Our fanbase is absurdly negative

[cncchris33]

It appears you expect perfection. SMH No matter how good a team is, I have never watched a game where them team was perfect. I may have missed something you said BUT, I did not miss the part where you have trouble cheering for the Vols. I simply said then stop watching and cheer for the Razorbacks. You are right about one thing. I am a SUPER FAN. Would I prefer that we were going to go undefeated and win a NC? Sure I would. But, I understand to have good things it takes HARD WORK, EFFORT, and TIME. You have to earn it. That is what this team is doing now. When whinny azz fans sit behind their computer and complain about this years team, I wonder if they ever had to work for the things they have or did Mommy and Daddy just hand it to them. It is not this staff's or team's fault we have struggled for the last 15 years. To expect them to be perfect, play elite football with less talent, and fewer players than the competition is insane. JMHO

Good grief…you jump to some wild conclusions. It’s impossible to have a logical discussion with someone who continually ignores the premise of my argument to bang the table and tell me what a bad fan I am. We clearly aren’t going to find common ground. Take care, pal.

 

[MiramarVol]

In the fans defense: over a decade of near misses and bad football teams will make even the most optimistic Vol fan a bit jaded.

Even though there are marked improvements this year, some will never be satisfied. I get the years of subpar teams, coaching changes etc., but that's no reason to be so critical of this years team. They have fight, grit, and determination. They might not be on the skill level as Bama, Florida and Georgia, but they are working their tails off to get there. They might not be a top 10 team, but they are OUR team.

 

[JMSqb11]

The amount of negativity on this site right now is crazy given that we are in this game, playing well with all the program has gone through in the last 18 months.

For those that see an improving team, kudos, to those that are finding shreds of negativity to focus on, get another hobby you will forever be a member of the logion of misery with college football.

You've been on VolNation since 2012. You should understand the negativity.

New Coach, Same rah-rah attitude that things "are in good hands and will get better"...... I'm gladly in wait and see camp and "prove it" to us that Heupel is the guy.... Of course i'm sane and realize that this isn't a 1 year or 1 game ordeal. Will take 2-3 years.

 

[Vol524]

It may take 3-4 years.

 

[MiramarVol]

What a BS post! Blame the fan base for enduring the lousy coaching hires of the past 15 years, really? I am surprised that Neyland has been more than half full for the first two games. The fans should be given kudos, not the middle finger.

Yes, the Admin in the past made some terrible mistake. Yes, those past coaches didn't deserve to coach our team. Yes, our past staffs never coached up anyone. It is the Admin's job to field be best football team and staff for the University. This Admin is in the process of undoing the cluster and righting the wrong that has been done. Heupel has been on the job since the end of January (9 months). He's taken rotten apples and has cut out the bad and is making Apple Pie. The players that thought Pruitt was a good coach, now know what a good coach is. They are learning to be men as well as teammates. We want to win and they do to, so as we go through these growing pains, we must 1st acknowledge Dooley, Butch and Pruitt aren't here. Neyland is dead and gone and Peyton doesn't have any eligibility left. We don't have a Reggie, Tim, Dale, Bruce, or Fuad. But, what we do have this staff is building up our future legends. Heupel will recruit our next Reggie White, Dale Carter, Jamal, and Peyton, but we got to believe in him and the kids we have.

 

[MCVol 1665]

I am truly happy for all the negative people. They have purpose on this board so they can feel complete.

 

[BeardedVol]

You've been on VolNation since 2012. You should understand the negativity.

New Coach, Same rah-rah attitude that things "are in good hands and will get better"...... I'm gladly in wait and see camp and "prove it" to us that Heupel is the guy.... Of course i'm sane and realize that this isn't a 1 year or 1 game ordeal. Will take 2-3 years.

Pretty much. There are several posters in this thread who were in "full sunshine" mode at the beginning of Dooley/Butch/Pruitt's careers, and tried to shout down any criticism, only to find themselves in a state of abject cognitive dissonance halfway through Dooley/Butch/Pruitt's final seasons.

That's not saying that Heupel will follow those coaches' trajectories, he may, he may not, but pretending that he is beyond reproach because of "reasons", and can't be judged on any aspect of his coaching until year 5, is just laughably unrealistic.

 

[Majors]

No, but it’s on display tonight like rarely seen before.

Makes me miss the Fulmer UCLA National TV loss on prime time message board days. Today’s negativity is secondary based on the results and a younger generation clinging onto stories and seeing it on the Jumbotron.

