Monday, October 22, 2007

Picture tells it all. Got pushed around, just not legally.





Why did it take me two and a half days to post following the "Breakdown in Old Drunk-Denny" on Saturday? Well it didn't this is just the one that finally made it to the publish button. I have about five other drafts that I typed up, but then cooler heads prevailed before I put them up here for all you good people to read. I have family and in-laws that do read this, and I want to keep them coming back here, so I will leave my screaming and cussing for when the Phillip Fulmer show comes on. (Actually it already has, and apparently if you spin the remote as it leaves your hand, the screen of the TV does not break, or dent. Remember that in the future Megan.) Besides , I am not supposed to blog while eating, and there has been a lot of crow to eat. I have had many friends ask me for my take on the game. I am an open and very opinionated person, it gets me in trouble often, ask my wife. So instead of spewing my hatred for the Bionic Coach and the legions of Sheep, (Man if I can figure out a way to put Saban and Sheep together and make it work, somebody be working on the artwork for the shirt, I'll get back to you......Sabeeps? nah, Sheebans?...) I will do my best to give you an objective look at the third Saturday in October. Um.... Well... Ok I tried, sorry sheep you get the real me. And I bleed Orange, so I can not objectively look at you, you bunch of....... Family, I know, I know. Well I will try.






This past game week was like no other Third Saturday, or Fourth Saturday for those years, that I can remember. Bammer Sheep spent the better part of the week trying to make everyone believe that they really did deserve to win against "O YO YO YO YOO YO YOO YO Miss" last weekend. It took someone posting a picture from Google Earth or something to try to justify it. Bottom line you were given the win. The call was overturned, there was not indisputable evidence to support that. Bottom line, blown call, gift. The sheep were more worried about that call than the tradition that was the third week in October. Had a weird feeling all week. Saturday morning on gameday, the first one I have even watched all year, they never even mentioned bammer in their predictions for the game except for saying who the Vols were going to beat. I told Jim Friday night during the Jacks High School show that I had a bad feeling about the game. That I had the same comfortably confident feeling that I did before the Cal game. Bad. Have become very superstitious over the past couple of seasons. Not sure why.






I made the decision not to go to the game to stay in good standings with the wife. She just could not believe I could go without getting into it with some sheep. Hindsight.....Good call hun. Truly my better half. Instead I decided to go to good ol' BWW in Trussville. I knew my buddy Jay would be bar tending and there would be plenty of sheep to harass. So when I get a text message from a friend saying that he heard that five players were suspended from bammer I was plum giddy. Felt ten foot tall and was only on my first beer. Newcastle was the one of choice, help me remember that, never drink Newcastle on game day. Kick off...............



It goes downhill from there. believe me you guys don't want the play by play.






Here are the things that I want to point out as being the conversation points of the game.






Bold move on the Onside kick call. Fulmer's quote on his show was that we should have recovered it. "We practice it every week, shouldn't have been a problem." ummm ok coach.






Why was the defense so predictable. JPW is not Manning. He is not the best one at dissecting a defense. But if we went man, our true freshman DB's were toasted. If we went zone, it was either a run or a slant for eight or nine. Were we calling it out? Were we that bold that we were telling them what we were going to run, daring them to beat us? A lot of the time it looked that way. Either way they picked us apart. Plain as that.






OK you knew I could not write this and not bring it up. Officiating. There were six penalties that came on third or fourth down that allowed the Alabama drive to continue. The offsides on the dramatic shift, I give you. My man got played like a banjo. The roughing the passer??? Come on, I have hit my great grandmother harder. He touched him. The pass interference call when we made the interception in the end zone. You are kidding me right? Watch the replay. slow it down the receiver was not impeded, pulled , nothing. both hands are still outstretched. He acted surprised when he realized a flag had been thrown. I had seven text messages after that call. Auburn fans, Clemson fans, Lsu fans, MSU fans, and BAMA fans telling me to calm down that the play was CRAP!! That is when in my opinion the momentum changed. Not the interception Ainge threw, that is just the play when someone actually did something. The sheep cannot say, "The game changed when the officials gave us the ball back when we turned it over." And I know what you are saying, what about the fumble that TN got back. Fulmer said they told the officials that they were going to run the shovel pass, reverse type thing. It was a STUPID play, with POOR execution. The running game was working why get cute? That is why we got the ball, was an incomplete pass.






If there was any momentum left we lost it when we kicked the ball straight to Arenas to start the second half. But in my opinion the coaches had already packed it in. Fulmer plays this game not to lose. He does not PLAY TO WIN. his punting the ball away in the fourth quarter proved that. We have always been able to get two or three yards. Hell every pass play in our offense starts with a two yard route. Nice call Coach.






Daniel Lincoln was once again the bright spot. Has missed one kick all year. Honorable mention to the O-line. Didn't give up a sack, but it wasn't from lack of effort, Erik was pressured all day, just really good at getting rid of the ball. But he had two INTs so......






