - they are grown men, and they need to be treated accordingly and they need to behave accordingly. I wonder how many times JJ heard himself referred to as a kid?
Again, this is a small thing, but every little small thing has snowballed into the sh**show that has become Tennessee over the last decade. Things must change.
Gruden to the Hill!