VolNotes:The Bama Quotes

[orange+white=heaven]

Tennesee v. Alabama

...Nuff Said.


VolNotes

I'm not going to throw in links today folks. Just the quotes, ma'am..

We start with a thought from His Highness, John Ward..

"Hatred is not the word for me," Ward said. "There may be individuals who feel animosity to one team or the other. To me, class is the word, for Alabama fans, for Tennessee fans.
"I don't care how many years back you go, Alabama hated to lose. Tennessee hated to lose. Both had some experience with that. But there was always a feeling of respect between the two camps. I hope it's that way now."

Cut on Bama's big dog, Castille

"Not only can he cover, he can rush the passer," UT offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe said. "He hit a quarterback (recently) and I don't know how the quarterback got up. He's a vicious pass rusher and a heck of a football player. He's a guy that we've tested a little bit, and he's passed the test most of the time."

Chris Brown, who grew up in Louisiana, admits it took awhile to appreciate UT-Bama week.
“But then you see how serious people get around here when they talk about Alabama. It kind of makes your season when you beat them,” he said.

Josh McNeil, the reigning SEC offensive lineman of the week, quickly learned the importance of the game, despite growing up in Mississippi. “I remember my dad, when I was still pretty young, grabbing my brother and me and saying, ‘Boys, this is a really big rivalry. You need to watch this.’”

“With the players, it’s the Florida game,” Ainge said. “But with people Coach Fulmer’s age, it’s this game. Alabama’s the team they most want to beat.”
And nearly a year later, Ainge remembers his gamesaving tackle against the Tide a lot more than he lets on.
“First of all, I had a great angle,” he said. “Second, you could almost see Castille thinking, ‘You’re a quarterback; you can’t catch me.’ So maybe he let up a little bit.’”

in 2004, Erik Ainge knew he didn't play very well against Alabama. He threw two interceptions and Tennessee needed a defensive touchdown to prevail 17-13.

But to his surprise, people in the street were all smiles. They kept glad-handing Ainge as if he'd won the Heisman Trophy.

The new kid from Oregon reached this conclusion:

"Just winning that game was so important to so many people around here.''

"I didn't really have no clue about Tennessee and Alabama,'' said sophomore guard Vladimir Richard, a South Floridian. "It was just Miami, Florida and Florida State.''

"My freshman year,'' recalled junior Rico McCoy, who is from Washington, D.C., "I remember when coach (Phillip) Fulmer talked about it.
"He was intense. The older guys on the team were intense. That's when I realized this is a battle. This is a battle!''

"Coach Fulmer and that age of people, it's always been the Tennessee-Alabama game,'' said Ainge, "and there's something a little extra you can tell about that.
"It's kind of like we, the players, feel about the Florida game. There's something a little extra about it because that's our rival now.''

"It would be nastier if the fans were fighting than it would be if it was just the players,'' observed senior Casey Woods.

"If we keep winning our games,'' said Vladimir Richard, "we will be in Atlanta. So this is another bump in the road we have to pass.''


That's the here and now.

Captains for Bama game

Fulmer named Ainge, junior defensive tackle Demonte' Bolden, senior tight end Chris Brown, junior linebacker Jerod Mayo, senior defensive end Xavier Mitchell and walk-on receiver Casey Woods as captains for the Alabama game.

Beat Bama!!!

 

[jakez4ut]

a little disappointed to see all the quotes about "didn't know about the TN/Bama game" and the "guys CPF's age, this is the big game" stuff.

oh well, i guess it does go to show just how regional and demographic based this rivalry has become.

 

[orange+white=heaven]

a little disappointed to see all the quotes about "didn't know about the TN/Bama game" and the "guys CPF's age, this is the big game" stuff.

oh well, i guess it does go to show just how regional and demographic based this rivalry has become.

I can see the kids from points across the country not knowing coming in about the importance of the game. They discover quickly though what it means to the fan base. They know this is always big...

 

[jakez4ut]

oh, i know, and i got that from the quotes.

i guess my thing is....no one has to be told about OSU/Mich or FSU/Mia or FL/GA or FL/FSU etc, etc....

and to us, this game is as big or bigger than any of those games.

there just was a time where you didn't have to be "told" this was a big game.

 

[hohenfelsvol]

a little disappointed to see all the quotes about "didn't know about the TN/Bama game" and the "guys CPF's age, this is the big game" stuff.

oh well, i guess it does go to show just how regional and demographic based this rivalry has become.

I think that is because we have had been on the winning end more then not since 1995. That softened the rivalry a bit for the younger kids. For the older ones, we remember the hard 9 years in a row period.

BEAT BAMA, AGAIN!!

 

[cotton]

Thanks as always for the notes, owh.

 

[JAllen18]

"My freshman year,'' recalled junior Rico McCoy, who is from Washington, D.C., "I remember when coach (Phillip) Fulmer talked about it.
"He was intense. The older guys on the team were intense. That's when I realized this is a battle. This is a battle!''

I thought Rico McCoy was a Sophmore..

 

[Plano Vol]

It would be interesting to see how the young players feel both before and after the game. I would hope that playing the game would really cause the competitive juices to flow and make an impression on the youngsters.

Maybe that's why the game has sunk to third world status. The demographics have moved to where less and less people remember the history and have felt the pain and joy

Intellectually, I would have to agree with the northeastern fagolas that it is silly to be so wrapped up in a sporting event. Spiritually, this game is in my blood. I will feel bad for weeks if we lose.

I don't want to scar young folks for life but I hope the newbie players involved in this contest on both sides come away wih the same attitude. If not, it will eventually become a ho hum game to all and a great slice of tradition will be lost.

 

[Plano Vol]

I would add that a loss to bama will do more to hasten CPF's exit than the UF debacle. The decision makers also have this game in their blood as does CPF. The coach may grow introspective and decide he cannot contribute as effectively as he could in the past.

 

[Business]

oh, i know, and i got that from the quotes.

i guess my thing is....no one has to be told about OSU/Mich or FSU/Mia or FL/GA or FL/FSU etc, etc....

and to us, this game is as big or bigger than any of those games.

there just was a time where you didn't have to be "told" this was a big game.

No one has to be told about that one because ESPN does a great job of shoving it down the throats of anyone watching it's channel.

 

[VolfanMike]

I thought Rico McCoy was a Sophmore..

Is he a redshirt sophomore??? I thought he redshirted, maybe I am wrong though...

 

[DovaVol]

Is he a redshirt sophomore??? I thought he redshirted, maybe I am wrong though...

He redshirted his freshman year due to a broken foot. He is a redshirt sophmore.

 

[orange+white=heaven]

5 Rico McCoy 6-1 215 Sophomore LB Washington, D.C.

The next time I see Wes Rucker, I will bash him about the head on behalf of each of you...

 

[Vercingetorix]

Thanks for the notes; as always, it's good stuff.

It's hardly surprising that so many of our players didn't know much about the Tennessee-Alabama rivalry, considering they're all from somewhere else. It's been a long time since Tennessee and Alabama were battling it out for the SEC championship. Being in opposite divisions has done more than anything else to undermine this rivalry.