The Vols have some injuries to overcome. Our #1 receiver Lucas Taylor had a foot injury that held him back with only two catches on the day. Josh Briscoe suffered a concussion when his helmet bounced off the turf. He came back in for one more catch, but did not remember even being in the game. Then there is Monterio Hardesty. He is the number two running back. Did not see the field. Fulmer said it was because he did not catch the ball as well out of the backfield. Yet on third down he put Creer into the game. Rumors are that he was not present at practice on Sunday night. Not a good thing.






I think the Vols will win one more they are not supposed to. But think they will lose at least two in the stretch.






Bammer has given fans something to cheer about. It has now starting to sound delusional again. SEC champs and even National title Contenders. In this crazy season who knows, if they do I will move to an Island and take up Cricket. I hear it is big over in Starkville, maybe it is worth looking in to.






Thursday, October 18, 2007

More fun





more fun











My turn to play !

Monday, October 15, 2007

new belly fat!!


Go check out Fulmers Belly. I just published a new one over there!!!




Thanks for all the Tennessee love I am getting, but even more thanks for the Bammer Hate mail.. I love it, tells me I am doing my job.


Thanks Jimmy

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Greatest post ever written


This was posted on VolNation a few years ago, but is still the greatest post I have ever read. It is a long read, but worth it!!


I HATE THE ALABAMA CRIMSON TIDE !!!

