What was it like attending UT in 1998?

#1

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#1
I was in middle school during the national title season, so obviously I wasn't a student at UT. I was fortunate to attend some big games that year, but I was a kid. I'm a history buff on things like these. If you were a student during the 1998 football season, hit me with some cool memories as in: Everyday campus, football games, etc.
 
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#5
#5
I was a senior at UT for the 98 season. In fact all 4 years we were good as we had Peyton my freshman, sophomore, and junior seasons. Game day was absolutely crazy. One of the cool parts was that students got real tickets. You could sell you tickets on the street and have almost as much fun on the strip or at a tailgate and make some money. I went to all the games Freshman and sophomore. I remember I sold my Bama ticket one year for $300. Back then we were in the midst of a nice win streak on them bammers.
 
#7
#7
I was a senior at UT for the 98 season. In fact all 4 years we were good as we had Peyton my freshman, sophomore, and junior seasons. Game day was absolutely crazy. One of the cool parts was that students got real tickets. You could sell you tickets on the street and have almost as much fun on the strip or at a tailgate and make some money. I went to all the games Freshman and sophomore. I remember I sold my Bama ticket one year for $300. Back then we were in the midst of a nice win streak on them bammers.
You got real tickets for away games but not home games. Still needed an id
 
#8
#8
Maybe it was Freshman year that you still got real tickets for home games? I know I sold my Bama ticket one year for good money. Memory is foggy for sure. I do remember now that you mention it, the ID came up eventually. You could try and sell your ID too. I never pulled the trigger on that one.
 
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#9
#9
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.
 
#11
#11
I was in middle school during the national title season, so obviously I wasn't a student at UT. I was fortunate to attend some big games that year, but I was a kid. I'm a history buff on things like these. If you were a student during the 1998 football season, hit me with some cool memories as in: Everyday campus, football games, etc.
My freshman year, soon after Peyton announced he was coming back to school for his senior year, I saw him outside my dorm. Ran outside to grab his autograph (it was apparent already that he was gonna be famous), but being a dumb 18 year kid I had nothing for him to sign, so he signed a dollar bill. I spent it 3 hours later on beer or chicken wings. In short, college was awesome but likely not much different than most other years. A few Saturdays every fall were legendary though.

Also, I ran into Tony Harris and much of Jerry Green's basketball team down on the strip one random Thursday night. They were high as a kite, but pretty nice dudes. Possibly the two ideas in my last sentence were related.
 
#12
#12
I attended 96-00. I remember the Florida game when we won in OT after Florida missed a FG. I was in the first row of the upper deck in the student section. As soon as he missed the kick I sprinted out of the upper deck to try and rush the field. By the time I got down the ramp to the lower deck the goalposts were already torn down and headed out of the stadium. It was insane how fast it happened. My roommate ended up with a couple handfuls of turf which I think he still has to this day.
 
#13
#13
I attended 96-00. I remember the Florida game when we won in OT after Florida missed a FG. I was in the first row of the upper deck in the student section. As soon as he missed the kick I sprinted out of the upper deck to try and rush the field. By the time I got down the ramp to the lower deck the goalposts were already torn down and headed out of the stadium. It was insane how fast it happened. My roommate ended up with a couple handfuls of turf which I think he still has to this day.
Roomie?!! How've you been? Been getting lots of snow in MT?

If not my roommate, I can at least verify the story. Insanely fast. All I got were some handfuls of the checkerboard. Actually I was in upper part of lower deck but same thing...by the time we got on the field, goal posts were gone already.

I'll add that the Arkansas game was even crazier for me personally. I was in the mid upper deck for that one. There with a group of maybe 4 or so friends? Crowd had started thinning then Stoerner fumbled. Place went crazy. I got chest bumped and high fived and pushed all over the place, and did the same to everyone else. Because of the slightly thinner crowd at that point, folks moved all over the place. I ended up watching the game no where near where I started, with a group of students none of whom I knew. Didn't matter. Couldn't look away from Cheese running over and over and over to the inevitable game-winning touchdown to find my original seats. Only 1 in my group even owned a cell phone then, as cell phones were still relatively new so didn't reconnect with friends until all the way back to the dorm. I was stone cold sober but high on life so it didn't matter anyway.
 
