g8terh8ter_eric
No Disassemble!
- Joined
- Jan 13, 2005
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I have been watching UT for years. My first game that I really remember was the UT-FL game where Manning and Wuerffel battled it out, only to see an unimaginable lead at halftime deteriorate into a loss by the end of the game. It devastated many people that day; fans, players, and coaches alike, but the resolve of the VolNation grew stronger and more devout after that game and over the years. I remember the UT-FSU BCS National Championship game of '99. It was by far my proudest moment as a relatively young Vol fan at that time.
Over the years though, I started to notice things that I didn't like and detected a hint of something in the air that I didn't know what it was until much later. I watched as the 2001 team choked away another BSC National Championship game to what I felt was an inferior LSU team. I, like many others, remember the sting of our first losing season in quite sometime in 2005. After that season the smell I noticed was one of change and it seemed to be getting thicker and heavier. Nothing was done then, but the gears had been set in motion at that point. There were a lot of people at that point that wanted change, but they would have to be patient for a few years and be a part of more disappointment before it could happen.
Finally, in 2008 the fire had been burning for too long and finally took down the house that Fulmer built. Then we were in the midst of a coaching search. After a few weeks or so, one name had surfaced as a leader. A brash young man that had tried to lead the Raiders of the NFL out of the proverbial cellar and failed because he wasn't given the keys to the vehicle he needed to get the job done. Our athletic family saw something in this young man though. They saw a fire in his eye and the look of a man on a mission. So, they decided to hire this man who promised nothing but hard work. That man is, Lane Kiffin.
Lane was hired and said he would do things right. He put together the best coaching staff in football. A staff of ace recruiters and very knowledgeable coaches who have dedicated most of their lives to teaching young men how to become not only better on the field, but off as well.
Lane didn't get off to the strongest start though at first with the elders of the SEC. He challenged, accused, verbally jabbed, and threw mud in the eyes of certain coaches he deemed obstacles for the Vols in the future. He was right sometime, and wrong sometime. I have learned many things in this life, and one of them is learning the lessons of things you do wrong. You become better at what you are doing by learning from your mistakes and becoming a better man or woman in the future.
Lane has had his fair share of mistakes, but one thing that he has not wavered on, or been wrong on at this point IMO, is how he handles this team. He takes responsibility for his players, his play-calling, and the loss we have endured up to this point. Now, with the biggest game of his coaching career about to take place this Saturday, and on the road no less, he finds himself in a position to smell a little change himself. He is about to play his first game in the SEC against someone that he has shown no love and a lot of love for in the past few months. That team is, the Florida Gators.
Lane also finds himself in probably the greatest position any coach can at this point in their short careers. He has two options....
1. Lose.
2. Win.
Those are his only two options, but each has a price, a reward, and a lesson in it. If he loses, he will get eaten alive by the media, but if that happens then he will continue to get Tennessee in the media, and the lesson is that sometimes it's better to prove yourself as a performer before they ring the bell so you don't go down in the first round to a juggernaut. If he wins, then the expectations for him and this team just went through the roof, but he also will be able to pull more and more bigtime recruits on the back of a win against the #1 team in the nation, and the lesson here is that sometimes even the big boys need to be reminded of who they are and humbled.
Make no mistake about it, the smell of change is in the air, from the past, to the present, and to the future. Will they leave a strong scent of that change Saturday in Gainesville as they take on the mighty Gators?? Without a doubt yes, in this loyal VN member's mind.
So, before the game starts, take in a deep breath and hold it in for just a second. That's the smell of change. Embrace it and remember it, because win or lose Saturday, as a team we are moving forward and as fans we need to remember that this team needs us behind them 110% to achieve what they want to in the future, and that is another National Championship for our beloved University of Tennessee Volunteers. So represent our team well Saturday and....GO VOLS!!
Over the years though, I started to notice things that I didn't like and detected a hint of something in the air that I didn't know what it was until much later. I watched as the 2001 team choked away another BSC National Championship game to what I felt was an inferior LSU team. I, like many others, remember the sting of our first losing season in quite sometime in 2005. After that season the smell I noticed was one of change and it seemed to be getting thicker and heavier. Nothing was done then, but the gears had been set in motion at that point. There were a lot of people at that point that wanted change, but they would have to be patient for a few years and be a part of more disappointment before it could happen.
Finally, in 2008 the fire had been burning for too long and finally took down the house that Fulmer built. Then we were in the midst of a coaching search. After a few weeks or so, one name had surfaced as a leader. A brash young man that had tried to lead the Raiders of the NFL out of the proverbial cellar and failed because he wasn't given the keys to the vehicle he needed to get the job done. Our athletic family saw something in this young man though. They saw a fire in his eye and the look of a man on a mission. So, they decided to hire this man who promised nothing but hard work. That man is, Lane Kiffin.
Lane was hired and said he would do things right. He put together the best coaching staff in football. A staff of ace recruiters and very knowledgeable coaches who have dedicated most of their lives to teaching young men how to become not only better on the field, but off as well.
Lane didn't get off to the strongest start though at first with the elders of the SEC. He challenged, accused, verbally jabbed, and threw mud in the eyes of certain coaches he deemed obstacles for the Vols in the future. He was right sometime, and wrong sometime. I have learned many things in this life, and one of them is learning the lessons of things you do wrong. You become better at what you are doing by learning from your mistakes and becoming a better man or woman in the future.
Lane has had his fair share of mistakes, but one thing that he has not wavered on, or been wrong on at this point IMO, is how he handles this team. He takes responsibility for his players, his play-calling, and the loss we have endured up to this point. Now, with the biggest game of his coaching career about to take place this Saturday, and on the road no less, he finds himself in a position to smell a little change himself. He is about to play his first game in the SEC against someone that he has shown no love and a lot of love for in the past few months. That team is, the Florida Gators.
Lane also finds himself in probably the greatest position any coach can at this point in their short careers. He has two options....
1. Lose.
2. Win.
Those are his only two options, but each has a price, a reward, and a lesson in it. If he loses, he will get eaten alive by the media, but if that happens then he will continue to get Tennessee in the media, and the lesson is that sometimes it's better to prove yourself as a performer before they ring the bell so you don't go down in the first round to a juggernaut. If he wins, then the expectations for him and this team just went through the roof, but he also will be able to pull more and more bigtime recruits on the back of a win against the #1 team in the nation, and the lesson here is that sometimes even the big boys need to be reminded of who they are and humbled.
Make no mistake about it, the smell of change is in the air, from the past, to the present, and to the future. Will they leave a strong scent of that change Saturday in Gainesville as they take on the mighty Gators?? Without a doubt yes, in this loyal VN member's mind.
So, before the game starts, take in a deep breath and hold it in for just a second. That's the smell of change. Embrace it and remember it, because win or lose Saturday, as a team we are moving forward and as fans we need to remember that this team needs us behind them 110% to achieve what they want to in the future, and that is another National Championship for our beloved University of Tennessee Volunteers. So represent our team well Saturday and....GO VOLS!!
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. And again great read.