- 1999


Fellow Volunteer Fans,As many of you who have participated on this list for more than 12months know, this is the week that I live for the whole year. It is timefor me to post my annual treatise on why I HATE THE ALABAME CRIMSON TIDE.While many parts of this posting are carry overs from several years, I doadd new parts to this annual posting each year so I hope y'all continue toenjoy it.THE BAMA GAME . For me, one of my main reasons for living andbreathing as a Tennessee Volunteer Fan is so that I CAN HATE THE ALABAMACRIMSON TIDE! As most of you know by now, I DESPISE THEM. I really don'tgive a rip about Florida. Someone asked me two years ago to write anequivalent post prior to the Florida game. I couldn't come up with anythingmore than a few sentences. Once again this year, THE GAME officiallydubbed the "Third Saturday in October" will be played on the fourthSaturday. This game belongs on the Third Saturday in October. You know,there was never a book written titled Fourth Saturday in October. It just"ain't" right, and I would petition the Athletic Directors of both schoolsand the SEC Commissioner to put a stop to some of this nonsense. October ismy favorite month of the year. It always has been, not just the last twoyears. It is when there is a crisp coolness in the air, and the colorsOrange and Crimson splash on a field of Green. You know, I really wish thatwe could do away with the silly rule that states that the home team wearsdark and the visitor wears white. This is only really necessary if bothteams have the same color jerseys. I know that as recently as the early'80s, UT wore orange jerseys and Bama wore their red ones. But, I digress.I hope y'all enjoy reading (or rereading) as much as I enjoy living it. Allin all, this post is getting harder and harder to write every year. Mainlybecause we have beaten Bama each of the past four years. Also, since I nolonger live there, I don't see, read, or hear as much on a day to day basisto inflame me like it used to. However, then I start to remember 1986-1994and it is like pouring gas on a fire.For me, this week is HIGH HOLY WEEK and the Saturday of theTennessee-Alabama game is the HIGHEST of my HIGH HOLY DAYS. It is biggerthan my birthday, the 4th of July, or all of the Federal Holidays that I getall combined. It is the one day of the year that I literally think aboutevery single day the other 364. Not a single solitary day goes by that Idon't somehow, some way think about the Tennessee-Alabama game. Until 1997,I lived in north Alabama, so I saw a lot of BAMA paraphernalia. Every timeI see an Alabama Bumper sticker I think about THE GAME. Every time I seesomeone wearing an Alabama sweatshirt or T-shirt, I think about THE GAME.Every time I see the color red, I think about THE GAME. I hate the colorred. Red is the one color that refuse to wear. My wife will pick out ashirt or a pair of shorts in a store that she thinks will look good on me.If it is crimson or red I will refuse to buy it. My wife bought a new car afew years ago. A red one. It is a cool car, but I hate the color. Everytime I see it, I think about THE GAME. If I pull up to a traffic light andthe signal is red, I think about THE GAME. What makes it worse is there isusually some "bubba" in front of me with a BAMA bumper sticker. If I'mlucky enough to be first at the light, then the idiot on the other side ofthe intersection will have a BAMA license plate on their front bumper. GOD,I HATE BAMA! Every single night when I used to watch the sports news in theHuntsville-Decatur area, there was going to be something said about theCrimson Tide and I would think about THE GAME. Every time I saw aBirmingham Paper and I saw Paul Finebaum or Bill Lumpkin's columns, youcould bet that somehow they were going to work in at least one sentenceabout the Crimson Tide. It made no difference that they might have beenwriting a column about equestrian or water polo. There was a restaurant upthe road from where I worked where I often had lunch. They had a pictureof Paul "Bear" Bryant on the wall behind the cash register. I would seethat DAMN PICTURE, and I immediately thought about THE GAME.For me, BAMA not Florida, is Tennessee's nemesis. Tennessee andBama already had a series record long before Florida students knew how tospell the word "football". I HATE BAMA's GUTS. I HATE THE ALABAMA CRIMSONTIDE with every word I speak, every blink of my eyes, every thought that Ihave, every breath I take, and every beat of my heart. I HATE THE ALABAMACRIMSON TIDE!!! I literally cannot stand the sight of 'em. When I firstmoved to north Alabama and was single, I glued an Alabama decal to thebottom of my commode in my apartment. It was a "natural law" on Saturdayafternoon that you would sit around the apartment all day watching collegefootball and drinking beer. It was a rule that you had to yell, "PISS ONALABAMA" every time you went to the bathroom. It was even better when I hadto sit down. 8-) (no, I didn't have a wife or son at that time. Really theonly thing that I don't like about being married is that I can't do thisanymore. :-( )I also know that a majority of the players we have on our team nowconsider Florida to be our arch rival in the SEC. There are only a handfulof players on our team who can remember the last time we lost to ALABAMA.However, I remember. From the time I was in the fifth grade at the age of10, I was listening to Tennessee play football on a Magnavox transistorradio that my Dad had. I carried that radio around with me