THIS IS WHERE IT ALL STARTED!….

#51
#51
Dollar bills. Disney/ESPN/ABC will feature Vols games when they’re likely to draw the eyeballs. Game Day will visit Knoxville when Neyland is the location of the premier eyeball grabber one Saturday in the near future. Employees will do their duty, even if some would prefer to be elsewhere.

Not everybody is going to like UT. It’s a statistical probability. My experience being a traveling Tennessee fan is that we’re generally well regarded and welcome. Knoxville and UT are considered hospitable by most. I’ll take that reputation and discount any adverse opinions of a few sports hacks.
 
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#52
#52
EverythingOrange said:
In 1997 ESPN's Chris Fowler referred to Tennessee fans as "trailer park trash"in response to the fans' criticism of ESPN's promotion of Charles Woodson over Peyton Manning for the 1997 Heisman Trophy.

There has been BAD-BLOOD between ESPN & TENNESSEE ever since!…..

1998: ESPN hyped Ohio State ALL YEAR LONG - until they Lost in week 8.

UT was then ranked #1!

Then, suddenly- ESPN was on the band-wagons of both UCLA & Kansas State (Who were Both Undefeated until week 10!)…. (When they Both LOST)!!!!

OK - Then Florida State beat Florida to be ranked #2 last game of the season.

EVEN THEN - ESPN made #1 TENNESSEE a 2 point under-dog in the first BCS National Championship Game…….

TENNESSEE WON! - And ESPN was NOT happy!

The next year, A random ESPN commercial about an old lady (wearing a Tennessee dress) & a Pig she called “Rocky” continued the feud….

It didn’t help that ESPN’s “home-base” was in Bristol, Connecticut - Giving VIP tours to lady UCONN basketball players - to help “recruit” them over other schools like Tennessee!

Pat Summitt was so incensed by it, that she canceled the yearly matchup between Tennessee and UCONN….

Ever since, it seems like ESPN & TENNESSEE have been at odds! — Whether it’s been “Rankings”, “Commentary”, or just random credit & exposure…..

— Don’t tell me that it isn’t TRUE!

If ESPN could put Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and even South Carolina ahead of the VOLS today! - They would find a way to do it!!!!!

I’m still not SOLD on the 12 team college football playoff, but I would be willing to bet that TENNESSEE would beat BYU, Boise State, Arizona State, & Indiana on any damn field!

And ESPN is Still not happy that TENNESSEE might make “The Cut”.

— But, we gotta beat VANDY First! - Or else ESPN would have a Field-Day!…..

VENT OVER!…….
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Trash is good. Thats what we chanted at Tempe after the Natty. The ESPN crew had a net surrounding them after the game. Us members of the trailer park crew stayed until they ran us off. Much garbage was thrown on the top of that net. It was much fun that I never will forget. Had my first shot of Knob Creek with a UT doctor in the nosebleeds at Tempe.
 
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#53
#53
LegionnaireOfTheMiserable said:
ESPN did not set gambling lines at that time. All this conspiracy about how everyone hates us is ridiculous and frankly pathetic. Nobody hates the team that is irrelevant for 20 years.

Ohio State was expected preseason to be a great team in 1998. We were justifiably expected to take a step back after losing Peyton Manning, Leonard Little, etc. We were ranked #1 in every poll from 11-9 on. We were never in danger of missing out on the national championship.

Pat Summitt is one of the most revered figures in the history of sports. ESPN never besmirched her, even honored her with a documentary.

ESPN doesn’t select playoff teams. They certainly don’t prefer Ole Miss or South Carolina, as evidenced by their propensity to put Tennessee in prime time in their first season of having every SEC game on their networks.

Not one person on ESPN was arguing we shouldn’t be in the field or should be ranked lower last night. The most vociferous comments were from Joey Galloway talking about how he’d love to be in Tennessee’s position right now.

The inferiority complex needs to stop with this fanbase. Act like you’ve been there before and stop acting like the world is against Tennessee every time Tennessee does something you don’t like or someone says something that doesn’t match your view of Tennessee.
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I tend to agree but the disrespect for Dylan Sampson this year had me wondering.
 
#56
#56
PEPPERJAX said:
The OP always yells and types his threads in all caps.
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Hey Man! “is this better 🤫…..”???

