I wonder if this is the societal addiction to novelty that we're seeing?
People are now valuing novelty over things that take scores of years to build. Novelty is easy. Novelty just takes money--and usually other people's money. Tradition can't be purchased. Tradition can't be built in a day or even a decade. The only easy thing you can do with tradition is destroy it.
Novelty for novelty's sake is--by definition--frivolous, and antithetical to building a brand that has character. If you want novelty, why not design your own Tennessee shirt and wear it proudly? Using novelty to say something about yourself as one individual is appropriate and healthy. But wanting everyone else, an entire fanbase, to desire or accept your novelty... that's something different, psychologically and culturally.
The ultimate irony is that right now, maybe the most important thing that separates Tennessee teams from most other programs (like Georgia) is the emphasis on recruiting character. If ever there was a time to make valuing of character a part of our brand... it's now.
IMHO