Tired of the whining

[spencer1989]

The only Tennessee I've ever known is mediocre at best. Wasn't around in the so called "glory days." I am hard on this program because I know it has the capability to be so much more than it is right now. I wasn't on board with Heupel at first, but I am now. I don't think anyone on here expects an undefeated season or anything, we just want to be able to compete (also be respected again)..

With me turning 64 this month......I have seen my share of bad years and good years and great years. And I have seen some great upset wins over the years. But......These last 10 to 15 years have really been frustrating and challenging to watch. There may be water in the boat right now but I am still believing that we can get it turned around with the right coach. T

 

[Hacksaw11]

Some may be missing the point to my post. I hate adversity, especially when it is self-imposed. When you encounter hardships you either give up or you become a survivor. I choose to be a survivor. Some of the most enjoyable fall days I have ever had revolve around UT football and have been shared at Neyland or at other places on the road with my fellow Vols. When flying across the country wearing my Bill Dance hat and someone across the way yells "Go Vols" that just reinforces the common thread we all have in wearing the orange. I recall being at Legion Field prior to the Bama game and going out on the field to meet Reggie White, a Vol W. I recall the New Orleans Sugar Bowl when we Vols closed down Burboun Street after kicking Jimmy Johnson and Miami. I further recall being at Legion Field for Bama, walking on the field and joining the thousands of Vol fans in getting out of your mind in supporting the Vols. Another W. I recall being in Neyland when the Gator field goal goes wide left and Vols win. I also was adreanlized when Stoerner fumbled and Travis Henry took over. I recall being on the back line of the end zone at Neyland when the Vols were down to Bama late, looking up into the sea of orange and marveling at the shear resounding sound coming from the stands as Arian Foster dives over for the goal line to seal the W (Also met and spent time with Pat and Bruce that day). Times like these are what drives me to continue to have hope and realize what is possible with the right leadership. I want some of the younger Vol fans to have these same experiences and hope that in time they can accumulate treasured memories of the Vols.

 

[BeardedVol]

Some may be missing the point to my post. I hate adversity, especially when it is self-imposed. When you encounter hardships you either give up or you become a survivor. I choose to be a survivor. Some of the most enjoyable fall days I have ever had revolve around UT football and have been shared at Neyland or at other places on the road with my fellow Vols. When flying across the country wearing my Bill Dance hat and someone across the way yells "Go Vols" that just reinforces the common thread we all have in wearing the orange. I recall being at Legion Field prior to the Bama game and going out on the field to meet Reggie White, a Vol W. I recall the New Orleans Sugar Bowl when we Vols closed down Burboun Street after kicking Jimmy Johnson and Miami. I further recall being at Legion Field for Bama, walking on the field and joining the thousands of Vol fans in getting out of your mind in supporting the Vols. Another W. I recall being in Neyland when the Gator field goal goes wide left and Vols win. I also was adreanlized when Stoerner fumbled and Travis Henry took over. I recall being on the back line of the end zone at Neyland when the Vols were down to Bama late, looking up into the sea of orange and marveling at the shear resounding sound coming from the stands as Arian Foster dives over for the goal line to seal the W (Also met and spent time with Pat and Bruce that day). Times like these are what drives me to continue to have hope and realize what is possible with the right leadership. I want some of the younger Vol fans to have these same experiences and hope that in time they can accumulate treasured memories of the Vols.

Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.

 

[VolsSportsFan]

I hate the statement: “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

it’s a lie.

So if I get my arm torn off but don't die......somehow I’ll be stronger?

If I get a disease which affects me for many years.....but don’t die......hey I’m lucky cause now I’m stronger?

This concept is horse manure.

I “get” the premise......it’s just stupid and wrong.

Anyone can become “stronger” in many different ways.....even through adversity. However, adversity doesn’t necessarily make ANYONE stronger.

Vandy should be strong as hell by now.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

I hate the statement: “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

it’s a lie.

So if I get my arm torn off but don't die......somehow I’ll be stronger?

If I get a disease which affects me for many years.....but don’t die......hey I’m lucky cause now I’m stronger?

This concept is horse manure.

I “get” the premise......it’s just stupid and wrong.

Anyone can become “stronger” in many different ways.....even through adversity. However, adversity doesn’t necessarily make ANYONE stronger.

Yeah, it can be kinda dumb sometimes.

At other times, it's 100% dead accurate.