everywhere Iwent in the fall. I was never without that radio on Saturday afternoonswith it tuned to WREC AM600 in Memphis with John Ward blaring out on thesingle speaker. Back in those days, Tennessee didn't play 9 out of 11games on television like they do now. In those days usually only one gameper year was on TV. That was a team that I later learned to fear, thenlearned to HATE, then suffered against. They were a team that wore redjerseys and whose coach was called Bear Bryant. He was revered as a god. IHATED THAT TEAM. There was a kid named in my neighborhood who was a fewyears older than me. All I ever heard out of Matt's mouth during footballseason was ALABAMA this and ALABAMA that. "Bear Bryant is the greatestcoach ever." "Alabama is the greatest team." "Alabama won back to backNational Championships, Tennessee can't even win the SEC because Tennesseecan't beat ALABAMA." "Tennessee can't beat THE BEAR." "Tennessee can'tbeat the CRIMSON TIDE". I did fully understand what kind of a mascot theCrimson Tide was, but I HATED them. For at least 5 years through the lastyears of elementary school and junior high school, I heard this rattletrapfrom that guy almost every single Saturday afternoon. Every singleafternoon after school that all the kids in the neighborhood played footballin the front yard, I had to hear this load from this guy. From my point ofview, he was right. In my short time of loving UT and being a UT fan and"watching" all their games on the radio, I had never known us to beat BAMA.Year in and year out, we lost to BAMA. I HATED ALABAMA. I wanted to beatTHE BEAR worse than anything just so I could rub it in Matt's face that wehad beaten his BELOVED ALABAMA. WE HAD BEATEN THE BEAR. I HATED THECRIMSON TIDE. I PRAYED TO GOD FOR A DAY THAT WE WOULD BEAT ALABAMA!!! I remember an October afternoon in 1982 when Coach Johnny Majors led the Vols to a victory over Alabama. I don't remember if I cried or not, but I know that I listened to every single down on my Dad's Magnavox radio. I was sohappy, I went right over to Matt's house to rub his face in it. He wasn'thome. Thank you Matt, you taught me at a young age one of the GREATESTTRUTHS in my life. I HATE ALABAMA!!!I HATE BAMA because they beat the Gators in the Swamp!!! (Okay, Idon't really hate it all that bad, but it does erk me severely....)I HATE BAMA because most of their fans are a bunch of dumb idiot,cousin dating, illiterate, rednecks who couldn't find Tuscalosa on a map ofthe State of Alabama if the Southeastern Conference Championship depended onit. Shucks, half of 'em probably can't find the State of Alabama on a mapof the United States. They are so dumb that they proudly wear flip-flopsand overalls out on the town to Walmart on a Saturday night because theycan't tie their own shoes or zip up their pants. However, they proudly flythose BAMA flags from the window of their new 1999 Red Chevrolet or Dodgepick-up trucks with their BAMA bumper stickers on the rear bumper. Thetruck probably cost 3 times their annual income, but is worth 5 times morethan the 1970's model house trailer that they proudly park it in front ofnext to a brand new satellite dish so they can watch their "beloved" CRIMSONTIDE play and fail to cover the spread against the likes of Bowling Green,Southern Miss, Tulane, etc., etc. on Pay-Per-View. Every once in a while,BAMA plays a really, REALLY, BIG GAME against seasoned, SEC opponents likeKentucky or Vanderbilt. Isn't it strange that one of BAMA's permanent SECEastern Division Opponents is Vanderbilt? What is really sad is the idiotBAMA FANS who actually will engage you in a conversation about how the"Green Wave" or "Vanderbilt" could actually give BAMA a tough game. Then,after BAMA only beats one of these "bunnies" by one or two touchdowns, theyget mad because BAMA didn't climb 6 places in the A.P. Top 25 Poll. Then, IHATE BAMA because I have to listen to these same BAMA FANS explain why thereason that BAMA didn't cover the spread against Vandy, Tulane, or BrownieTroop 247 is BECAUSE (Are y'all ready for this?), "Stallings (now MikeDuBose) didn't want Tennessee and Auburn to really see what BAMA has for ateam. They were just sandbagging until later in the season when they bringout the big guns." UNBELIEVABLE!!! I will admit that I haven't heard muchof this stuff this season since Mr. Dubose took over as head coach, but Ithink those losses to "seasoned" opponents like La. Tech in 2 of the last 3years shut most of this up. However, if they had greased those games likethey normally do, instead of losing, I'm sure I'd have heard any earful bynow.I HATE BAMA because of those two fans who go to games with a roll oftoilet paper stuck on a box of Tide washing powder held with plungers. Idon't think I've ever watched a BAMA game that those two idiots somehowdon't wind up on NATIONAL television. I went to lunch just last week withsome coworkers in the Birmingham office. They took me to some placeplastered with nothing but BAMA crap all over the walls. As I was walkingout of the door I caught glimpse of these idiots in newspaper picture thatwas framed and hanging on the wall. I received an e-mail after the 1996game. In case you think I'm kidding, here it is.>In case y'all were at the game and didn't tape it. Guess what two>guys were part of CBS' intro to THE GAME. That's right. Right there with>the footage of General Neyland, Paul "Bear" Bryant, Johnny Majors (as the>player not the coach) Reggie White, and all the other Third Saturday in>October greats of the past...