Things I miss...

#30
#30
LadyinOrange said:
I remember when the week before the Florida game was pure agony for me. I would scour the internet for anything that would give me confidence that we would win. I would drive my friends and family crazy asking their predictions and then getting mad if they predicted a Vol loss. I would send mean e-mails to poor sportswriters who had anything good to say about Florida and question their sanity. There was no sleeping the night before the game. Many of those pregame nights were spent right here on VN, making fun of the Gators and talking smack to any Gator fan who dared to rear their (ugly) head. My sister still teases me about calling me after a Vol victory over a Spurrier team and I was crying so hard I couldn't even talk.
Those days have been gone for years now. Maybe I just got old. Maybe I got used to losing to so many other teams that losing to the lizards ceased to matter. I still want the Vols to win. I still believe they can. But man, I miss the days when it mattered to me.
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Know what I miss? Seeing our trophy mod posting on a regular basis! hi.gif

Seriously I'm with you. I used to get all worked up over these games. Now, win or lose I put it out of my mind pretty quickly. I still love my Vols, and cheer loudly for them every Saturday. But I don't let it affect my mood like it used to.
 
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#32
#32
Yes, college football goes in cycles but not every team is destined to be great again and UT has quickly become irrelevant. College football is littered with teams who never returned to their once prominent status: Pitt, Notre Dame, Michigan, Nebraska, UCLA, Rutgers, etc. There are no guarantees and this notion that UT is one coach away from relevance is nonsense. We have been saying we are one coach away for four coaches now. Fans of every team search for relevance and we are no different. Those of us who experienced the 90's and early 2000's are very lucky to have been old enough to enjoy some of UT's best years. The college football landscape has shifted because the nation has shifted in terms of where people live and how people communicate. Georgia is going to be a power for the foreseeable future no matter who the coach is because Atlanta is a massive population center and it continues to grow. Florida has experienced massive growth population wise and it will continue to be a major source of recruits. The Carolinas are growing as well as Virginia. UT used to dominate those areas in recruiting. Nashville has seen massive growth but it isn't an overly dominant area for UT athletics, Vanderbilt has benefitted greatly from it. We can claim that we are one coach away but until we produce lasting relationships in Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas it doesn't matter who the coach is. The only way we are going to make in roads back into those areas is by winning and the only way we are going to win consistently is through recruiting. It is a very hard cycle to break and some programs don't do it.
 
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#36
#36
I miss:

tear away jerseys and cut off jerseys
sitting on the hill at Neyland
Jet sweeps
Neck rolls and big shoulder pads
the "Beer Barrel" vs Kentucky
a cigar after a win over Bama
the wishbone...UT didn't run it, but it was fun to watch
going to the Sugar Bowl meaning everything.

:cool:
 
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#37
#37
LadyinOrange said:
I remember when the week before the Florida game was pure agony for me. I would scour the internet for anything that would give me confidence that we would win. I would drive my friends and family crazy asking their predictions and then getting mad if they predicted a Vol loss. I would send mean e-mails to poor sportswriters who had anything good to say about Florida and question their sanity. There was no sleeping the night before the game. Many of those pregame nights were spent right here on VN, making fun of the Gators and talking smack to any Gator fan who dared to rear their (ugly) head. My sister still teases me about calling me after a Vol victory over a Spurrier team and I was crying so hard I couldn't even talk.
Those days have been gone for years now. Maybe I just got old. Maybe I got used to losing to so many other teams that losing to the lizards ceased to matter. I still want the Vols to win. I still believe they can. But man, I miss the days when it mattered to me.
Click to expand...

B5407544-1BA8-430E-8221-D936850E59D8.jpeg

I feel ya! Those were the days...
 
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#40
#40
VOL Nation needs you to welcome that fuzzy, stomach in knots, stressed out, kicking & screaming feeling back LIO!!!
I need to change my name to BleedinOrangeinFL and prefer to be driving around Tampa/St Pete after giving the lizards a beat down this year!!! Just like 2 years ago. Let's not discuss last years game while I was surrounded by 12 Gators fans,,,,, See, it still matters!!!!
Like my license plates have screamed for 25 years,,,, GO VOLS!!!!!!
 
