OrangeBlitz
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For those of you that can't be bothered, there is a TL;DR at the end. 
I came by it honestly.
My dad is a Vols fan, my grandfather was a Vols fan, all my uncles were Vols fans. I suppose that's not odd, since I was born in Knoxville. I've always loved football. I'll watch football in any form...from the Super Bowl, to a peewee match where half the touchdowns are run to the wrong endzone.
By far, though, my favorite football is College, and my favorite team is, as I have already alluded to, Tennessee. I remember attending my first game in Neyland. I was 9 or 10 years old. Dad worked for TVA and a friend of his had season tickets. We got to attend two games from tickets passed along from that friend, one was Ole Miss, and the other Vandy. We won both games, but the thing I remember most was the anticipation of parking miles away and walking to the stadium. I was actually going to get to see my beloved Vols play in person. Watching on TV was nice, and John Ward always made the games come alive over the radio, but to see Willie Gault streak for a touchdown with my own two eyes would be something special.
It was. With those first two trips to Neyland, any possible ghost of a chance of me ever switching teams was irrevocably erased. I am a VFL. Skip ahead to my college days. I hadn't gotten to go to any more games since those first two. I'm not sure if Dad's friend didn't keep his season tickets, or if we didn't get anymore for different reasons, but the fact remains that we did not. But now I was a student. I could get my own tickets. And that I did...I skipped a Chemistry class to stand in line so I could get a good seat to the Bama game. I ended up around the 35 yard line, and even though we lost 6-9 (I'll admit to not saying favorable things about Greg Burke that day), I still had a phenomenal time actually going to the game. I got tickets to the Notre Dame game that year too (another loss *grumble*), but I remember thinking how much faster Rocket Ismail was in person than he looked on TV.
Fast forward again to 5 years ago. A friend of mine had an elderly father who had tickets since before the dawn of time. The Dad was getting too old to walk up and down the steps at the stadium, and the brothers were more watch on TV kind of guys, so they let me buy the tickets. I cannot stress enough how thrilled I was. I was actually going to get to see all the games in person (well...home games, but you know what I mean). I can't count how many times, in my youth, I uttered the phrase, "It would be nice to get UT season tickets, but somebody has to DIE for that to happen." And now I was going to be in possession of a pair. They weren't "really" mine, but I'd still get to see the games. I kept those tickets for a couple of years, until my wife and I started down the road to adoption. I'm not sure whether or not you're aware, but those are even more expensive than season tickets. I decided to let the tickets go, so we could use every bit of spare money we had on the adoption. Shortly after, my friends father passed away and so I couldn't pick the tickets back up.
Then last year happened. I remember distinctly sitting on the couch on the Saturday of the USCjr. game. I had not been watching (I know, I know..."You're not REALLY a VFL if you don't watch every second of every game"...there are only so many times you can have your heart ripped out before you get a little gun shy though) but I heard about the injury to Lattimore. I was sorry to hear that, as from all I've heard, he's a really good guy, so I turned over to the game to see what the extent of the injury might be. I was pleasantly surprised to find out we were winning. My wife and I watched for a while, and at the beginning of the fourth quarter, I turned to her and relayed the following. "You know, when I was young, my Dad and Grandfather were pessimistic about UT games. They were fans, but they'd always expect a loss when things went poorly. Not me. I would be right there in the fourth quarter saying, we can win this...I know we can. Many times we did...some we didn't, but there was always that faith that we could. Now...I'm just wondering HOW we're gonna lose to South Carolina. Not if...how." And we found a way.
So that is where I found myself when Butch Jones got the nod to take over for Dooley. To tell the truth, I was unfamiliar with his resume, as I am sure many were. I watched while he went through his first few days as head coach and was pleasantly surprised. He seemed to have a handle on what Tennessee Football should be. I know that all new coaches come in and peddle their own brand of Rah Rah, but Butch came across as actually believing what he said. I loved the way he preached family, and got the old players involved in the team again. If you don't believe new recruits will pay attention when Peyton Manning, Al Wilson, and Eric Berry tweet about their love for UT, you're deluding yourself. I attended the O/W game on Saturday and felt my old flame stir again. I really feel we'll have a decent season. I think we'll play more competitively. I don't think we'll give up half way through the third quarter...if not before. I think I'll find myself, once again, in the position of believing we CAN win when down in the fourth.
So, it was with those things in mind that for the first time today, officially, I became the proud owner of two University of Tennessee Football Season Tickets. I have dreamed for years of being a season ticket owner. I realize I had the tickets for a couple of years earlier, but somehow this seems different. They are MINE.
I am excited about what's to come for our team...this year and in the near future. I think it will be good. It obviously strikes a chord with me to produce such a literary opus to say....