>> Oh well, I guess anyone who works that hard deserves to be on>Television. At least they aren't wearing "HOG HATS".Last season Roy Kramer gave me another reason to HATE BAMA thatreally didn't come to light until Saturday, September 18th , 1999. I havealways signed my personal email, "My two favorite teams are TENNESSEE andwhoever plays Alabama." However, thanks to Mr. Kramer's Bowl ChampionshipSeries, the BCS ranks teams and uses your opponents records in the formulafor where you are ranked. Therefore, I cannot desire for ALABAMA to go 0-11anymore. THIS IS DRIVING ME NUTS!!!. On the Saturday that the TIDE wasbeaten on the last second play by Louisiana Tech, I almost jumped out of mychair laughing. I great sense of joy filled my heart. Then my brain tookover. That hurts Tennessee in the BCS rankings. Gosh Dangit! Even whenBAMA loses they find a way to hurt us. I HATE BAMA FOR MAKING OUR SCHEDULELOOK WEAK IN THE BCS RANKINGS WHEN THEY LOSE TO LA. TECH AND I HATE THE BCS FOR MAKING ME WANT BAMA TO WIN WHEN THEY AREN'T PLAYING THE VOLS. IT GOES AGAINST EVERY FIBER IN MY BODY. I CAN'T DO IT! I HATE BAMA TOO MUCH!!!I HATE BAMA because in 1992 David Palmer got not one, but TWO DUI'sand the BAMA GRAD JUDGE gave him "youthful offender status" so he could playfootball for the Crimson Tide when they won the '92 national championship.If that had been you or I, we'd still be in jail. Question: What year didDavid Palmer GRADUATE from the University of Alabama?I HATE BAMA because of Forrest Gump. I truly love the movie ForrestGump. I have seen it over a dozen or so times. It is one of my favoritemovies. I remember going to see Forrest Gump for the first time at themovie theater. I was thoroughly enjoying the movie when the scene whereForrest and Jenny are walking home from high school comes up. Forrest takesoff running and runs across the high school football field where a youngPaul Bear Bryant wearing that black and white checked cap is recruiting. Imust admit that scene took me by surprise. Very quickly, I forgot all aboutthe movie "Forrest Gump" and started thinking about TENNESSEE vs. ALABAMA!The next scene I see Forrest in an ALABAMA football uniform streaking downthe field to score a touchdown. The crowd is doing an ALABAMA card trick inthe stands. ( I wished we still did cards in college football.) Forrestruns all the way down the field, into the end zone, and out the tunnel. Ittook me several minutes to get back into the movie. I just kept thinkingabout ALABAMA. At the time the movie came out, Tennessee had lost toALABAMA 8 times in a row. I COULD THINK ABOUT WAS THE GAME AND MY THIS JUSTADDED MORE FUEL FOR MY HATE OF ALABAMA!!!I HATE BAMA because they are a bunch of ARROGANT WHINERS. Fouryears ago when BAMA lost to Arkansas, they got upset because of a blown callby the officials. This happens all the time in football and is simply partof the game. Sometimes the breaks go your way, and sometimes they go theother way. BUT NOT FOR BAMA, THEY GOT THE WHOLE ENTIRE SEC OFFICIATING CREWSUSPENDED FOR A WEEKEND BECAUSE THEY HAD THE AUDACITY TO BLOW A CALL THATWOULD HAVE GONE IN BAMA's FAVOR.I HATE BAMA because they still talk about Paul Bear Bryant in thepresent tense. I have nothing but respect and admiration for the late PaulBryant, but I am sick and tired of some redneck Bama Fan who, while pumpinggas at the gas station, sees my "GO BIG ORANGE" license plate on the frontof my car and starts telling me what THE BEAR would have done if he had beencoaching the VOLS against Florida. I already know what the BEAR would havebeen doing. HE WOULD HAVE BEEN MOLDING BECAUSE HE IS DEAD. Bama Fans arealmost as bad as Elvis fans when it comes to this. I say "almost" because,to my knowledge, Bama fans don't dress up like the Bear and hold acandlelight vigil at his graveside the way fans of the King do in Memphisevery year. Q: How many Bama fans does it take to change a light bulb?A: 75,001 - one to change the bulb and 83,818 to sit in Bryant-DennyStadium and talk about how good the old bulb was. Several years ago, I waslistening to the Rush Limbaugh radio show and a lady called him fromsomewhere in Alabama. When Rush introduced her and said the name of thetown, and state she was from she started talking about being raised inAlabama, and emphasized the fact that it was the same state that Bear Bryantmade his famous coaching tenure. I'm driving along and wondering, "Doesthis lady actually believe that there is anyone with any intelligencewhatsoever who doesn't know where THE BEAR is from?" Then I realized thepoint. She was honestly believed that she was supposed to be special andprivileged because she happened to live in the same State as the late Bearcoached. She didn't have anything to contribute to Rush's Show, sheapparently just wanted to make that point. He rather quickly got rid ofher. I was so white knuckled from gripping the steering wheel and cursingThe Crimson Tide and her arrogance that I almost had to pull over. By theway, this was in 1991 only a few weeks after we had suffered our sixthstraight loss to the Tide.There is a nice print available that shows different scenes of the Tidebeating Miami in the Sugar Bowl to win the 1992 National Championship.These scenes in the print are contained within an area that is the shadow ofPaul Bear Bryant's head wearing his famous hat. WHAT IN THE HECK DID PAULBEAR BRYANT HAVE TO DO WITH ALABAMA, COACHED BY GENE STALLINGS, WINNING THE 1992 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP? OH