#41
#41
I didn't mean to stir up any negativity with this thread. I sincerely hope that this new generation of Vol fans someday gets to see another undefeated season. I hope they get used to being pre-season top 10. I hope they hear the Vols mentioned with respect and awe on every sports channel and radio show. I hope they see TV cameras torn down with the goalposts and thrown into the Tennessee river. But most of all, I hope they stay true through the good times and the bad. Yes, I've lost some enthusiasm and hesitate to get my hopes up anymore, but even if we never win another game, I will still say Go Big Orange and sing Rocky Top till I'm dead. ♥
 
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#43
#43
landscapingvol said:
Yes, college football goes in cycles but not every team is destined to be great again and UT has quickly become irrelevant. College football is littered with teams who never returned to their once prominent status: Pitt, Notre Dame, Michigan, Nebraska, UCLA, Rutgers, etc. There are no guarantees and this notion that UT is one coach away from relevance is nonsense. We have been saying we are one coach away for four coaches now. Fans of every team search for relevance and we are no different. Those of us who experienced the 90's and early 2000's are very lucky to have been old enough to enjoy some of UT's best years. The college football landscape has shifted because the nation has shifted in terms of where people live and how people communicate. Georgia is going to be a power for the foreseeable future no matter who the coach is because Atlanta is a massive population center and it continues to grow. Florida has experienced massive growth population wise and it will continue to be a major source of recruits. The Carolinas are growing as well as Virginia. UT used to dominate those areas in recruiting. Nashville has seen massive growth but it isn't an overly dominant area for UT athletics, Vanderbilt has benefitted greatly from it. We can claim that we are one coach away but until we produce lasting relationships in Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas it doesn't matter who the coach is. The only way we are going to make in roads back into those areas is by winning and the only way we are going to win consistently is through recruiting. It is a very hard cycle to break and some programs don't do it.
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The facts do not support your argument. We have gotten top 10 and top 15 recruiting classes consistently even with awful coaches. If a program can consistently get top 15 classes then, logically, they should be in the top 15 pretty consistently. Naturally this assumes competent coaching and proper development of the players. Hence why people say "we are a coach away from being able to compete at the top again". Because if a competent coach, meaning one who knows how evaluate players, develop players, and manage a roster, can consistently recruit top 10-15 then over time that gap between where we are today and the Georgia's narrows. Then you get veteran team or 1-2 game changing players and beat one of those top teams and then suddenly you are consistently getting 5-10 classes consistently and gap narrows even further.

Long story short. If Derek Dooley and Butch Jones can get top 10 classes to TN, well that is proof we are not near dead and we are, in fact, a competent coach away from being competitive again. Nebraska, UCLA, Rutgers, Pitt... when have they recently gotten a top 10 recruiting class? Even a top 20? Notre Dame played in the MNC a few years ago. Michigan has been to 2 BCS bowls in the past 7yrs.
 
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#45
#45
I miss John Ward more than anything, there I said it.
I grew up listening to John Ward and Bill Anderson and it became part of my soul, I think?
 
#46
#46
LadyinOrange said:
I didn't mean to stir up any negativity with this thread. I sincerely hope that this new generation of Vol fans someday gets to see another undefeated season. I hope they get used to being pre-season top 10. I hope they hear the Vols mentioned with respect and awe on every sports channel and radio show. I hope they see TV cameras torn down with the goalposts and thrown into the Tennessee river. But most of all, I hope they stay true through the good times and the bad. Yes, I've lost some enthusiasm and hesitate to get my hopes up anymore, but even if we never win another game, I will still say Go Big Orange and sing Rocky Top till I'm dead. ♥
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I was 10 the last time we went undefeated. 5th grade. Now I’m 30, married, have a child and own a business. But I’m still waiting patiently.

I get what you’re saying. Each year, it gets a little less exciting. I haven’t attended a game this year, and probably won’t. There are just better things to do than all the effort it takes to get to Knoxville, spend a couple of days there and hundreds if not $1,000 to watch us play UTEP. And why even bother going to a game like Bama? We’re going to lose by 40. Financially, that’s not a good investment lol. I, too, am hoping those feelings return. I miss going up there with a group of friends ready to watch two giants collide. But it’s been a while. 2007 is long gone.
 