Based on your “avatar” (SLAYER — Band from HELL!). I would think that you are used to a little bit of “YELLING & SCREAMING”!!!!

— Sorry if I hurt your feelings… 😥

No problem, VOL Bro! — Just trying to bring up “good conversation”!

Happy Thanksgiving! - And GOD BLESS!
 
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#57
#57
Orangeslice13 said:
I was working at the university at the time. We most definitely showed our ass over the incident and we most definitely kicked espn off the sidelines

A 2 second google search
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The Tennessee player was throwing the cup at the cameraman because he was following Burke. He missed and hit Burke.

He wasn’t trying to hit Burke with the cup.
 
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#58
#58
NighthawkVol said:
The Tennessee player was throwing the cup at the cameraman because he was following Burke. He missed and hit Burke.

He wasn’t trying to hit Burke with the cup.
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Your correct, I was working at fire department that night and we got sent out to monitor a controlled burn. We were up like 26-9 went we left, there were no cell phones. All we had was our portable radios. My buddy was on dispatch and I could tell by his voice things weren’t going well. There was a fire going on the other side of town so I couldn’t ask him for a tact channel. I remember looking up and about 50 yards away there was a house with a big screen on patio deck with a crowd. I got close and I ask them are you watching Tennessee game and they said it’s tied but Tennessee has the ball. About that time guy with bulldozer finally arrived to sit with the fire so we left to head back to station. The other fire scene was done so dispatch was clear. On the way back my buddy on dispatch put us on another tact channel he was doing play by play. We got back to station as we were kicking the field goal as we entered the room the kick went up no good. It was something I will never forget. Crazy night!
 
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#59
#59
NighthawkVol said:
The Tennessee player was throwing the cup at the cameraman because he was following Burke. He missed and hit Burke.

He wasn’t trying to hit Burke with the cup.
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That was the spin.
But ultimately doesn’t matter who threw the cup in relation to what transpired between our university and ESPN as a result.
 
#61
#61
EverythingOrange said:
Hey Man! “is this better 🤫…..”???

Based on your “avatar” (SLAYER — Band from HELL!). I would think that you are used to a little bit of “YELLING & SCREAMING”!!!!

— Sorry if I hurt your feelings… 😥

No problem, VOL Bro! — Just trying to bring up “good conversation”!

Happy Thanksgiving! - And GOD BLESS!
Click to expand...
It was just an observation buddy.
 
#62
#62
EverythingOrange said:
In 1997 ESPN's Chris Fowler referred to Tennessee fans as "trailer park trash"in response to the fans' criticism of ESPN's promotion of Charles Woodson over Peyton Manning for the 1997 Heisman Trophy.

There has been BAD-BLOOD between ESPN & TENNESSEE ever since!…..

1998: ESPN hyped Ohio State ALL YEAR LONG - until they Lost in week 8.

UT was then ranked #1!

Then, suddenly- ESPN was on the band-wagons of both UCLA & Kansas State (Who were Both Undefeated until week 10!)…. (When they Both LOST)!!!!

OK - Then Florida State beat Florida to be ranked #2 last game of the season.

EVEN THEN - ESPN made #1 TENNESSEE a 2 point under-dog in the first BCS National Championship Game…….

TENNESSEE WON! - And ESPN was NOT happy!

The next year, A random ESPN commercial about an old lady (wearing a Tennessee dress) & a Pig she called “Rocky” continued the feud….

It didn’t help that ESPN’s “home-base” was in Bristol, Connecticut - Giving VIP tours to lady UCONN basketball players - to help “recruit” them over other schools like Tennessee!

Pat Summitt was so incensed by it, that she canceled the yearly matchup between Tennessee and UCONN….

Ever since, it seems like ESPN & TENNESSEE have been at odds! — Whether it’s been “Rankings”, “Commentary”, or just random credit & exposure…..

— Don’t tell me that it isn’t TRUE!

If ESPN could put Alabama, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and even South Carolina ahead of the VOLS today! - They would find a way to do it!!!!!

I’m still not SOLD on the 12 team college football playoff, but I would be willing to bet that TENNESSEE would beat BYU, Boise State, Arizona State, & Indiana on any damn field!

And ESPN is Still not happy that TENNESSEE might make “The Cut”.

— But, we gotta beat VANDY First! - Or else ESPN would have a Field-Day!…..

VENT OVER!…….
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The pig’s full name was Rocky Top.