YEAH, STALLINGS WAS ONE OF THE BEAR'S BOYS......Three weeks ago I carried an ornamental garden hose hangar that belongs to my wife to a welding shop in Lilburn, GA, to be repaired. As Iwas waiting on the welder to finish, I suddenly got that feeling that I wasbeing watched. I slowly turned around and could see into plate glasswindow of the welding shop office. Hanging on the wall was this same printof the Tide's victory over Miami in the outline of the BEAR. The BEAR wasstaring at me. I felt it on my back. It was as if he were there. I HATEBAMA.....I HATE BAMA! Because after living in Decatur, Alabama for FIVE OFTHE LONGEST YEARS OF MY LIFE, I FINALLY got the opportunity to move toAtlanta, GA. I figured this would be great. Since Georgia Tech chickenedout and left the SEC, Atlanta is basically an "SEC Neutral" town much likeMemphis (my original hometown). My wife and I got to Atlanta and we found ahouse that she and I both liked. When I entered the living room, my eyesabout flew out of my head. The shelves were filled with ALABAMAparaphernalia complete with the "Paul Bear Bryant" Coca-Cola bottles. Fromthere I walked out on the back deck. Sitting in a pool was a three foottall elephant rared up on this hind legs with trunk in the air blowing waterup and back down into the pool. The Elephant was sporting a RED A on hisside. I about lost it right there as my blood pressure climbed 15 places inthe top 25.. My first question was, "That does go with y'all, correct?".Of course, my wife loved the place and shortly after we moved in, Iperformed a full blown orange exorcism. Unfortunately, the deck underneathwhere that damn elephant was sitting is permanently stained. So, GUESS WHATCOMES TO MY MIND EVERY TIME I SEE THAT DAMN SPOT? YOU GUESSED IT, THAT GODFORSAKEN ELEPHANT AND WITH IT, THE GAME. I MEAN FOR NEYLAND'S SAKE, 4MILLION PEOPLE LIVE IN THE ATLANTA METROPOLITAN AREA, WHAT ARE ODDS? BUTHEY, IT IS A GOOD THING, IT GIVES ME ANOTHER REASON TO HATE BAMA. :-)I HATE BAMA because Bama leads the series 42-32-7.I HATE BAMA because they are the only SEC school to have a winningrecord against the Vols in Neyland Stadium. This is totally unacceptableto me.I HATE BAMA because I am sick and tired for the BAMA FAITHFULspouting off about their 12 national championships. ALABAMA is an excellentprogram with a long football history and tradition and they have won morethan several legitament national championships, BUT GIVE ME A BREAK! Someof those championships might as well rank right up there with the "MarthaWhite Cornbread Top 25", or the "BIRMINGHAM TIRE AND BATTERY Top 25".I HATE BAMA because a BAMAFAN once told me that while the team theywant to beat the most is Tennessee, the team they least like to lose to isAuburn. I know if he wasn't speaking for all their fans as a whole, and Iguess playing Tennessee doesn't rank right up there with playing an instaterival like Auburn. I TAKE THAT AS AN INSULT. I UNDERSTAND IT, BUT I STILLHATE IT.I HATE BAMA JUST BECAUSE THEY'RE BAMA. BOTTOM LINE IS THAT I HATE BAMABECAUSE TENNESSEE LOST TO THEM 9 TIMES IN A ROW FROM 1986 UNTIL 1995. ITLITERALLY COST ME THE BEST YEARS OF MY COLLEGE FOOTBALL VIEWING LIFE. IWILL NEVER FORGET THE 6-9 LOSS TO BAMA IN KNOXVILLE IN 1990. THAT WAS THE LONGEST DRIVE FROM KNOXVILLE BACK TO MEMPHIS OF MY LIFE. I DEMANDSATISFACTION. I WANT TO KILL 'EM. I WANT TO BEAT THEM SO BAD THAT THEYDON'T WANT TO SUIT UP AGAIN THE REST OF THE YEAR. I WANT TUSCALOSAERADICATED FROM THE FACE OF THE EARTH. I DON'T HAVE TO AVOID THE RUSH, IHATE BAMA 12 MONTHS, 52 WEEKS, 365 DAYS, 8,760 HOURS, A YEAR!!!!! I HATETHEIR GUTS. A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO THERE WAS A JOKE ABOUT A BAMA FAN'SSTUPID DOG. WELL I DON'T CARE ABOUT SOME MANGY, FLEA AND TICK INFESTED BAMA FAN'S DOG, BUT MY DOG HATES BAMA TOO!A FELLOW VOLUNTEER FAN WROTE ME LAST YEAR AND TOLD ME HE FELT EXACTLY THE SAME WAY. HE SAID, "I HATE BAMA SO MUCH THAT IF WE BEAT THEM 212-0 FOR THE NEXT 100 YEARS IN A ROW IN NEYLAND STADIUM, IT WOULD NOT BE ENOUGH TO SATISFY MY HATRED OF THEM." I THINK HE SUMMED UP IN ONE SENTENCE EXACTLY HOW I FEEL AND IT TOOK ME SEVERAL PAGES TO EXPRESS, EXECPT FOR ONE THING. I'D LIKE TO PLAY THEM ON THEIR HOME FIELD (BRYANT-DENNY, NOT LEGION FIELD) AND BEAT THEM JUST AS BAD. THIS YEAR I'M GOING TO GET MY CHANCE.However, I do have more respect for BAMA than any other team in theSEC. Playing and beating truly means something to me. This rivalry datesall the way back to 1901. Alabama and Tennessee rank 1 and 2 respectivelyin all time SEC victories and winning percentage. We are the TITANS of theSEC. It is for this reason that I feel the way I do. I love poking fun atthe Alabama fans as much as they love doing it to us. We have somethingthat other schools in the SEC (such as Florida) will never have. This iswhy I HATE BAMA, but I RESPECT BAMA. I will never have any respect forFlorida. I do long for Bama to return from these leaner years to its formerglory. I long for the BAMA GAME to be the #1 game in the heart and minds ofall Volunteer Fans as it is in mine. However, I ALSO LONG TO BEAT BAMABY A SCORE OF 213-0 OR MORE EVERY TIME THAT WE PLAY THEM FROM HERE ON AND I WANT THEM TO BE UNDEFEATED AND RANKED IN THE TOP 10 EVERYTIME THAT WE DO IT!!! MY ONLY HOPE IS THAT EVERY PLAYER AND COACH IN THE TENNESSEE FOOTBALL PROGRAM FEELS EXACTLY THE SAME WAY THAT I DO! GOD BLESS THE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS. GO BIG ORANGE!!! BEAT THE EVER LOVING ELEPHANT CRAP OUT OF BAMA!!!