TL;DR I bought season tickets this year for the first time.
I came by it honestly.
My dad is a Vols fan, my grandfather was a Vols fan, all my uncles were Vols fans. I suppose that's not odd, since I was born in Knoxville. I've always loved football. I'll watch football in any form...from the Super Bowl, to a peewee match where half the touchdowns are run to the wrong endzone.
By far, though, my favorite football is College, and my favorite team is, as I have already alluded to, Tennessee. I remember attending my first game in Neyland. I was 9 or 10 years old. Dad worked for TVA and a friend of his had season tickets. We got to attend two games from tickets passed along from that friend, one was Ole Miss, and the other Vandy. We won both games, but the thing I remember most was the anticipation of parking miles away and walking to the stadium. I was actually going to get to see my beloved Vols play in person. Watching on TV was nice, and John Ward always made the games come alive over the radio, but to see Willie Gault streak for a touchdown with my own two eyes would be something special.
It was. With those first two trips to Neyland, any possible ghost of a chance of me ever switching teams was irrevocably erased. I am a VFL. Skip ahead to my college days. I hadn't gotten to go to any more games since those first two. I'm not sure if Dad's friend didn't keep his season tickets, or if we didn't get anymore for different reasons, but the fact remains that we did not. But now I was a student. I could get my own tickets. And that I did...I skipped a Chemistry class to stand in line so I could get a good seat to the Bama game. I ended up around the 35 yard line, and even though we lost 6-9 (I'll admit to not saying favorable things about Greg Burke that day), I still had a phenomenal time actually going to the game. I got tickets to the Notre Dame game that year too (another loss *grumble*), but I remember thinking how much faster Rocket Ismail was in person than he looked on TV.
Fast forward again to 5 years ago. A friend of mine had an elderly father who had tickets since before the dawn of time. The Dad was getting too old to walk up and down the steps at the stadium, and the brothers were more watch on TV kind of guys, so they let me buy the tickets. I cannot stress enough how thrilled I was. I was actually going to get to see all the games in person (well...home games, but you know what I mean). I can't count how many times, in my youth, I uttered the phrase, "It would be nice to get UT season tickets, but somebody has to DIE for that to happen." And now I was going to be in possession of a pair. They weren't "really" mine, but I'd still get to see the games. I kept those tickets for a couple of years, until my wife and I started down the road to adoption. I'm not sure whether or not you're aware, but those are even more expensive than season tickets. I decided to let the tickets go, so we could use every bit of spare money we had on the adoption. Shortly after, my friends father passed away and so I couldn't pick the tickets back up.
Then last year happened. I remember distinctly sitting on the couch on the Saturday of the USCjr. game. I had not been watching (I know, I know..."You're not REALLY a VFL if you don't watch every second of every game"...there are only so many times you can have your heart ripped out before you get a little gun shy though) but I heard about the injury to Lattimore. I was sorry to hear that, as from all I've heard, he's a really good guy, so I turned over to the game to see what the extent of the injury might be. I was pleasantly surprised to find out we were winning. My wife and I watched for a while, and at the beginning of the fourth quarter, I turned to her and relayed the following. "You know, when I was young, my Dad and Grandfather were pessimistic about UT games. They were fans, but they'd always expect a loss when things went poorly. Not me. I would be right there in the fourth quarter saying, we can win this...I know we can. Many times we did...some we didn't, but there was always that faith that we could. Now...I'm just wondering HOW we're gonna lose to South Carolina. Not if...how." And we found a way.
So that is where I found myself when Butch Jones got the nod to take over for Dooley. To tell the truth, I was unfamiliar with his resume, as I am sure many were. I watched while he went through his first few days as head coach and was pleasantly surprised. He seemed to have a handle on what Tennessee Football should be. I know that all new coaches come in and peddle their own brand of Rah Rah, but Butch came across as actually believing what he said. I loved the way he preached family, and got the old players involved in the team again. If you don't believe new recruits will pay attention when Peyton Manning, Al Wilson, and Eric Berry tweet about their love for UT, you're deluding yourself. I attended the O/W game on Saturday and felt my old flame stir again. I really feel we'll have a decent season. I think we'll play more competitively. I don't think we'll give up half way through the third quarter...if not before. I think I'll find myself, once again, in the position of believing we CAN win when down in the fourth.
So, it was with those things in mind that for the first time today, officially, I became the proud owner of two University of Tennessee Football Season Tickets. I have dreamed for years of being a season ticket owner. I realize I had the tickets for a couple of years earlier, but somehow this seems different. They are MINE.
I am excited about what's to come for our team...this year and in the near future. I think it will be good. It obviously strikes a chord with me to produce such a literary opus to say....
TL;DR I bought season tickets this year for the first time.