It was very low rent, cheap shot taken by ESPN.

 
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#63
#63
Power_Sweep_Vol said:
BCS was at least objective, but you really need to have a mix of the 2 and that is what we have now. Not taking brand bias into consideration, ignoring potential tv ratings, just ranking teams 1-12 and letting the chips fall where they may...Jeff Sagarin really had his moment in the sun back then as he was one of the 3 computer rankings they used. Would have been interesting to see if we would have been ahead of OhioSt or A&M if we'd have lost to State in SECC. This was the last 1998 BCS ranking before that crazy Saturday when UCLA lost the hurricane makeup game against Miami (that they really got shamed into playing) and KSt lost to A&M. I guess Brandon Stewart went to UT to help the Vols win a championship and in the end, he surely did.
View attachment 701174
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It wasn’t just Sagarin either. There were several polls used. One of them was created by some random dude at my dad’s church. I met the guy once and he wasn’t a football analyst of any kind. He’s just a fan that made a ranking system, somehow got noticed by the right people and fell into it.
 
#64
#64
Don't forget the scorn VolNation received after the Greg Schiano revolt. That idiot John Currie almost hired Schiano and vol fans took to the streets in protest. This REALLY pissed of ESPN because he was the DC under Saint Urban Meyer at ESPN's favorite team, Ohio State. Thank God Dondie went out and got Danny White to get us rolling again!

BTW, ever see anything negative about Urban Meyer on ESPN? Of course we haven't, and Urban was an enabler of a murderer.
 
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#65
#65
Special Ed said:
According to Fowler, he said, "Trailer Park Frenzy" and did not utter the word Trash.
But I wouldn't doubt he was thinking "trash" in response to the threats to e s p n allegedly made by UT fans.
In any case, Fowler is rather trashy.
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Fowler hasn't aged well he looks to be around Bidens age face wise.
 
#66
#66
mackievol said:
And who cares what some hack says about us? I don't and many others don't care either.
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I don't care but if you don't think ESPN spins the narrative they would prefer as the season goes along you are living in make believe world.
 
#67
#67
Make sure the camera crew gets to the game on time and I’m happy. If I could change something, I would put a word count (like a pitch count) on Herbsteit and send him to the showers when he hit half a million.
 
#68
#68
KTrain said:
I don't care but if you don't think ESPN spins the narrative they would prefer as the season goes along you are living in make believe world.
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And if you think ESPN controls outcomes, you need to get off the Johnny Majors special sauce.
 
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#71
#71
Power_Sweep_Vol said:
Almost everything here in inaccurate...Fowler never referred to UT fans as trailer park trash, there was a consensus that UT was in and it would come down to UCLA or KSt for the other spot in late 1998, ESPN never made any betting lines in 1998 and they were rarely if ever discussed on TV. I think Las Vegas sportsbooks made the line FSU-5 if I recall correctly. The UCONN WBB tours had zero to do with why the series was cancelled, and this supposed vendetta you think ESPN has for UT exists only in your head
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He might as well have called us trailer park trash. There was a commercial with the pig. There was a lot of put downs to us from ESPN. I just can’t remember it all. The only thing inaccurate is about UCONN. Pat cancelled because of Geno’s ribbing her with his uncouth humour and recruiting violations.
 
#72
#72
livefaith said:
I could care less about Fowler and the so-called ESPN conspiracy around here. I despise ESPN because of their pathetic politic pandering every chance they get. I never go to their website, or watch anything they produce unless it's a live game and it's the only source to watch it. Avoiding anything they produce makes me happy.
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Couldn't. Couldn't care less.
 
#73
#73
SEC__Headgear said:
I remember the events almost as well as you do.
Lee Corso was excoriated by Vols signage throughout the venue in Arizona.
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Yep and at the national championship ESPN were in a plexiglass bubble. I think they were getting death threats from tn fans. That would be considered Trashy
 
#74
#74
Who gives two ***** about Fowler? He's currently being pimped by Dos Equis by showing how Tennessee fans go for dos at a tailgate.
 
#75
#75
Kylo said:
And if you think ESPN controls outcomes, you need to get off the Johnny Majors special sauce.
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The refs have always been bad. Their training is poor and there’s very little to no oversight……but that doesn’t mean they are biased or rigging games. They just really suck at their jobs
 
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