A first time for everything.


Remember the old adage "I went to a fight and a hockey game broke out." I can do you one better. I went to tailgate at an SEC football game, deep in the south at an Agricultural school, and a Cricket Match broke out. Was stirring my Cauldron of Chili that I had made at 1:00 am Saturday morning, watching the new friends I had made from Chattanooga trying out a three way beer bong, (sight to see in itself) when I look across the street to the soccer fields and see a group of people I assumed were playing soccer, until I saw the wind up and delivery to the batter. I was introduced to cricket on my honeymoon to the Island of Antigua, where the World Cup was played this year. So imagine my surprise to see it in the land of cowbells. Seemed out of place, but at the same time there were about twenty people over there participating. And they were still going strong well after the ballgame and into the evening as we made our departure. SEC, land of diversity.


You know "The Grove" in Oxford gets a lot of publicity as the coolest tailgate community in the nation. MSU fans in Stark-Vegas are making a push to contend for that title. They have established their own close knit community of tailgating right outside the gates of the stadium. Was hundreds and hundreds of tents side by side by side to make up its own little city. But what made this different than what I have been a part of at other schools, is that for the most part it was all segregated by teams. The outer lots away from the stadium were full to the edges with Orange Clad tents and tailgates. But no Maroon. You would see an occasional truck load of people ringing cowbells come driving by, but no intermingling of fans. Was beginning to wonder if there were fans here at all until we began to walk to the stadium and saw the village of maroon outside the stadium. But there was no talking to each other, or sharing of food, or drink, they had their own friends and were not looking to make any more. And seemed to be even more fans and partying after the game. But still no hospitality seen by any of the people I talked with. Was truly a strange feeling. Maybe we should have went and played Cricket.


As we made our way into Davis Wade Stadium and Scott field, couple of things I noticed, one no security whatsoever. I saw people walk in drinks in hand, and no one ever looked at us, checked bags or looked into camera cases. Nothing. Well we made the four mile trip up the spiral concourse to the upper deck of the stadium. 21 rows up in an upper deck that has probably 25 or thirty total rows to the top. But I honestly do not think there is a bad seat in the house. There is one strange thing. The sun is on your face all day, no matter what side of the stadium you are on. The jumbotron is not very big, and with the glare of the sun, It was really a non-factor. Second thing that stuck out like a sore thumb. No concession vendors!!!! None. Nowhere. No cokes, no popcorn, hot dogs, water......you get the picture? Don't put a fan that has been tailgating to an all-SEC level in the upper deck of the stadium, only to tell him he has to walk all the way back down to get a beverage. And the concourse is totally enclosed, with no TVs, No radio pumping in, once again.... Nothing! I looked around and never could spot the first vendor anywhere in the stadium. I was very well behaved, but was still told by a student that now that we had won the game "We could get back to inbreeding." what the??? Classy. Almost as classy as Georgia stomping the "V" Stupid guys.


Ok lets talk about the stats. Here is one that is astounding. Helmet sticker to the O Line. They have not allowed a sack in over 218 passing attempts. Great stat to have. Lets start with Mr. Erik Ainge. He was not perfect did throw a long INT on a 3rd and 11. He finished up 22 of 36 for 259 yds with 2 TDs and the one int. Of those 259 yards, 186 of them went to his new favorite target Lucas Taylor. and he only needed 11 catches to get those almost 200 yds. Four others also recorded catches to reach that total. On the other side of the offensive numbers the backs had 211 yds rushing on 42 carries, with Arian Foster leading the way with 139 yds on 21 attempts. That gave the Vols 470 yards of total offense. MSU managed 338 yds total offense with 203 coming in the air and only 135 coming on the ground. Probably just the opposite of what most would have expected going into the game. Carroll finished 18-33 on the day with no turnovers and two touchdowns. Tennessee place kicker Daniel Lincoln, at times the only bright spot of the team, was 4/5 on field goals missing his first field goal of the year early in the second quarter. Next up for the Vols is the Bammers and the Bionic Coach. It is an 11:30 Lincoln Financial broadcast. Thanks a lot. LF this is UT BAMA???? WTH!!!!! This is a new low! Will share a few entries on this weeks game in the days to come. Look for them!

Thursday, October 11, 2007

How to Silence a Cowbell



Well boys and girls I have finally surrendered the fight and have given in. I will make my first gameday appearance at the Mississippi State game. I thought I wouldn't make one this year. But like I keep saying, "What a difference a week makes." The Georgia game lit fires in a few people, I just hope the fire has grown larger in the boys in uniform. I have my worries. There are concerns, this is the team that outlasted the Tigers. This is the same team that have beat Bammer, and Florida in the past three years. But the boys in Orange looked as good as any team in the country last week. The key to the game like any game is to score early. If we can get up early and force State to have to throw the ball, that should play right into our hands. But Cutcliffe is going to have to take the MSU pass rush out of the mix. He looked awesome last week with creativity in the play calling. Lets just hope we can carry some momentum. Is a 1:30 Kick, so there is time to hang out, and maybe watch the first hour and a half of the Ol Miss v. Bammer game. Then in to my seats which are probably among the bells. You think I can single handed enforce the SEC no Noisemaker rule? Yeah I didn't think so.

