What does Tennessee Football mean to you?

#1
Rockytoptn83

Rockytoptn83

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#1
So with all the negativity swirling around this season, I thought it would be a welcome diversion for everyone to stop and think about what Tennessee football means to them. Why are you a fan? What memories have you made over the years?

For me, Tennessee football is a family tradition. I distinctly remember sitting and watching the Vols play with my grandfather every Saturday in the fall before I was even in school. But perhaps my greatest memory is of the first time I ever set foot in Neyland Stadium. I remember just being in complete awe of its sheer size and commanding atmosphere. When the players ran out on the field, the emotion was almost tangible as John Ward announced it was Football Time in Tennessee. I wish I could recreate that moment!

Now that we are moving into a new era of Tennessee football, I am excited and sad at the same time. I will miss what Tennessee football once was, but I look forward to seeing what it will be. No matter what, I'll always be proud to be a VOL!!
 
#3
#3
Good post to get us back on track......I remember wearing orange from my earliest childhood memories. The tradition at my house was to watch the game on t.v. with the volume down and listen to John Ward on the radio with his "give him six" and it's "goooood".......A Vol loss or win pretty much determined how the rest of the weekend would go but we were fans no matter what the outcome and always will be. We will get there again but we will have to be patient. I have faith........
 
#4
#4
gr8volfan4ever said:
Good post to get us back on track......I remember wearing orange from my earliest childhood memories. The tradition at my house was to watch the game on t.v. with the volume down and listen to John Ward on the radio with his "give him six" and it's "goooood".......A Vol loss or win pretty much determined how the rest of the weekend would go but we were fans no matter what the outcome and always will be. We will get there again but we will have to be patient. I have faith........
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Sounds like my family, :) My grandpa would (and still does) get so pissed when we would lose. I miss John Ward, it's just not the same without him.

I forgot to add that I even named my first born after Peyton Manning. My loyalty knows no bounds!:rock:
 
#5
#5
Rockytoptn83 said:
So with all the negativity swirling around this season, I thought it would be a welcome diversion for everyone to stop and think about what Tennessee football means to them. Why are you a fan? What memories have you made over the years?

For me, Tennessee football is a family tradition. I distinctly remember sitting and watching the Vols play with my grandfather every Saturday in the fall before I was even in school. But perhaps my greatest memory is of the first time I ever set foot in Neyland Stadium. I remember just being in complete awe of its sheer size and commanding atmosphere. When the players ran out on the field, the emotion was almost tangible as John Ward announced it was Football Time in Tennessee. I wish I could recreate that moment!

Now that we are moving into a new era of Tennessee football, I am excited and sad at the same time. I will miss what Tennessee football once was, but I look forward to seeing what it will be. No matter what, I'll always be proud to be a VOL!!
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X2, great memories. I used to walk around the yard in the 70s with a transistor radio trying to listen to the game.
 
#6
#6
I remember growing up watching UT with my dad every Sat.A family tradition that I'll always cherish.
 
#7
#7
Tennessee Football represents pride and tradition. Vol Nation uniting together on Saturday's for a common reason, UT Football. I think it gives this town a lot of hope and pride, and it truly gets a lot of people through the hectic work week. There is nothing like gameday in Knoxville!
 
#8
#8
1963.
At 4 years old Tennessee and Alabama on an old black and white while listing to it on the radio.
Hooked from that day.Even the first time in neyland didn't compare to that.
It's weaved and woven threads into most aspects of my life.Family,friends, work.etc.......
 
#9
#9
Tennessee Football is a way of life for me. I live and die with every W or L. The cold beer is there for both, but it goes down a lot smoother after a W. We may go out and lose 9 games this year and have the worst season ever at UT, but when they have that pigskin on the tee for that Home game next year this year will be long gone from my memory and ready for the dominance to arise once more! Go Vols, I love this team and this tradition.
 
#10
#10
I have been a fan since the 1986 Sugar Bowl. I was 11 years old in my grandpa's living room with my dad. I can remember the excitement to this day. After that I have always followed the VOLS! UT has had ups and downs since then. Now is no different and they will be better than ever soon.
 
#11
#11
As a former UT student that just graduated this past may reading this post has really hit me in my heart, knowing the UCLA game was the first game i did not attend in person for 5 years, home or away has made me really miss my Vols. Not being a native Tennessean, although i got there as fast as i could, I know I can never fully understand the history some families grew up with. Ive been a UT fan my whole life but in southeastern Virginia I'm not in much fellow company. The lessons i learned at UT were much more than biology or political science, they were life lessons learned from the community of Knoxville and from all UT fans across the South. Every away game weekend three of my friends who were all born and raised in the Knoxville area and I would pack up my small car with as much orange and Jack Daniels that could fit into a '98 stratus and with a huge orange T sticker on the back and shakers hanging out the trunk, windows, and hood we would drive the trips to Florida, Alabama, and yes even out to California last year, yelling "GO VOLS!!!" and hanging out the windows like crazed fools. We did this out of love for the program, a program that has given the East Tennessee a feeling of hope every Saturday, because although Knoxville may not be the richest or most affluent area of the country, we at least had our Vols, and thats all we needed. If there is a more devoted area to a team that lives or dies on it's success I'd sure like to see it. I've seem the highs ('04 Florida last second winning field goal by Wilhoit) to the lows (getting taken to the woodshed by Florida last year in the Swamp and being spat on by their fans with mullets and cut-off jean shorts, and seeing us lose to Wyoming and nearly all of the SEC this year). I came to UT as a eighteen year old wide-eyed boy, but after those road trips to see the Vols play and witnessing the community put their heart and soul into that team willing them to victory after victory as well as writhing in defeat. A school could not ask for better, more devoted, and loyal fans than those that wear the orange and white every Saturday. Some say we're headed downhill the past few years and while I cannot say we've exactly been on top, we are The University of Tennessee Volunteers and we will not be down for long. Living in East Tennessee for 5 years taught me that there much more to life than money, work, and deadlines....theres Vol Football and as long as the Pride of the Southland plays Rocky Top, the Vol Navy still floats, Neyland Stadium roars every Saturday as our Vols take on the world, my blood will always run orange.
 
