OldTimer’s Dugout - Off Topic Thread

#176,801
#176,801
chuckiepoo said:
Rivals can eabods…
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Here is why Rivals does what they do. VolNation creates revenue.

Tennessee is loud, successful enough to be threatening, and its fanbase is impossible to ignore. Rivals sites thrive on engagement, and Tennessee generates it whether they’re good or bad.

Here’s the straight breakdown.
  1. Tennessee has a massive, emotional fanbase
    Vol Nation is one of the biggest fanbases in college football and extremely online. That means:
  • Articles about Tennessee get clicks.
  • Negative takes get even more clicks.
    Rivals writers know this. If you poke Tennessee, the comment section explodes. That’s traffic.
  1. Tennessee sits in the SEC food fight
    They’re not a blue-blood dynasty like Alabama, but they’re not a doormat either. That puts them in a constant comparison zone with:
  • Alabama
  • Georgia
  • Florida
  • LSU
    Programs above Tennessee want to keep them “down.” Programs below them resent their resources and history. That makes Tennessee an easy punching bag.
  1. History without recent dominance invites skepticism
    Tennessee has:
  • A legit historical pedigree
  • One national title in the modern era (1998)
  • Two decades of inconsistency afterward
    That combination leads to a constant narrative: “Overrated every year.” Rivals leans into that trope hard.
  1. Recruiting coverage bias
    Rivals is recruiting-first. Tennessee recruits well but often finishes just outside the elite tier. That creates a pattern:
  • Hype during recruiting
  • Doubt when comparing them to Alabama/Georgia rosters
    Writers tend to frame Tennessee as “winning press conferences” instead of building sustainably, even when that’s not accurate.
  1. Fan confidence rubs people wrong
    Tennessee fans talk like a top-tier program regardless of record. Fair or not, that annoys neutral observers and rival fanbases. Media outlets amplify that irritation because it feeds engagement.
Bottom line

Rivals doesn’t “hate” Tennessee in an emotional sense. Tennessee is just:
  • Big
  • Loud
  • Polarizing
  • Click-generating
And in sports media, that makes you a target. If Tennessee were irrelevant, they’d be ignored. They’re not.
 
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#176,816
#176,816
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#176,822
#176,822
knoxvol52 said:
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I don’t think he will get them any further than they have already gotten. I’ve never understood the love affair with him. He had Burrow, Chase and Jefferson. Yeah of course you are going to set records with those dudes. He has had Allen at his disposal and can’t even get by the easiest path in recent memory for the AFC. I think he will be fired in 3 years.
 
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