 

[Vol Farmer]

We live in a society of instant gratification. GBO

 

[MiramarVol]

You know good and well NO ONE has given Heupel pass on anything @BeardedVol!!! Acknowledging the battle he has took on and what our team looks like are where he garners support and kudos. Coaching malpractice is what has happened in our last 3 coaching stints which deserve criticism. Heupel's been on the job 10 months and all folks are saying he's not done too bad in that time.

 

[alexbond45]

To be fair, VN is a concentration of negative fans. I’ve found more relaxed areas where people are more chill…still apathetic, but chill.

 

[rocketskates]

Jaded.. sure. Absurdly negative? Nah. We haven’t been very good in many years and we still consistently put 80K plus in Neyland Stadium. Absurdly negative would be making that stadium a ghost town and not buying any merchandise at all.

 

[JMSqb11]

Pretty much. There are several posters in this thread who were in "full sunshine" mode at the beginning of Dooley/Butch/Pruitt's careers, and tried to shout down any criticism, only to find themselves in a state of abject cognitive dissonance halfway through Dooley/Butch/Pruitt's final seasons.

That's not saying that Heupel will follow those coaches' trajectories, he may, he may not, but pretending that he is beyond reproach because of "reasons", and can't be judged on any aspect of his coaching until year 5, is just laughably unrealistic.

I was actually fine with Dooley... The LSU game was a foreshadowing of what was to come and I even admit that. The biggest negatives that happened with him were Bray getting hurt vs UGA and allowing Wilcox to leave. I think he could have been decent had those two things not happened.

Butch I just don't give one ounce of sh1t for. Dude was in over his head from the get go.

Pruitt was a bad hire in general considering the aftermath of Schiano Sunday. I know what camp I was in the minute it happened too.

 

[The Tall Gguy]

I am seeing more of an apathetic attitude than either sunshine pumping or negavoling this season to be honest.

 

[BeardedVol]

You know good and well NO ONE has given Heupel pass on anything @BeardedVol!!! Acknowledging the battle he has took on and what our team looks like are where he garners support and kudos. Coaching malpractice is what has happened in our last 3 coaching stints which deserve criticism. Heupel's been on the job 10 months and all folks are saying he's not done too bad in that time.

What does "giving him a pass" actually mean, and why should he get a pass? He's the HC, and he took over this program, knowing what state it was in, and what obstacles he was going to have to try to find a way to overcome, and get the most out of the players he has, and recruit the players he needs, and he's getting paid a substantial amount of money to shoulder that burden.

That doesn't mean he has to pull a miracle out of his butthole in the first season, but that also doesn't mean that he's completely insulated from all criticism either. He's going to to be judged, not just by the fans, but by the administration, every week, just like every other coach in all of CFB, and while there are some aspects, like the transfer portal and attrition that are somewhat out of his control at the moment, there are plenty of aspects of this program that are 100% able to be affected by him and his staff.

 

[photovol]

Tennessee and Vandy are the 2 worst teams in the SEC……. I’m not sure either one could win in a lower conference either?

 

[MiramarVol]

What does "giving him a pass" actually mean, and why should he get a pass? He's the HC, and he took over this program, knowing what state it was in, and what obstacles he was going to have to try to find a way to overcome, and get the most out of the players he has, and recruit the players he needs, and he's getting paid a substantial amount of money to shoulder that burdon.

That doesn't mean he has to pull a miracle out of his butthole in the first season, but that also doesn't mean that he's completely insulated from all criticism either. He's going to to be judged, not just by the fans, but by the administration, every week, just like every other coach in all of CFB, and while there are some aspects, like the transfer portal and attrition that are somewhat out of his control at the moment, there are plenty of aspects of this program that are 100% able to be affected by him and his staff.

You stating that fans said give him 5 years is the same as saying give him a pass, in which no one that I've seen post is saying. If we had been Florida, someone would still say he wasted timeouts by not using them. EVERYONE has room for improvement staff as well as players. Mistakes happen and will continue to happen, but as long as more positives are happen than mistakes, that means growth, maturation, as well as proof that the team is going in the right direction. That's all we as fans can ask for.

 

[BeardedVol]

You stating that fans said give him 5 years is the same as saying give him a pass, in which no one that I've seen post is saying. If we had been Florida, someone would still say he wasted timeouts by not using them. EVERYONE has room for improvement staff as well as players. Mistakes happen and will continue to happen, but as long as more positives are happen than mistakes, that means growth, maturation, as well as proof that the team is going in the right direction. That's all we as fans can ask for.

There are plenty of posts scattered throughout the forums stating that he can't be judged until X season. That's not how this works. We've gone through this with every single coach, you don't just pump shine and pretend that everything is fine for a couple of years when it's obviously not, and then act surprised in the third season if we still aren't seeing an upward trajectory in the program.