#12
#12
The Tall Gguy said:
Tennessee football deserves better than what it has become this year!!!!
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unfortunately - and while i love this school and this team- football and other sports doesnt work on franchises and teams deserving better, teams deserve to get what they put out on the field each week.
 
#13
#13
I hate to be the one to tell yall this, but threads like this make it seem pretty silly when the Vol fans pick on Bammers for living in the past.
 
#15
#15
TXVOL07 said:
I hate to be the one to tell yall this, but threads like this make it seem pretty silly when the Vol fans pick on Bammers for living in the past.
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Recounting fond memories does not equal exaggerating the past . . . but thanks for the pointer. If not for you, someone might have come into this thread and shared a moment of joy.
 
#16
#16
Thank ya'll for reminding me why Tennessee is hands down the best football program out there (no matter what the stats say). The Vols family has more heart and passion for the game than all of them put together. I can't wait to pass this along to my son!
 
#17
#17
I spent the large majority of my Saturdays in the fall crappie fishing around Waverly and listening to UT games on the radio in the boat.

Good times.
 
#18
#18
GAVol said:
Recounting fond memories does not equal exaggerating the past . . . but thanks for the pointer. If not for you, someone might have come into this thread and shared a moment of joy.
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Im here to help. :good!:
 
#21
#21
I can remember pee-wee ball in Knoxville and we had 2 visitors to a practice on afternoon. It was Dewey Warren and Richmond Flowers. From that day on I have been hooked on UT football. For the last 8 years I've lived in Florida and fly my UT flags with pride.

I can remember one weekend when my father and I painted the doors to our house orange and the mailbox. Then went inside and painted the paneling in the den ORANGE and WHITE. My Mom was pissed !! She eventually gave in ( after we repainted) and became a huge fan too.
 
#22
#22
TVT said:
I can remember pee-wee ball in Knoxville and we had 2 visitors to a practice on afternoon. It was Dewey Warren and Richmond Flowers. From that day on I have been hooked on UT football. For the last 8 years I've lived in Florida and fly my UT flags with pride.

I can remember one weekend when my father and I painted the doors to our house orange and the mailbox. Then went inside and painted the paneling in the den ORANGE and WHITE. My Mom was pissed !! She eventually gave in ( after we repainted) and became a huge fan too.
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Man, I wish I had a husband that would paint the house orange,:eek:lol: The ex hubby used to get pissed when I'd yell and scream at the t.v during games.. perhaps that's why he's now the ex:)
 
#23
#23
This didn't happen over night.We have been going down hill for years maybe 2001.I can remember as a student in the 60's that the crowds were truely the 12th man.We have slipped but we will be back GO BIG ORANGE
 
#24
#24
Tennessee football meant an education for me.

I had never seen a UT game before my freshman year; heck, I hated football in general. I came to UT as a recruit of the band program, which is funded in part by donations from the athletic department. The visibility the Pride of the Southland Band has because of the football team meant a higher level of donations from fans, and therefore a higher level of scholarship money that could be used to bring someone of my childhood economic standing (lower-middle class) to UT.

Thanks to the athletics department, I was able to march in the 1996 Clinton inaugural parade. I was in the band room when Peyton Manning delivered a check from the athletics department to take care of the funding Sundquist canceled because Clinton won instead of Dole. Thanks to their donation, the state of Tennessee was represented at that event.

I have lost count of the places I've been, the people I've met, and the experiences I've had because of Tennessee football. I have met two presidents, tackled a Georgia football player, touched the turf at the Rose Bowl, been to a National Championship game, walked Between the Hedges, shaken hands with a Heisman Trophy winner (Eddie George, and boy is that a story for another thread).... the list could go on for quite a while.

Even though I never had the opportunity to suit up in pads and run through the T, I am thankful for the opportunities that I've had because of the people who do.
 
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#25
#25
TVT said:
I can remember pee-wee ball in Knoxville and we had 2 visitors to a practice on afternoon. It was Dewey Warren and Richmond Flowers. From that day on I have been hooked on UT football. For the last 8 years I've lived in Florida and fly my UT flags with pride.

I can remember one weekend when my father and I painted the doors to our house orange and the mailbox. Then went inside and painted the paneling in the den ORANGE and WHITE. My Mom was pissed !! She eventually gave in ( after we repainted) and became a huge fan too.
Click to expand...

Does anyone know if Dewey ever started wearing shoes? Whenever I saw him on campus he was always barefoot - even in the dead of winter. In all fairness he was usually drunk too!:cool2:
 
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