Sidewalk alumni necks

#302
#302
volnation2217 said:
The reason we are having this debate is that we all want to think that we are the biggest fan. We want to think that the football team means more to us than anyone else. The reality is that everyone has their own reason why Tennessee football means so much to them, and no one reason trumps the other.
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The number of people claiming greater fandom around here is tiny. Most are fans and aren't concerned with gathering accolades for said fandom. Clowns claiming relative levels of fandom are just pathetic.
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#303
#303
BigPapaVol said:
The number of people claiming greater fandom around here is tiny. Most are fans and aren't concerned with gathering accolades for said fandom. Clowns claiming relative levels of fandom are just pathetic.
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Solid.

Especially band geeks.
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#304
#304
I confess that I'm not the biggest fan, although I have put on some weight in recent years. I would continue to put it on in the hopes of becoming the biggest fan, but my doctor and my wife are concerned about my blood pressure and blood sugar, so I'm afraid I'm going to have to concede the contest. :cray:

I guess that band guy wins... :mf_surrender:
 
#308
#308
BigPapaVol said:
Surely you mean faculty who also attended, no?
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Well, duh. You have to have attended UTK as an undergrad, then continued on and earned your PhD in Knoxville after that, and then immediately taken a teaching position in your department, eventually leading to tenured full professorship. Then you can be a real fan. Everyone else is just posturing.
 
#311
#311
volnation2217 said:
The reason we are having this debate is that we all want to think that we are the biggest fan. We want to think that the football team means more to us than anyone else. The reality is that everyone has their own reason why Tennessee football means so much to them, and no one reason trumps the other.
Click to expand...

I'm not any bigger of a fan than anyone else, probably less so than some. This whole argument to me is about 7/8 stupid. The fact is money makes the whole engine run and the ditch digger with a 10th grade education that buys a UT t-shirt at Wal Mart contributes to the program in the same way anyone else does. The fact is, there are a lot more UT fans that never set foot in a UT classroom than there are graduates. There's what 25,000 UT students at a given time and 6 million residents in Tennessee?

FWIW in reference to the original post regarding Bama and Auburn, I'd very much say it's a given that the vast majority of Bammer fans haven't set foot in Tuscaloosa County let alone went to school there. Alabama's enrollment is around the same size at MTSU or Vandy. Auburn is the larger school by more than double.
 
#312
#312
KYSkipper said:
I'm not any bigger of a fan than anyone else, probably less so than some. This whole argument to me is about 7/8 stupid. The fact is money makes the whole engine run and the ditch digger with a 10th grade education that buys a UT t-shirt at Wal Mart contributes to the program in the same way anyone else does. The fact is, there are a lot more UT fans that never set foot in a UT classroom than there are graduates. There's what 25,000 UT students at a given time and 6 million residents in Tennessee?

FWIW in reference to the original post regarding Bama and Auburn, I'd very much say it's a given that the vast majority of Bammer fans haven't set foot in Tuscaloosa County let alone went to school there. Alabama's enrollment is around the same size at MTSU or Vandy. Auburn is the larger school by more than double.
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And it is a better school academically.
 
#314
#314
Vercingetorix said:
Well, duh. You have to have attended UTK as an undergrad, then continued on and earned your PhD in Knoxville after that, and then immediately taken a teaching position in your department, eventually leading to tenured full professorship. Then you can be a real fan. Everyone else is just posturing.
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You're just a single schoolist...
 
#315
#315
KYSkipper said:
I'm not any bigger of a fan than anyone else, probably less so than some. This whole argument to me is about 7/8 stupid. The fact is money makes the whole engine run and the ditch digger with a 10th grade education that buys a UT t-shirt at Wal Mart contributes to the program in the same way anyone else does. The fact is, there are a lot more UT fans that never set foot in a UT classroom than there are graduates. There's what 25,000 UT students at a given time and 6 million residents in Tennessee?

