Stoerner Fumbles
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I love watching UT sports. I love UT football the most. I yell at the television, and worry my dogs and kids. I love it when we win, and hate it when we lose. That said, eighteen year-old kids playing a game are not a proxy for my happiness or well-being as a human. If you can’t function in society during or after a college sporting event that didn’t turn out your way, get professional help. Get medicated if necessary. Achieve something on your own, and trade in your football action figures for a life. Those of us who show with up passion for the team, with a willingness to accept the outcome, aren’t the problem. You are.
Separately— If you believe the “the media”, ESPN, the SEC or referees secretly plot against us, you may need a stronger pill. It’s a game. There will be human error, and sometimes those errors will favor the other team. Sometimes a whole group of those errors can go entirely one way in a game. I’ve refereed games with hostile crowds that think there’s a plot against them. There very rarely is. Referees are human. There can be biases, but they are not having secret meetings to devise ways to ruin your weekend.
As for the mob behavior, If you think you’re a better fan because you’re willing to riot if things don’t go your way, you’re wrong. Last night, some fans were arrested, some were treated for injuries. It was only dumb luck that protected those injured fans from more serious injuries, and the mob from greater consequences. Fans have died at sporting events due to the stupidity and ignorant rage of misguided fans. If you doubt that, ask uncle Google for help.
Our team lost thirty players last year. Our OL is so decimated that we’re starting a walk on at the most important position. We’re missing key starters and contributors, and we had significantly less talent and depth than the other team last night. Our D played almost double the player snaps of a normal game. They didn’t quit. Hooker didn’t quit when he was hit again and again. Tillman didn’t quit when he was injured, nor did Taylor, Small or various DL that came in and out limping. Our D didn’t quit when they took the field again and again. Our coaches didn’t quit trying to win. They gave it their best. If you disagree with certain decisions, so be it. For you backyard yahoo’s calling for a “spy,” we had one on many of the plays. We also picked our poison and chose to take away the 50 yard td pass by dropping the safety or the star. In doing so, we gave up 20 yard runs. Their center played the game of his life. Their qb did too. He took hits, fought for yards, and played hard. If you can’t appreciate their competitive effort, you missed the big picture. Milton made a dumb play. He isn’t the first #2 QB to make a bad choice after being thrown in a game with no warm up. It’s not because he lacked “heart”. If you think that kid wanted to lose the game and feel that for the rest of his life, you obviously don’t understand what it means to compete.
As for you jackasses that support a mob riot in response to a bad call, a jerk ex-coach, or something else that upset your tummy, I notice that many of you are the same petulant children who gave up on the team in the first quarter. I can’t even count the number of you who said “game,” “game over,” or “I’m out” somewhere in the first quarter. The team didn’t quit. The players didn’t quit. The coaches didn’t quit. You did. How brave of you to show back up for the mob hurling water bottles at the end. Is it surprising that the same “fans” who quit on the team also threw a fit about calls, supported mob violence, and woke back up today to whine and stomp more? It’s not. It’s not surprising at all.
I realize I’m not going to change anyone’s character or behavior with this post, and I don’t expect anything but more tantrums from people who refuse to accept that things don’t always go your way. When you walk on an athletic field, you accept the rules of that field as interpreted by the people chosen to enforce them. The players had more at stake than the fans. They took the hits. They got up again and again. They didn’t lose their composure, get penalized outside the game, and they accepted the calls, good and bad. As a fan, if you can’t meet or exceed the behavior of the kids who are fighting the fight, you aren’t a fan. You’re something else altogether.
Separately— If you believe the “the media”, ESPN, the SEC or referees secretly plot against us, you may need a stronger pill. It’s a game. There will be human error, and sometimes those errors will favor the other team. Sometimes a whole group of those errors can go entirely one way in a game. I’ve refereed games with hostile crowds that think there’s a plot against them. There very rarely is. Referees are human. There can be biases, but they are not having secret meetings to devise ways to ruin your weekend.
As for the mob behavior, If you think you’re a better fan because you’re willing to riot if things don’t go your way, you’re wrong. Last night, some fans were arrested, some were treated for injuries. It was only dumb luck that protected those injured fans from more serious injuries, and the mob from greater consequences. Fans have died at sporting events due to the stupidity and ignorant rage of misguided fans. If you doubt that, ask uncle Google for help.
Our team lost thirty players last year. Our OL is so decimated that we’re starting a walk on at the most important position. We’re missing key starters and contributors, and we had significantly less talent and depth than the other team last night. Our D played almost double the player snaps of a normal game. They didn’t quit. Hooker didn’t quit when he was hit again and again. Tillman didn’t quit when he was injured, nor did Taylor, Small or various DL that came in and out limping. Our D didn’t quit when they took the field again and again. Our coaches didn’t quit trying to win. They gave it their best. If you disagree with certain decisions, so be it. For you backyard yahoo’s calling for a “spy,” we had one on many of the plays. We also picked our poison and chose to take away the 50 yard td pass by dropping the safety or the star. In doing so, we gave up 20 yard runs. Their center played the game of his life. Their qb did too. He took hits, fought for yards, and played hard. If you can’t appreciate their competitive effort, you missed the big picture. Milton made a dumb play. He isn’t the first #2 QB to make a bad choice after being thrown in a game with no warm up. It’s not because he lacked “heart”. If you think that kid wanted to lose the game and feel that for the rest of his life, you obviously don’t understand what it means to compete.
As for you jackasses that support a mob riot in response to a bad call, a jerk ex-coach, or something else that upset your tummy, I notice that many of you are the same petulant children who gave up on the team in the first quarter. I can’t even count the number of you who said “game,” “game over,” or “I’m out” somewhere in the first quarter. The team didn’t quit. The players didn’t quit. The coaches didn’t quit. You did. How brave of you to show back up for the mob hurling water bottles at the end. Is it surprising that the same “fans” who quit on the team also threw a fit about calls, supported mob violence, and woke back up today to whine and stomp more? It’s not. It’s not surprising at all.
I realize I’m not going to change anyone’s character or behavior with this post, and I don’t expect anything but more tantrums from people who refuse to accept that things don’t always go your way. When you walk on an athletic field, you accept the rules of that field as interpreted by the people chosen to enforce them. The players had more at stake than the fans. They took the hits. They got up again and again. They didn’t lose their composure, get penalized outside the game, and they accepted the calls, good and bad. As a fan, if you can’t meet or exceed the behavior of the kids who are fighting the fight, you aren’t a fan. You’re something else altogether.
