From an outsider, who does Tennessee view as their rivals?

#76
#76
OldVol said:
Saban recently said on game day that Tennessee was a bigger rival to Bama than Auburn.
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...to the players on the teams that he coached. Very few Alabama fans I've come across hate Tennessee more than Auburn, especially their younger fans.
 
#77
#77
05_never_again said:
Tennessee is a little unique in that there isn't a consensus among our own fans who our biggest rival is, and none of the teams our fans would consider to be our biggest rival see Tennessee as their biggest rival. Conversely, we in no way consider Vandy and Kentucky to be big rivals but they both consider us to be their biggest rival.

It is also a generational thing. Most fans 55+ and under-25 would probably say our biggest rival is Alabama. A lot of people who came of age in the 90s and early 2000s would probably say Florida.
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This. Born in the mid 80s, grew up in the 90s. We beat Bama a lot, didn’t beat Florida much. I hate Florida a tad more.
 
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#79
#79
Went to UT in the 90’s and have always hated Florida more than Bama. I would say historically our biggest rival is Bama though
 
#81
#81
Bama and Florida are the collective top 2.

Then I think everyone has individuals rivals that are personal. For me , growing up in Georgia and seeing all the bandwagons that started in the early 2000s (literally no one was a barking Georgia fan until then) I loathe them- their recent dominance over us makes me hate them more.
 
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#82
#82
Probably depends on the age and where you're from. Im from and reside in Ga., so Ga has always meant more to me, with Florida an extremely close 2nd because of how they have owned us. Then Bama. We call KY and Vandy rivals, but that means more to their fans than ours.
 
#83
#83
In football, it's Bama and everyone else is a distant second. If I was forced to name someone as our biggest all-sports rival it would be Kentucky, followed by Vanderbilt and then Bama.
 
#86
#86
madbamahater said:
Bubba, because no other team has beaten them more than the Vols and before Saban it was nearly a dead heat.

UF since the 90s, but they've owned us unfortunately.

UGA we owned them until the last decade.

Kentucky is the bastard stepchild and Vandie is lil sis

A true orange blooded Vol fan hates Bubba and Vandie always in everything they do with every fiber of your body, or by definition, you aren't a real Vol fan.
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Agreed.

Arkansas is really starting to piss me off also. Fun to eat their lunch in baseball, and looking forward to watching the slow demise of Coach Cal in Fayetteville.

I love that he has Jonas Aidoo now.
 
#87
#87
For me, it's Bama, Florida, and Georgia.
Bama because it's a true, classic, traditional rivalry recognized across the college football landscape.
Florida because of Steve Spurrier and all of the heartbreak they caused us in the 90s.
Georgia because they are a neighboring state, and they are beating us regularly these days.
I consider the season a success if we beat Florida and Bama. If we can only beat one, let it be Florida. I dislike those guys more than Bama.
 
#88
#88
loosecannon said:
I feel like the answer to this question also reveals the decade at which you became a fan.
I would expect a lot of older fans to probably say Alabama first and then a Kentucky.

Those of us who started watching in the 90s hate Florida and to this day I care about that game more than all others combined.

Vanderbilt is an in-state opponent but the series is so one-sided that I still struggle to call them a rival.

Kentucky is someone that we universally hate in all sports, so I would argue they are the university’s biggest all-around rival but maybe not the biggest football rival.
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What he (or she) said.

I started watching at the end of the Andy Kelly/beginning of Heath Shuler era and I do agree that historically, Bama & Vandy are probably our biggest rivals.

But I also want to beat Florida more than any team every year. I wouldn't say they are our biggest rival, but they have definitely been our biggest nemesis for the last 30 years.
 
#91
#91
Born before 1995: Bama
Born after 1995: Florida
There is some gap too, id say 1980s kids hate Florida too, but my 1995 experience is that our parents hated Florida a lot right as we were growing up and then Bama nuked us throughout our teenage years, I've always hated Florida a lot more than Bama, and nothing changes that, it is subjective. I'm sure some vol fan hates Missouri more than anyone, there's no right answer
 
#93
#93
VolForLife83 said:
Probably depends on the age and where you're from. Im from and reside in Ga., so Ga has always meant more to me, with Florida an extremely close 2nd because of how they have owned us. Then Bama. We call KY and Vandy rivals, but that means more to their fans than ours.
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Let us lose to them a couple years in a row and watch the hate grow. This would be the perfect place for a Sith emoji insert, but not from me. Can you imagine the chatter we would have to listen to after the punishment those programs have taken from us?
 
#94
#94
Alto1 said:
Absolutely ^ THIS!!
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There is no other answer. I hate bama the way cats hate water. We started the fight before anyone else even knew the were the enemy. We continue to fight the good fight for the good of college football. It was definitely high tide today. Drink in their suck. It will get through the hard times .
 
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#96
#96
Midas said:
Idk a lot of Bama fans see Tennessee as an actual football rivalry as opposed to Auburn just being an instate rivalry. This is the sentiment among my friends who graduated from Bama. The amount of hate they had towards us even when we sucked was pretty crazy just like when they sucked late 90s til Saban we still hated them as much as ever. When Auburn sucks I hardly hear my friends even mention them.
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Got a gump buddy that said it pretty well, he said "we only have real 2 rivals,UT and auburn. I hate auburn because I have to . I hate tennessee because I want to. I have heard it said other ways .burn is their rival , we are their enemy.
 
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