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#47
#47
thehill98 said:
I also miss caring about watching other teams and how well they do affect our ranking, standing, and projections. I used to enjoy watching other games because it affected us so much and it made it more fun and entertaining. Outside of a while in 2016 we haven’t had that in a lot of years.
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I agree with you whole heartedly. I used to spend the entire day flipping through channels to see what all the other scores were, now I just wait for our game... watch it, as of the last several years I watch in disbelief, then when it's over I flip the TV off.
 
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#48
#48
LadyinOrange said:
I remember when the week before the Florida game was pure agony for me. I would scour the internet for anything that would give me confidence that we would win. I would drive my friends and family crazy asking their predictions and then getting mad if they predicted a Vol loss. I would send mean e-mails to poor sportswriters who had anything good to say about Florida and question their sanity. There was no sleeping the night before the game. Many of those pregame nights were spent right here on VN, making fun of the Gators and talking smack to any Gator fan who dared to rear their (ugly) head. My sister still teases me about calling me after a Vol victory over a Spurrier team and I was crying so hard I couldn't even talk.
Those days have been gone for years now. Maybe I just got old. Maybe I got used to losing to so many other teams that losing to the lizards ceased to matter. I still want the Vols to win. I still believe they can. But man, I miss the days when it mattered to me.
Click to expand...
When it comes to football, I miss the days before conference expansion. I remember when getting to the Sugar Bowl was the aim and national titles just weren’t all that important. I miss ties (hate overtime) and bowls that had meaning and were played in either Florida, Cali or New Orleans.
I miss the ‘VOLS’ on top of the south stands. I miss the Roman Room. I miss the Knoxville Journals sports page.
 
#49
#49
chatt-townVOL said:
I think everyone just needs to suck it up. Football goes in cycles, everyone knows that. Alabama had a brutal stretch as well, and for a long time, and look where they are now.

Just two years ago, even as down as we have been, we had College Gameday show up at our games more than anywhere else. At one point that year we were a Top 10 team playing a Top 10 matchup against Bama, and we had a team that by all means was a playoff-level squad. Do you know how many teams in football would give anything just to be somewhat within reach of that kind of relevance just one time?

Had our coaching staff been semi-competent, who knows what that team could have accomplished. During our worst years, we still found NFL talent and national relevancy. This program is a solid coaching staff away from that relevancy being consistent.

Everyone quit crying. It’s Florida week.
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Thank you for being the voice of reason.
 
#50
#50
landscapingvol said:
Yes, college football goes in cycles but not every team is destined to be great again and UT has quickly become irrelevant. College football is littered with teams who never returned to their once prominent status: Pitt, Notre Dame, Michigan, Nebraska, UCLA, Rutgers, etc. There are no guarantees and this notion that UT is one coach away from relevance is nonsense. We have been saying we are one coach away for four coaches now. Fans of every team search for relevance and we are no different. Those of us who experienced the 90's and early 2000's are very lucky to have been old enough to enjoy some of UT's best years. The college football landscape has shifted because the nation has shifted in terms of where people live and how people communicate. Georgia is going to be a power for the foreseeable future no matter who the coach is because Atlanta is a massive population center and it continues to grow. Florida has experienced massive growth population wise and it will continue to be a major source of recruits. The Carolinas are growing as well as Virginia. UT used to dominate those areas in recruiting. Nashville has seen massive growth but it isn't an overly dominant area for UT athletics, Vanderbilt has benefitted greatly from it. We can claim that we are one coach away but until we produce lasting relationships in Georgia, Florida, and the Carolinas it doesn't matter who the coach is. The only way we are going to make in roads back into those areas is by winning and the only way we are going to win consistently is through recruiting. It is a very hard cycle to break and some programs don't do it.
Click to expand...
Oh get the heck out of here with that crap. It took Alabama time to finally get their guy as well. And as far as Georgia is concerned, they've always had great in-state talent. That's nothing new. Atlanta? Tennessee has two cities that are bigger (Memphis and Nashville) that are producing tons of talent. Heck, even the Knoxville area is starting to produce more talent. I think we will be 'Aight.' I sometimes wonder if you negative people are trolls. How can someone be so delusionally negative about a team they are a fan of?
 
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