Stop Blaming the Fanbase

[dduncan4163]

If Pruitt can't get us to a Bowl in 2019 then why in the hell should he be our HC in 2020?

Seriously after losing to Ga State what do we have to loose at this point?

This is literally Rock Bottom. Give me a reason to believe any different and I will.

 

[JoAllan]

I don't blame those who stayed for the majority of the game and even left when it was a 2 score game...but there were many empty seats in the third when the game was 17-14, 17-21

Well by the 3rd we could all see where that game was going.

If we go to a restaurant and they actually try to serve us crap.......we probably aren’t going to take it. But because we are fans should we have to?

Sure I still love the Vols and always will. However I’m not going to keep eating crap and hoping it turns into something else. I’ll set at the table, I’ll try to enjoy, I’ll let others eat, but while I’m there from now on I’ll keep complaining to the waiter.

 

[vavolfan6]

If Pruitt can't get us to a Bowl in 2019 then why in the hell should he be our HC in 2020?

Seriously after losing to Ga State what do we have to loose at this point?

This is literally Rock Bottom. Give me a reason to believe any different and I will.

Being positive is good for the soul - there's your reason

 

[Rgntddybrvol91]

? And you are very thorough in explaining your thoughts...?

He's right...you're logic is pretty damn stupid.

 

[vavolfan6]

He's right...you're logic is pretty damn stupid.

What logic is stupid and why?

 

[Rgntddybrvol91]

What logic is stupid and why?

Blaming the fanbase....I will add dense to your repertoire.

 

[Shades]

To play the devils advocate here. Had the fans turned out like in times past, maybe 100,000 fans cheering for you, would have possibly pumped them up to get a stop or 2. Imagine if the same crowd that cheered there during the Oklahoma game had turned out for this last game. The crowd could've willed them to win maybe?

The players get paid jack squat, but they feel the panic creep in when they look around their stadium and it has emptied out in the second half of a game that is within one score. They hear the chirps, it gets louder inside their head, and once doubt sets in you are fighting an uphill battle.

And they next thing we know, we will be required to install a "safe space" in the locker rooms for delicate players.

Come on, get a grip. The type of mentality above is NOT the mentality of Tennessee football of old. It a weak delicate loser mentality.

A tough Tennessee team of old would be able to compete with any SEC team, not to mention GA ST, in an empty stadium with zero fan support in 100 deg heat to -10 deg cold.

 

[VolsAgainstTheWorld15]

Butch or Dooley would have won Saturday.

Let that reality sink in Nation.

Heck I can think of at least a handful of high school coaches throughout the state of Tennessee who would have won that game. This was a remarkable display of coaching malpractice that will live in Tennessee and SEC infamy.

 

[LadyinOrange]

If all a team is playing for is fan approval, then they might as well stay in the locker room. Fans, myself included, are fickle. What those guys need to be playing for is pride. Pride in being talented, pride in being better than the other team, pride in being young, healthy and disciplined, and pride in their university. Tennessee football used to be about that. Those things don't depend on how many butts are in the bleachers or on how high their chances are of being a first round draft pick. Team players want to win even if nobody shows up to watch.

 

[LadyinOrange]

And they next thing we know, we will be required to install a "safe space" in the locker rooms for delicate players.

Come on, get a grip. The type of mentality above is NOT the mentality of Tennessee football of old. It a weak delicate loser mentality.

A tough Tennessee team of old would be able to compete with any SEC team, not to mention GA ST, in an empty stadium with zero fan support in 100 deg heat to -10 deg cold.

I should have read your post before I posted mine. You said it better than I did. ♥

 

[vavolfan6]

And they next thing we know, we will be required to install a "safe space" in the locker rooms for delicate players.

Come on, get a grip. The type of mentality above is NOT the mentality of Tennessee football of old. It a weak delicate loser mentality.

A tough Tennessee team of old would be able to compete with any SEC team, not to mention GA ST, in an empty stadium with zero fan support in 100 deg heat to -10 deg cold.

Well this years team didn't play in a championship era with championship caliber players. THIS YEARS TEAM has played in the context after the Butch Jones, Derek Dooley era where little talent or culture has been developed. Instead a rabid fanbase has taken over the twitter verse and is stuck in the past constantly blaming the team for not being the next greatest team in history.