Sunday, October 7, 2007

Oh What a difference a week makes!!!


I keep saying it. And week after week it becomes more and more relevant. Last week it looked as tough a couple of more wins is the best we could hope for in a season of turmoil. The coach was out, and we spent the majority of our time talking about who we thought the next Head Coach would be. Coach Fulmer has returned himself to the status of Genius, for one week anyway, and the team is back atop the SEC Eastern standings. They share that spot, but they are out of the cellar. Oh the difference a week makes.


I made the comment at the beginning of the broadcast that I did not have good feelings. To a Tennessee Vol, the Pride of the Southland Band forming the "T" and opening up to make way for the players to enter the field is a religious experience. When it opened Saturday for the first time i did not see a lot of life from the men. They seemed almost laid back and reserved, that scared the bejesus out of me. I notice things such as that. The worries continued when we lined up to kick-off to the bully-dogs. But surprise!!!!!!! WE COVERED!!! We actually had some life on Special Teams ! Where has that been in the last, I don't know, ten years? Defense looked great, did you hear me? THE DEFENSE LOOKED AWESOME! Georgia came into the game on the shoulders of a strong running game. If you watched their effort against Alabama they ran the ball well, and Moreno looked good out of the backfield on the little outlet passes. Never happened. Georgia was held to 69 yards rushing on 25 attempts. Moreno had 30 yds on 13 carries. Almost sixty yards below his season average. Brown was held to 20 yds before aggravating a shoulder injury that removed him from the game. Stafford was not much better, 16 of 34 for 174 yds, with 1 int and 2 touchdowns. Another couple of astounding stats, only one turnover, and NO FIELD GOAL ATTEMPTS. But we did get a blocked punt, something we only get in games against Georgia. But after the two penalties tacked on it was like a punt. Thirty yards penalized on one play. And why we are on the subject of penalties, the second touchdown should have never happened. I think the crew totally blew this one. We intercepted the ball, with Georgia interfering on the play. They called it defensive interference giving Georgia first and goal. Worst call I have seen all year. On the offensive side of the ball it was the best game called by David Cutcliffe in a long time. Very balenced, kept them guessing, and gutsy. Ainge was 17 of 22 for 165 yards and no tds or ints. Lucas taylor was one for one passing for 56 yards and a touchdown for a combined 18 of 23 for 222 yds and one touchdown. The Vols ran by committee with no less than five players with positive yards rushing with Arian Foster leading the way with 98 yds on 17 carries for a 5.8 yd aveage and 3 touchdowns. Hardesty added 68 yds on 14 carries for a 4.9 yd average and one touchdown. All in all the good guys ended up with 411 total offensive yards. Not Bad, and believe me the game was not as close as the 35-14 score would lead you to believe.


In the press conference after the game, Coach Fulmer took a route similar to Coach Gundy at Okie State. The Knoxville News Sentinel's John Pennington wrote an article that was published in Saturday mornings paper. The same paper that is handed out to fans before the game. In that article he was very critical of the team and Coach Fulmer. The same way every other member of the Orange Nation has done. But he went a little deeper and apparently quoted former players who questioned the teams development and conditioning.

Let me quote Randy Moore of Scout.com. "Even in the after-glow of a huge victory, Fulmer's face grew taut with anger when he shifted his focus to the Pennington article mere minutes into Saturday night's post-game remarks.
“I would want to address one thing just quickly,” he said. “Ordinarily, I'm a pretty big boy and I can take and ignore most anything that might come up. But I thought it was an incredible cheap shot to say something about former players ... unnamed players talking about our program, particularly on a day when we had a big game like this and a lot of prospects coming in.
“It just hit a danged nerve, and I don't appreciate it. I don't usually respond that way but I think in this case our football team and our program deserves a response to something like that.
“I have relationships with our players that have been through this program, and if they've got something they want to say they can certainly say it to me at any time. I don't believe they would go through some person that's never walked on our practice "


Apparently the pressure is getting to the staffs and they are lashing out. Hope this doesn't go too far. But the season is only half over, so time will only tell. Will try to come back later and will talk about LSU and the Bionic coach. And by the way, Check out http://www.fulmersbelly.com/ "The biggest thing in SEC sports." Have started contributing, let me know what you think.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

I am cheating on you


I have a confession to make.........I have another blog. I am sorry but one is just not enough for me anymore. I have started contributing to Fulmers Belly... The biggest thing in Sec Football. Is a humerous site that we use to poke fun at ourselves and others. Here is my latest Post. Please go and leave me a comment and let me know what you think!!








Thursday, October 4, 2007

For all those wanting an official gauge

I really think this weeks game will determine the fate of Coach. Have heard all the same murmurs about an ultimatum given to him before the season. I think this week will show what kind of team we truly possess.

Two teams, no identity, so just enjoy the pics.