UTSimSinAZ
Well-Known Member
- Joined
- Feb 16, 2009
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Good evening and this is beyond late for sharing this post but work has been insane!!! As another Vol fan earlier this week had mentioned, this was also by far my favorite Vol game experience as a fan! Read Volnation daily but as indication by my post count, hardly ever post. I have been a faithful Vol fan for a little over a decade now and live in AZ. I was so excited to see that not only would I not have to travel to see my Vols but better yet I would be able to easily bring along my gf and friend. Btw have traveled 10+ times to TN just to see a Vols Football/Basketball game but only once have seen them win in person, 1 time basketball and 1 time football out of probably 12-15 games...Yikes!
I apologize in the advance for the long winded message but I feel that Vol family will appreciate this account as we all know how deep the love for our team runs.
1. I purchased court side/level tickets online and at the time assumed TN would be the visitors. I realized soon, a day before the game that we would in fact be directly behind the Gonzaga bench and among diehard Zag fans. I figured what the hell and told my gf and good buddy we will be the loudest Vol fans there. : )
2. We arrived a little early to the game and by chance picked a parking lot a little away from the parking lot. Much to my surprise as we were parking the car at this practically empty lot, two men, one being extremely tall walk right by our car. I had to do a double take because it is not often you see someone this tall and decked out in TN gear. After my double take I said to the one gentlemen, "Tobias Harris"? He laughed, just nodded, gave me the peace sign and said, "yeah". We walked towards the arena somewhat all together and as we all approached a side entrance, I asked him if we could grab a photo together. Tobias was beyond polite and genuinely sincere with appreciation that I was a Vol fan/nut. (I was just surprised that not only he was there at the game but still puzzled as to why he also chose this parking lot as it was a little off the beaten path?)
3. We arrive to our seats to only be heckled by some Gonzaga fans including the Zag fans we were sitting next to. Turns out these were the people I had bought the tickets from. I have to say this only added to the great experience because they were great to sit next to, knowledgeable about basketball and lastly just "class acts". We bantered nonstop with the fans near us and most of the Zag fans really got a kick out of us poking fun at the Zag bench all game. The Zag players including Tillie were really good sports about it and even joined in quite a few times to tease us when the Zags made a run/made a great play. It probably didn't hurt that my buddy is 6,4" and about 275lbs...lol All kidding aside, we were not vulgar at all but just rowdy and having a great time. If you watch the replay, you should see me standing up quite a bit (grey longsleeve shirt with orange T) and can hear us quite a bit throughout the game, especially during free throws and towards the end. haha
4. As everyone knows, the ending was beyond amazing and quite a thrill! When the clock struck 0:00 time left, we jumped in joy. Soon after the game was over, a handful of Gonzaga fans, mostly the ones giving us a hard time were the same ones to come over and congratulate us. Once again, I am not sure if I have interacted with such great opposing fans before. I brought a TN flag with me that I had hoped to get signed by the players so my gf and buddy told me to go see if I could catch the team possibly as they were exiting. You could tell the team was super gracious with the fans as they were leaving but didn't stick around too long to hang out. However, I did congratulate Josh Bone after the game and he was super cool, even mentioned he had seen us cheering by the Zag bench. : ) He also had messaged us back and forth a few times the day before the game and shortly after the game. Lastly, a few Vol fans yelled at Tobias Harris and pretty much got his attention so he could autograph my TN flag. This was pretty funny because as soon as he turned around, he laughed because he realized it was me again....I told him I really didn't mean to bother him again but in a matter of words he said it was not a bother and he autographed the TN flag. This was the icing on the cake and after feeling like I was perhaps bad luck to our team, this day restored my faith. haha
Thank you to everyone in advance if you took the time to read this, I love you Volnation and Let's go beat Memphis!!!
I apologize in the advance for the long winded message but I feel that Vol family will appreciate this account as we all know how deep the love for our team runs.
1. I purchased court side/level tickets online and at the time assumed TN would be the visitors. I realized soon, a day before the game that we would in fact be directly behind the Gonzaga bench and among diehard Zag fans. I figured what the hell and told my gf and good buddy we will be the loudest Vol fans there. : )
2. We arrived a little early to the game and by chance picked a parking lot a little away from the parking lot. Much to my surprise as we were parking the car at this practically empty lot, two men, one being extremely tall walk right by our car. I had to do a double take because it is not often you see someone this tall and decked out in TN gear. After my double take I said to the one gentlemen, "Tobias Harris"? He laughed, just nodded, gave me the peace sign and said, "yeah". We walked towards the arena somewhat all together and as we all approached a side entrance, I asked him if we could grab a photo together. Tobias was beyond polite and genuinely sincere with appreciation that I was a Vol fan/nut. (I was just surprised that not only he was there at the game but still puzzled as to why he also chose this parking lot as it was a little off the beaten path?)
3. We arrive to our seats to only be heckled by some Gonzaga fans including the Zag fans we were sitting next to. Turns out these were the people I had bought the tickets from. I have to say this only added to the great experience because they were great to sit next to, knowledgeable about basketball and lastly just "class acts". We bantered nonstop with the fans near us and most of the Zag fans really got a kick out of us poking fun at the Zag bench all game. The Zag players including Tillie were really good sports about it and even joined in quite a few times to tease us when the Zags made a run/made a great play. It probably didn't hurt that my buddy is 6,4" and about 275lbs...lol All kidding aside, we were not vulgar at all but just rowdy and having a great time. If you watch the replay, you should see me standing up quite a bit (grey longsleeve shirt with orange T) and can hear us quite a bit throughout the game, especially during free throws and towards the end. haha
4. As everyone knows, the ending was beyond amazing and quite a thrill! When the clock struck 0:00 time left, we jumped in joy. Soon after the game was over, a handful of Gonzaga fans, mostly the ones giving us a hard time were the same ones to come over and congratulate us. Once again, I am not sure if I have interacted with such great opposing fans before. I brought a TN flag with me that I had hoped to get signed by the players so my gf and buddy told me to go see if I could catch the team possibly as they were exiting. You could tell the team was super gracious with the fans as they were leaving but didn't stick around too long to hang out. However, I did congratulate Josh Bone after the game and he was super cool, even mentioned he had seen us cheering by the Zag bench. : ) He also had messaged us back and forth a few times the day before the game and shortly after the game. Lastly, a few Vol fans yelled at Tobias Harris and pretty much got his attention so he could autograph my TN flag. This was pretty funny because as soon as he turned around, he laughed because he realized it was me again....I told him I really didn't mean to bother him again but in a matter of words he said it was not a bother and he autographed the TN flag. This was the icing on the cake and after feeling like I was perhaps bad luck to our team, this day restored my faith. haha
Thank you to everyone in advance if you took the time to read this, I love you Volnation and Let's go beat Memphis!!!