I want soldiers who have had a hard scrabble life, who aren't pampered, who've fought for everything they've ever gotten. I want guys and gals who never had an easy, air conditioned, game boy playing life, but who were outside all day in the heat or cold, playing sports.

There's a French Army song (I know, heh, get all the jokes out of your system, they're actually a very decent military force these days) that goes, "My God, give me torment, give me suffering, give me hardship in battle ... and then glory in war ... that which others don't want ... that which others refuse ... give me all of that, yes all of that ... I don't ask for rest, or health ... what I've asked for is enough ... just faith, strength, and courage ... and glory in war." Something like that, I'm translating.

It's their prayer of the paratrooper.

Sometimes what doesn't kill you actually does make you stronger.

Go Vols!

 

[JoAllan]

Yeah, it can be kinda dumb sometimes.

At other times, it's 100% dead accurate.

I want soldiers who have had a hard scrabble life, who aren't pampered, who've fought for everything they've ever gotten. I want guys and gals who never had an easy, air conditioned, game boy playing life, but who were outside all day in the heat or cold, playing sports.

There's a French Army song (I know, heh, get all the jokes out of your system, they're actually a very decent military force these days) that goes, "My God, give me torment, give me suffering, give me hardship in battle ... and then glory in war ... that which others don't want ... that which others refuse ... give me all of that, yes all of that ... I don't ask for rest, or health ... what I've asked for is enough ... just faith, strength, and courage ... and glory in war." Something like that, I'm translating.

It's their prayer of the paratrooper.

Sometimes what doesn't kill you actually does make you stronger.

Go Vols!

It’s not the “sometimes” that made them stronger........it was themselves.

They chose to fight through adversity and come out on the other side.

The adversity does NOTHING......we can choose to let it build character and mental toughness or whatever.......but “we” do that, not the adversity.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

It’s not the “sometimes” that made them stronger........it was themselves.

They chose to fight through adversity and come out on the other side.

The adversity does NOTHING......we can choose to let it build character and mental toughness or whatever.......but “we” do that, not the adversity.

I disagree.

We are products of our own efforts, absolutely. But we are also products of our environment. Our environment helps to mold us. For sure.

 

[MarkVol123]

If what don't kill you makes you stronger then as Vol fans we should all be Hercules. We have lived through a perpetual nightmare and have few highlights over the years to give us optimism.. Having been spoiled in the 90s caused us to believe we would be able to sustain that success as a national brand. Little by little the deterioration began and caused us to realize that maintaining success takes a foundation, something we were sadly lacking. As the erosion continued and the house burned to the ground, there was no contractor waiting to rebuild. The cumulative effect of the incompetence over the years caused the once proud UT to be viewed as a second rate program manipulated by boosters and lead by weak administrators. I am as saddened as any Vol at the state of the program but I have spent a lifetime following and supporting the Vols. This is not going to change and my hope is that we will rebuild from the ground up. We must realize that this is going to be a gradual process and that hopefully we have some leveal of competency in the AD and coach that will give us some success we can build upon. I challenge all true Vols to get on board and let's do our part to pick up the pieces and to try to find something positive rather than dreaming of what could have been.

What in the world has the football program done in the last 15 years to deserve our optimism or positivity? I myself am checked out on all of it until they show me something on the field that I can get excited about. My Saturdays are no longer going to be determined by what time the Tennessee game is on. It doesn’t deserve my time, money, or energy.

After 15 years, I’m done hoping or giving them the benefit of the doubt or being optimistic that things are going to get better.


This program is dead. It nuked itself.

And you know what’s worse than anger for a college athletics department or a college football program? Apathy. Because when there’s apathy, it means there’s no money.

 

[chrismc1000]

I just want our players to hit the other teams players as hard as possible so that way they are afraid to play us like they were in the 90s.

 

[JohnWardForever]

I misread it at first. Though it said "Tired of winning". lol

 

[Iam4utalways]

There are a lot of die hard Vol fans taking pot shots at the team. Leave that bologna for fans of other teams.

Unless you need to blow off some stream. We don’t want anyone to have a stroke. The Vols are that important.