No one is asking him to be perfect, but given his pedigree, there are some areas where he should excel at, where he hasn't like QB selection and preparation; he can and should be criticized for how that has been handled so far this season. The lack of discipline on the team, he and his staff can definitely be criticized for, and regardless of his past with finding some success while still having heavily-penalized teams, that won't fly in the SEC. That's how you end up losing games that you should and could win.

 

[chrismc1000]

The amount of negativity on this site right now is crazy given that we are in this game, playing well with all the program has gone through in the last 18 months.

For those that see an improving team, kudos, to those that are finding shreds of negativity to focus on, get another hobby you will forever be a member of the logion of misery with college football.

Well being losers for the last 15 plus years definitely doesn't help us being positive

 

[VolArmy74]

Or maybe someone can just be concerned about that lack of discipline given that Heupel’s teams at UCF were also some of the most penalized teams in the country.

Penalties suck but are overblown to a huge extent in how they affect w/l record. Vanderbilt was on the least penalized teams in the nation last year, easily the least penalized in the SEC and were also one of the worst teams in the country. Alabama and Oregon are 108th and 109th respectively this year and are probably the two best teams in the nation. Oklahoma and Alabama often show up in the 100-129 bottom 1/4th of the NCAA in penalty yardage per game, Ohio State is frequently there too. LSU won the national championship with ease in 2019 at 107th of 129. Pruitt managed to finish in the top half of the NCAA every year in penalty yardage. People probably don't want to check where Ole Miss ranks in 2021. Many who love Lane and are critical of JH and use penalties against him would be shocked to learn that Ole Miss is dead last in the NCAA and are the most penalized team in the nation.

If you go look year by year, being in the CFP playoff will much more often see your team among the worst for getting penalties while the top of the list of least penalized teams are generally bad teams.

 

[MiramarVol]

Well being losers for the last 15 plus years definitely doesn't help us being positive

Hey, we're not Vandy, UCONN, or UMASS. Could always be worse my friend. We have the opportunity to right this ship and we will, those teams mentioned, on the other hand will never get out of the cellar.

 

[BeardedVol]

Penalties suck but are overblown to a huge extent in how they affect w/l record. Vanderbilt was on the least penalized teams in the nation last year, easily the least penalized in the SEC and were also one of the worst teams in the country. Alabama and Oregon are 108th and 109th respectively this year and are probably the two best teams in the nation. Oklahoma and Alabama often show up in the 100-129 bottom 1/4th of the NCAA in penalty yardage per game, Ohio State is frequently there too. LSU won the national championship with ease in 2019 at 107th of 129. Pruitt managed to finish in the top half of the NCAA every year in penalty yardage. People probably don't want to check where Ole Miss ranks in 2021. Many who love Lane and are critical of JH and use penalties against him would be shocked to learn that Ole Miss is dead last in the NCAA and are the most penalized team in the nation.

If you go look year by year, being in the CFP playoff will much more often see your team among the worst for getting penalties while the top of the list of least penalized teams are generally bad teams.

Vandy is a poor example, because Vandy is already a garbage team. Just look at the Pitt game if you need an example of how much penalties can affect the outcome of a game when two opponents are playing at relatively the same level.

 

[BanditVol]

The amount of negativity on this site right now is crazy given that we are in this game, playing well with all the program has gone through in the last 18 months.

For those that see an improving team, kudos, to those that are finding shreds of negativity to focus on, get another hobby you will forever be a member of the logion of misery with college football.

A percentage is. Believe it or not, it's lower than it used to be. Hard to believe, but that's my perception FWIW.

 

[VolArmy74]

Vandy is a poor example, because Vandy is already a garbage team. Just look at the Pitt game if you need an example of how much penalties can affect the outcome of a game when two opponents are playing at relatively the same level.

Not really. Vandy is bad even when they don't commit penalties. Alabama, Ohio State and Oklahoma are good even though they often commit a ton. It's all about elite players and play calling. Aggressive offenses and aggressive teams in general have more penalties. Ole Miss is super aggressive this year and they lead the nation in penalties.

 

[Sudden Impact]

The amount of negativity on this site right now is crazy given that we are in this game, playing well with all the program has gone through in the last 18 months.

For those that see an improving team, kudos, to those that are finding shreds of negativity to focus on, get another hobby you will forever be a member of the logion of misery with college football.

18 Months No, 15 Years is more like it. But I agree the Negativity needs to go. I agree. this is a roller coaster ride a lot of highs and lows but there is a future here and they are playing with more intensity