Monday, August 20, 2007

Join the Cause


We have spent the last two blogs talking about the Big Orange Army. Where they came from, where they stand and want to go, and now I wanna tell you what they are working hard to see come to reality. They have since their inception, been working to become the largest fan based, fan oriented movement in college sports. Every Army needs a home, and they are working to establish one. They have just begun their largest, most aggressive membership drive to date. They want to build a 100,000 membership, and to see a stadium full of orange army helmets. that stadium is what brings us to the point of this entry. The stadium is named after the man that designed it, and led the team to a level of greatness that required a stadium of its size. A great legacy has been left by Brigadier General Robert Neyland. But in the recent years people have brought up wanting to give the stadium a nickname to intimidate opposing teams and fans when they come to town. You have "The Swamp," you have "Death Valley." Tennessee fans want the same type of name for their own stadium. If there is one negative label that has been given to the BOA it is that they are very aggressive and are not hesitant to act on an issue. The army took it upon themselves to start the campaign to nickname the stadium "Fort Neyland." In keeping the military theme, there is no greater honor bestowed upon a retired enlisted soldier than to name a fort in his honor. Neyland stadium is the home base of the BOA, it is the one place fans are willing to fight to defend, and would not go down without giving their all for her. To me, that sounds like what you would read about in history class, a soldier willing to give his life to ensure the colors of his fort were not taken. Nothing meant more to him. That describes most "True" Vol fans. My vote is a resounding YES to "Fort Neyland!"