FWIW in reference to the original post regarding Bama and Auburn, I'd very much say it's a given that the vast majority of Bammer fans haven't set foot in Tuscaloosa County let alone went to school there. Alabama's enrollment is around the same size at MTSU or Vandy. Auburn is the larger school by more than double.
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1. I have no idea how the Wal-mart guy contributes to the program in the same way everybody else does.

2. MTSU has an enrollment of about 25,000 students. Bama has about 29,000. Vandy has 6,700 undergrads and another 5,000 graduate students. I wasn't a math major, but that isn't the same. Auburn has 24k and UT has 27k, FTR.
 
#317
#317
Vercingetorix said:
Well, duh. You have to have attended UTK as an undergrad, then continued on and earned your PhD in Knoxville after that, and then immediately taken a teaching position in your department, eventually leading to tenured full professorship. Then you can be a real fan. Everyone else is just posturing.
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No chaired professorship required, huh?

Sounds reasonable, except what about the work for the AD requirement? Surely, that too has to be part of the litmus test for fanhood.

Even then, we're likely talking one, or maybe two levels below anyone who put it all on the line to earn the band ribbon.
 
#318
#318
The thing that is killing many of the professors at the university is that one also needs to be a republican in order to reach peak fanhood.
 
#320
#320
volnation2217 said:
The reason we are having this debate is that we all want to think that we are the biggest fan. We want to think that the football team means more to us than anyone else. The reality is that everyone has their own reason why Tennessee football means so much to them, and no one reason trumps the other.
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In all seriousness, the reason you get this stupid argument all the time is this: while what you say is absolutely true about the football team, and no reason trumping any other, there's obviously no question that the actual University of Tennessee means more to students and alumni than it does to the so-called sidewalk alums. And people on all sides of this conversation always tend to ignore the fact that the football team and the University are not exactly the same thing. The extra symbolism that has nothing to do with football are what cause people to argue. The sidewalk alums are talking about a football team; the alumni are talking more about their own college years than just about football. So they talk right past each other every time this topic comes up.
 
#321
#321
As far as I can tale... EYE am the ownly true Vols fan. That's just the weigh it is. Kays closed. End of story. No arnge four yew.
 
#323
#323
Vercingetorix said:
In all seriousness, the reason you get this stupid argument all the time is this: while what you say is absolutely true about the football team, and no reason trumping any other, there's obviously no question that the actual University of Tennessee means more to students and alumni than it does to the so-called sidewalk alums. And people on all sides of this conversation always tend to ignore the fact that the football team and the University are not exactly the same thing. The extra symbolism that has nothing to do with football are what cause people to argue. The sidewalk alums are talking about a football team; the alumni are talking more about their own college years than just about football. So they talk right past each other every time this topic comes up.
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I posted earlier that the only real difference between a "sidewalk alum" and a Tennessee graduate is how they view campus.

Case in point:

A "sidewalk" sees Hess Hall as a rundown dorm.

I see it as the place where I met my wife.

A "sidewalk" sees the Bull in Humanities and thinks "that's a weird fountain"

I see it as a weird fountain that I climbed on drunk one night.

It's just a different perspective. It doesn't mean one is a "bigger fan" or one's a "real fan" relative to the other.

It's just different.
 
#324
#324
cotton said:
1. I have no idea how the Wal-mart guy contributes to the program in the same way everybody else does.

2. MTSU has an enrollment of about 25,000 students. Bama has about 29,000. Vandy has 6,700 undergrads and another 5,000 graduate students. I wasn't a math major, but that isn't the same. Auburn has 24k and UT has 27k, FTR.
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I spent part of my college career at Alabama. Back then the enrollment was around 14,000 while UT was around 26,000 and Auburn around 26,000.

By chance are they now including community college numbers in their enrollment? I did look up the enrollment online and 29,000 surprises me. Most Universities don't double enrollment like that without something else going on. UK for instance has a dozen or so community colleges scattered around the state. Their enrollment includes those. When I was there UAB + UA might have equaled around 29,000.
 
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