 

[Big Orange Rob]

The point is that it does no good to constantly spew negativity everywhere you go, especially on social media, and to everyone you are around. It has a cumulative effect of influencing the next generation of potential fans (young kids, those that don't have a team, people moving into our area), especially recruits. Whether you admit it or not, a passionate fanbase can be a good thing or bad thing, depending on how those on the outside view us. None of us can do anything about bad coaches, poor hiring decisions or NCAA violations. However, we can try to put a positive spin on things and move on with some degree of hope. That can build some positive mojo that will eventually be felt by the team and new coaches and hopefully give them a little extra boost to make this program better. Isn't that what we want? I'm as disgusted by the last decade as anyone, but wallowing in misery isn't going to help anything. It would be better to be silent: maybe take a break from sports or take up another hobby for a while if you can't do or say anything good. Let's be a little part of the solution, rather than contributing to the problem.

 

[Seattle Hillbilly]

We do this same sh!+ every 3 to 4 years and have been for 20.

At some point that cycle will end. Maybe this is the time.

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

I hate the statement: “what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

it’s a lie.

So if I get my arm torn off but don't die......somehow I’ll be stronger?

If I get a disease which affects me for many years.....but don’t die......hey I’m lucky cause now I’m stronger?

This concept is horse manure.

I “get” the premise......it’s just stupid and wrong.

Anyone can become “stronger” in many different ways.....even through adversity. However, adversity doesn’t necessarily make ANYONE stronger.

Well now.... like many over-simplifications this one is classic.... Many have tried to take a statement about like minded people joined together for the advancement of a belief or cause and turn it into some reassurance for an individual.

First let's get back to the original statement that has been corrupted by the ME generation. "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." You will notice no "I" or "me" in the source statement. I am pretty sure it was meant to be applicable to the advancement of positive causes and collective efforts for the improvement of whole or subsets of societies.

But bottom line, the statement is typically true when an entity is unified in purpose and willing to fight on, but we have also been given a warning about THE HOUSE DIVIDED.. Whether a belief or objective of groups of people get stronger or not is one thing, but nothing in the statement guarantees victory, only that additional strength is available through the effort to overcome adversity. Though not attributed to a great thinker there is one more statement that is surely applicable to pursuits..... It starts out WINNERS NEVER QUIT. Would not accept this as an absolute truth, but the concept is solid.

I just hope that as the admin, the staff, the squad, and the fanbase face what is coming, that a large enough plurality of each is dedicated to the task of facing adversity and coming out the other side better than they went in.

 

[Delmar]

What in the world has the football program done in the last 15 years to deserve our optimism or positivity? I myself am checked out on all of it until they show me something on the field that I can get excited about. My Saturdays are no longer going to be determined by what time the Tennessee game is on. It doesn’t deserve my time, money, or energy.

After 15 years, I’m done hoping or giving them the benefit of the doubt or being optimistic that things are going to get better.


This program is dead. It nuked itself.

And you know what’s worse than anger for a college athletics department or a college football program? Apathy. Because when there’s apathy, it means there’s no money.

 

[JoAllan]

I disagree.

We are products of our own efforts, absolutely. But we are also products of our environment. Our environment helps to mold us. For sure.

they sure do......but you have to WANT to or it simply will not.

I’m in control of myself......period. Well I’m in control of “who” I am.

 

[VFL-82-JP]

they sure do......but you have to WANT to or it simply will not.

I’m in control of myself......period. Well I’m in control of “who” I am.

Everyone tends to believe that the environment--nature, or captors, or whatever--can't beat them, can't control them, can't change them.

We actually teach just the opposite in SERE (survival, evasion, resistance, and escape) courses. You will be broken. Eventually. Don't despair when you finally do. We all do, eventually. Keep faith as best you can. Passive resistance, but when you eventually do have to give way, keep faith with yourself.

But yeah, bottom line is, we all have limits. We are all shaped by our environment, in big and small ways. None of us have 100% control. Even if we think we do.

 

[JoAllan]

Well now.... like many over-simplifications this one is classic.... Many have tried to take a statement about like minded people joined together for the advancement of a belief or cause and turn it into some reassurance for an individual.

First let's get back to the original statement that has been corrupted by the ME generation. "That which does not kill us makes us stronger." You will notice no "I" or "me" in the source statement. I am pretty sure it was meant to be applicable to the advancement of positive causes and collective efforts for the improvement of whole or subsets of societies.

But bottom line, the statement is typically true when an entity is unified in purpose and willing to fight on, but we have also been given a warning about THE HOUSE DIVIDED.. Whether a belief or objective of groups of people get stronger or not is one thing, but nothing in the statement guarantees victory, only that additional strength is available through the effort to overcome adversity. Though not attributed to a great thinker there is one more statement that is surely applicable to pursuits..... It starts out WINNERS NEVER QUIT. Would not accept this as an absolute truth, but the concept is solid.