#14
#14
I was a freshman in 98. Campus was pretty ugly and run down looking, but the strip had a lot more character. Now it just has the same corporate chain stuff every other strip has.

The Florida game was my first game in Neyland. What an introduction. I was in Section E Row 16. When Florida missed that kick, you had no choice but to follow the wave of fans onto the field. A friend (that I met later on) still has a piece of the goal post that the fire department cut up. I unfortunately was home in middle Tennessee during the Fiesta Bowl. I did go the SEC championship game in 2001 and was ready to go the Rose Bowl that year, but we all know how that turned out...
 
#15
#15
I was there '93-'97 but got a job in TN after graduation and came back for all '98 games, plus SEC Championship and Natty. All years with Peyton were great overall...10 win or better seasons. We beat or tied Bama every year and we lost to Florida every year. Florida with Spurrier was so annoying because they would destroy us on the field, then Spurrier would verbally abuse Fulmer post-game with no rebuttal from big Phil. That part sucked. Beating Florida in '98 the way we did was pure joy. Rushing the field after the OT win is something I will never forget for the rest of my life.

Being a student at UT in the mid-90's was really great, imo. The Strip was mainly original bars and restaurants (except O'Charley's). There was a $1 beer night each night at a different place on the strip, so you could eat and drink pretty cheaply (and I was broke as a joke in college). I was in a fraternity and that scene was pretty good back then. We had more freedoms around having parties and mixers at the house and stuff without the school or IFC coming down on us, as long as things didn't get crazy.

All in all, I really, really enjoyed being a student at UT in the '90's. The campus today looks 100% better than back then, but in retrospect, I gladly traded the gorgeous campus and new buildings for a top notch football team and original Strip (The Lap, The Library, OCI, and a few others I can't remember now). Sidenote: Our men's basketball team was HORRIBLE though! 5-22 my freshman year, I believe. Lady Vols were dominant as usual with Summitt.
 
#16
#16
We were so good back then, most students left at halftime. I was a year younger than Peyton and remember I almost hit him crossing the street one day during summer session. Oops!
My buddy almost kicked Peyton and Eli’s tail one night at the SAE boxing tournament, which is a funny memory.
In 97/98, after the FL game where we stormed the field, I went to a party in the fort next to the fire station cutting the goalposts for people. That line ran down 17th.
Anyone else remember Nilo? He was awesome but dumb and mean, got kicked off team for hitting his GF.
The glory days compared to now.
 
#17
#17
I was in middle school during the national title season, so obviously I wasn't a student at UT. I was fortunate to attend some big games that year, but I was a kid. I'm a history buff on things like these. If you were a student during the 1998 football season, hit me with some cool memories as in: Everyday campus, football games, etc.
Went to ETSU, but had season tix through family members. We were at every game, except UT/Fla 98. Buddy and I were out partying, listening to Ward. When I heard the goal post was headed down Cumberland...we nearly drove down to Knox. We ended up at the Sophisticated Otter.

Anyway, the Strip was completely different back then. It was exciting. Music booming from Ocharleys, food smells, atmosphere galore. After the game, was wild.

Recall leaving the Arkansas game. Pretty sure a police officer was drinking a beer out of plastic cup.
 
#19
#19
It was like magical gay unicorn farts in your mouth, the whole place smelled like funnel cakes and Neyland Stadium at the time could be compared to the Roman Colosseum and orgies to boot.
You forgot about the golden nuggets rising up spontaneously out of the gound each one frosted with blow. Also all of the chicks were 10s because we sent the 9s to Bama.
 
#22
#22
I was in middle school during the national title season, so obviously I wasn't a student at UT. I was fortunate to attend some big games that year, but I was a kid. I'm a history buff on things like these. If you were a student during the 1998 football season, hit me with some cool memories as in: Everyday campus, football games, etc.
😢
 
#23
#23
Best game I’ve ever been to in person was the Florida game that season. That game and the Wilhoit kick were the two loudest games I’ve ever been to. Amazing crowds! I miss the student section not worrying about standing or being too loud and just everyone around you screaming as loud as you possibly can.
I had to deliver pizzas during the Arkansas game with the Stoerner fumble but John Ward brought me to tears listening to him during that game in some random person’s driveway.
 
#24
#24
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of light, it was the season of darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair.
We had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way – in short, the period was so far unlike the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
 

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