Look at a distance at Florida State. The same is true for them and they are experiencing the same thing. They ran out a championship winning coach for one poor season and now missed a bowl game despite playing in the ACC. Their fans created an unreasonably high standard and blame the program for not being where it was...yet they fail to realize they were part of the problem that created the mess...in a sense deserving what they are currently receiving.

 

[VolsAgainstTheWorld15]

The players get paid jack squat, but they feel the panic creep in when they look around their stadium and it has emptied out in the second half of a game that is within one score. They hear the chirps, it gets louder inside their head, and once doubt sets in you are fighting an uphill battle.

So many will admit homefield advantage is a real thing, considering it makes a difference in the point spread. Yet, people don't want to admit that fans can not only have a positive impact, but a negative one as well.

The fans can't be blamed for the coaching malpractice we saw yesterday under any circumstances. To address the point you're making...fans can't be blamed for a lack of effort from the players either. Take Vanderbilt for instance. Those guys play in front of an empty stadium (or a stadium filled with opposing fans) every week of the season year in and year out, but they still play with effort and some pride from what I've seen of them. Bottom line: if the number of butts in the seats dictates whether guys play hard or pack it in, then there is a serious lack of leadership within this program on both a coach and player level.

 

[vavolfan6]

If all a team is playing for is fan approval, then they might as well stay in the locker room. Fans, myself included, are fickle. What those guys need to be playing for is pride. Pride in being talented, pride in being better than the other team, pride in being young, healthy and disciplined, and pride in their university. Tennessee football used to be about that. Those things don't depend on how many butts are in the bleachers or on how high their chances are of being a first round draft pick. Team players want to win even if nobody shows up to watch.

Its not fan approval, as much as it is probably fear of being publicly embarrassed through national media. That is pressure which affects the way you play. Its the "here-we-go-again" mentaility that creeps in. If it creeps into the fans, why don't you think it creeps into other human beings who play on the field. They are people too.

 

[LadyinOrange]

Well this years team didn't play in a championship era with championship caliber players. THIS YEARS TEAM has played in the context after the Butch Jones, Derek Dooley era where little talent or culture has been developed. Instead a rabid fanbase has taken over the twitter verse and is stuck in the past constantly blaming the team for not being the next greatest team in history.

Look at a distance at Florida State. The same is true for them and they are experiencing the same thing. They ran out a championship winning coach for one poor season and now missed a bowl game despite playing in the ACC. Their fans created an unreasonably high standard and blame the program for not being where it was...yet they fail to realize they were part of the problem that created the mess...in a sense deserving what they are currently receiving.

Did these players never play for state championships? Is winning a new thing that they find out about when they go to college? Any player who joins a team and has to be motivated to want to win needs to hand in their gear.

 

[vavolfan6]

The fans can't be blamed for the coaching malpractice we saw yesterday under any circumstances. To address the point you're making...fans can't be blamed for a lack of effort from the players either. Take Vanderbilt for instance. Those guys play in front of an empty stadium (or a stadium filled with opposing fans) every week of the season year in and year out, but they still play with effort and some pride from what I've seen of them. Bottom line: if the number of butts in the seats dictates whether guys play hard or pack it in, then there is a serious lack of leadership within this program on both a coach and player level.

Well I guess there is lack of leadership across the nation since most teams play better in front of their home crowd. How dare they let the crowds positively affect them into playing harder? Why don't they turn off the adrenaline that gives them an extra boost?

Truth is there are negative and positive affects of a fanbase. A poisoned one, which Tennessee can easily become can be a negative catalyst in a program.

 

[vavolfan6]

Did these players never play for state championships? Is winning a new thing that they find out about when they go to college? Any player who joins a team and has to be motivated to want to win needs to hand in their gear.

Players don't need motivation to win, but I'm sure it would be nicer to play with a clearer head instead of one trying to block out the negative noise.

 

[LadyinOrange]

Its not fan approval, as much as it is probably fear of being publicly embarrassed through national media. That is pressure which affects the way you play. Its the "here-we-go-again" mentaility that creeps in. If it creeps into the fans, why don't you think it creeps into other human beings who play on the field. They are people too.

I see your point, but when you voluntarily sign up to play at a (once) high-profile university, you are signing up for celebrity-like status, especially in the south. You are going to be under a microscope and embarrassment is inevitable. Sports Center will see to that.