I just hope that as the admin, the staff, the squad, and the fanbase face what is coming, that a large enough plurality of each is dedicated to the task of facing adversity and coming out the other side better than they went in.

You may not have intended.......yet you proved my entire point.

Simply with the word in bold.

I can choose to let adversity change me for the better......or I can choose not to.......simply “adversity” on its own does nothing.

 

[Hacksaw11]

Consider for a moment those players that love UT and stayed. What sort of allegiance or support are you going to give them? You gonna abandon them? Their obstacles just got more difficult than they have ever been but those players are still here and will don the orange on Saturday afternoons needing the support of Vol fans. We have seen out maned teams coached up to be competitive at other schools. The field is 160 feet wide. I for one look forward to using this space in a way that we have never done at UT. I look forward to not second guessing every dumb coaching move and being able to adjust after half time. Let's be a part of this rebuild. No more Dooleys, Joneses or Pruitts leading the show. I actually think this one knows what he is doing.

 

[JoAllan]

Everyone tends to believe that the environment--nature, or captors, or whatever--can't beat them, can't control them, can't change them.

We actually teach just the opposite in SERE (survival, evasion, resistance, and escape) courses. You will be broken. Eventually. Don't loose heart when you finally do. We all do, eventually. Keep faith as best you can. Passive resistance, but when you eventually do have to give way, keep faith with yourself.

But yeah, bottom line is, we all have limits. We are all shaped by our environment, in big and small ways. None of us have 100% control. Even if we think we do.

ummmmm were talking about “life’s adversity” not people controlling the external circumstances.

If your in a situation where someone else is controlling your “external” environment....like your talking about.....while they may not have “control”.......they have still “allowed” this to happen.

No matter what the situation is, no matter how painful something is, I control if I give up or if I continue........If I come out stronger or if I come out weaker.

You can help me.......however if I intend to stay “broken” you can’t change that......only I can.

anyone is allowed to think anything they want. However I’m fairly certain not “everything” that doesn’t kill you will indeed make you stronger........it’s a dumb statement.

 

[CaliVol2009]

I do love a good mental-diarrhea post.

I wouldn’t classify it as such. GBO

 

[GUNTERSVOL]

You may not have intended.......yet you proved my entire point.

Simply with the word in bold.

I can choose to let adversity change me for the better......or I can choose not to.......simply “adversity” on its own does nothing.

Just like the U.S. in WWII, some chose to not prevail, others failed in the attempt, but enough of the collective body had the will to stand up and fight the good fight for us to be strong enough to defeat the enemy and come out on top. Lots of individuals lost life and limb, I would guess mostly by the brave so they would not share in the victory, but their sacrifices were sure part of it. That is where we are as individuals in the Vol Nation. We all have to decide if we want to face the adversity or sit out the fight. Many will start the fight, some will get demoralized and fail. Others will yield to the prospect of pain and sit out the fight and bemoan setbacks and predict the prospect of ultimate defeat. It has always been that way, this is just going to be a tougher battle than in our past.

 

[Hacksaw11]

I believe we have some philosophy majors on board here, a generalizaton being analyzed. Statement is not literal but figurative. Unfortunately we cannot control the external only the internal. But, if we do our part, our chances of success increase by 50%. Do fans actually play a part in the success of a team? Having witnessed it first hand, I know they do.

 

[TnVol!]

Heupel isn't whining. He's going to work. I'm pulling for him. The poison is gone.

 

[Jravol78]

If what don't kill you makes you stronger then as Vol fans we should all be Hercules. We have lived through a perpetual nightmare and have few highlights over the years to give us optimism.. Having been spoiled in the 90s caused us to believe we would be able to sustain that success as a national brand. Little by little the deterioration began and caused us to realize that maintaining success takes a foundation, something we were sadly lacking. As the erosion continued and the house burned to the ground, there was no contractor waiting to rebuild. The cumulative effect of the incompetence over the years caused the once proud UT to be viewed as a second rate program manipulated by boosters and lead by weak administrators. I am as saddened as any Vol at the state of the program but I have spent a lifetime following and supporting the Vols. This is not going to change and my hope is that we will rebuild from the ground up. We must realize that this is going to be a gradual process and that hopefully we have some leveal of competency in the AD and coach that will give us some success we can build upon. I challenge all true Vols to get on board and let's do our part to pick up the pieces and to try to find something positive rather than dreaming of what could have been.