 

[LadyinOrange]

Players don't need motivation to win, but I'm sure it would be nicer to play with a clearer head instead of one trying to block out the negative noise.

Maybe if they'd take off their headphones during the Vol Walk the noise wouldn't all be negative.

 

[LadyinOrange]

I don't blame those who stayed for the majority of the game and even left when it was a 2 score game...but there were many empty seats in the third when the game was 17-14, 17-21

If it had been 17-14 against Bama, or Florida I guarantee you nobody would have left. We played Georgia State. We should have been whipping their tails all over the field. No sense in staying and frying in the heat when you care more about winning than the team does.

 

[Shades]

Well this years team didn't play in a championship era with championship caliber players. THIS YEARS TEAM has played in the context after the Butch Jones, Derek Dooley era where little talent or culture has been developed. Instead a rabid fanbase has taken over the twitter verse and is stuck in the past constantly blaming the team for not being the next greatest team in history.

Look at a distance at Florida State. The same is true for them and they are experiencing the same thing. They ran out a championship winning coach for one poor season and now missed a bowl game despite playing in the ACC. Their fans created an unreasonably high standard and blame the program for not being where it was...yet they fail to realize they were part of the problem that created the mess...in a sense deserving what they are currently receiving.

It doesn't really matter if they are playing today or 20 years ago. We are talking about a mentality. If our players don't play with a tough winner mentality then this crap will continue another 10 years. And one way to guarantee it will continue is to coddle and baby and spoil, saying that the surrounding conditions were not perfect enough for them to go out and make a defensive stop or to play with enough pride and energy and self-respect to win what should be a "gimme" game.

 

[marvin616]

Maybe if they'd take off their headphones during the Vol Walk the noise wouldn't all be negative.

That's something that irks me to no end. When I see a lot of the players seemingly tuning out the people who make it possible for them to have the opportunity that many of us would have given anything at that age to have. I understand getting focused before the game but if you can't take the ear buds out for the few minutes it takes to do the Vol walk then you look like an azz in my eyes.

 

[Rocky Top Raby]

This is the dumbest hill to die on OP. To blame the fans who have supported this program with blind loyalty for being completely over this ****. Why isn't up to them to put a good product, or hell at least effort on the field. Would you continue to go to a restaurant that had ****** service and terrible food just because you were worried about the staff? The fans are the only ones you can't blame, we aren't involved with a single thing that happens on the field. I really can't get over how dumb this is.

 

[Other_Guy]

I blame fans for calling for Fulmers head a little too early. Outside if that, I blame the administration for every single thing since then.

 

[zydane47]

Its not fan approval, as much as it is probably fear of being publicly embarrassed through national media. That is pressure which affects the way you play. Its the "here-we-go-again" mentaility that creeps in. If it creeps into the fans, why don't you think it creeps into other human beings who play on the field. They are people too.

If they didn’t want to be publicly embarrassed they shouldn’t have signed up to play football at an SEC school.

They also could’ve avoided this whole situation had they actually gave a damn about winning.

If they are that soft minded then they need to just turn their equipment in and go grab some students from the bleachers and let them play. Cause I bet you a damn regular student would’ve played with more intensity than what we saw.

Stop putting the blame on the fans. Players don’t want the fans to walk out then play better, they brought this on themselves. None of us were out there getting pushed around like they where, hell my four year old would’ve put up a better fight than they did.

 

[JMSqb11]

I gave Dooley, Butch, and now Pruitt a fair chance to prove themselves when they were first hired and what did I get in return?

What did the fanbase get in return? Not a damn thing except the same predictable crap that keeps being showed on the football field.

Slow, lack of energy & focus, constantly missing assignments, getting pushed around on both sides of the ball, I mean what else is there to say?

Pruitt looks completely lost right now and doesn’t seem to have an answer for his team’s performance against Georgia St.

Coming from a huge formal sunshine pumper, sometimes you have to stop being hard headed and accept what’s happening right now in front of you. I’m sick & tired of having false hope everytime football season comes around.

All I see is a weak minded football team that has no heart or the willingness to win. Pruitt is acting the same way the players are right now. That’s not a good look at all.

Spin it however you want it but it can’t always be the fans’ fault for wanting better results. The coaches and players have to take responsibility for their performance against Georgia St.

“Fair chance for Pruitt” is 13 games vs 3 and 5 seasons with Dooley/Butch lmaooo