Looking for devoted Tennessee fans . . .

#1
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bainselbo

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Aug 23, 2006
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#1
Hey Tennessee Fans,
My name is Eric Bain-Selbo. I am chair of the religion and philosophy department at Lebanon Valley College. I'm also a UT grad (class of 1987). I am in the second year of research for a book about college football in the South. Last year I came to Knoxville and also had trips to Ole Miss and Georgia. This year I'm returning to Knoxville for the Cal game on Sept. 2, and will later go to Bama and LSU.

Part of my research involves meeting with committed fans--especially those with a strong tailgating tradition. I have a short survey card that I have people fill out, and then talk with them briefly about Tennessee football (or Georgia, etc.) and what it means to them. If you are such a fan and would like to help me with this project, please send me an e-mail at selbo@lvc.edu. Either I can get a cell phone number to find you on game day or you can give me directions to and descriptions of your tailgating site. Either way, I'll come to you.

Go Vols,
Eric
 
#2
#2
This is either an interesting project . . .or an innovative way to eat other people's chicken and drink free beer.
 
#3
#3
LOL GAVOL! I was thinking the same thing. "So you are passionate about football, are you going to eat that?"
 
#4
#4
we like to think we have a pretty good tradition right now, especially when it comes to tailgating. i'll help. you will have mail soon.
 
#8
#8
Thanks. I liked it. I have the Neyland Stadium Coffeetable book, and in the front cover I wrote....

"Of all the great, historic, and important things that have happened inside this great stadium, on this sacred field, none are as meaningful and important to me, as the day I asked Gina to be my wife. 10-22-04"
 
#9
#9
OrangeSquare said:
Thanks. I liked it. I have the Neyland Stadium Coffeetable book, and in the front cover I wrote....

"Of all the great, historic, and important things that have happened inside this great stadium, on this sacred field, none are as meaningful and important to me, as the day I asked Gina to be my wife. 10-22-04"
Click to expand...

Tennessee didn't play on 10-22-04? :wacko:
 
#10
#10
I did it the day before the Tennessee-Alabama game. Here's the story....

Back to the Checkerboards​

Before my wife and I even began dating, I gave her possibly the greatest present any southerner could give someone. I introduced her to Neyland Stadium on a college game day. It was the start of the 2003 season, and Tennessee was taking on Fresno St. on the blistering hot day of Sept. 6, 2003. Gina and I sat on opposite ends of a group of five. We didn’t get to talk to each other very much that day, but little did either of us know that one of the most important days in our lives would take place in that same stadium just a little over a year later.

Just as we began dating, I decided that I wanted to add some orange flair to my new house. I decided that I was going to paint a checkerboard design on the walls of one of the downstairs rooms, and turn that into my "Tennessee Room". I asked my new girlfriend to help me. She did, and as we spent over 29 man-hours on just the paintjob alone, we unknowingly were forming a symbol of our lives together. We still add to our "Tennessee Room" just about every time we go into the room. If it’s orange or sports the logo of the Tennessee Volunteers, we add it to our room. Building that room from the ground up and especially adding the checkerboard was perhaps the inspiration for me as I began planning the next step in our lives.

The 2003 season had passed, where we had gone to nine of the games together. We went to heartbreakers like Georgia and Clemson, and also thrilling victories like the overtime game against South Carolina, where she learned just how fanatic I was as I sat through the game with a temperature of over one hundred. As the season went on, we continued to build our relationship and our combined love for the Vols as we sat through five overtimes in Tuscaloosa Alabama as our Vols won 51-43, and the thrilling 10-6 win in Miami where the Vols ended the 26-game home winning streak.

As the 2004 season started, I made the decision to take our relationship to the next level. It was then that the inspiration of our "Tennessee Room" struck me and I began to plan our trip "Back to the Checkerboards". It was my vision, to ask Gina to be my wife at the fabled checkerboard’s of Neyland Stadium, because of the familiar pattern that held so much meaning to our relationship. With the help of Tennessee, I staged a tour of Neyland Stadium to take place the day before Tennessee played Alabama on October 22, 2004. She would take Gina and I on a mini-tour that included seeing the Vols’ new locker room and media relations’ room before walking us out onto the storied Shields-Watkins field at Neyland Stadium.

There we were, as Alabama players were beginning to come onto the field to prepare for their final walk-through before the game, standing at the North Endzone, having our picture taken. We were at the same endzone that the Vols run out of as they stream onto the field every home football game. We were at the same endzone that opposing team’s fans sit above to watch their team’s misfortunes unfold. We were at the same endzone that has seen many a classic moment, including Mose Phillip’s 70 yard rain soaked TD against Florida in 1992, and Peyton’s last bootleg for a TD against Vanderbilt in 1997. Most importantly, we were at the endzone where we would be beginning the rest of our lives together. That of course means that Gina said yes, and we left the field so that we could go to the Neyland Thompson Sports Center, to watch the Vols in their last walk through before the next day’s game.

We watched practice and had our picture taken with Coach Phillip Fulmer. That picture later became an autographed wedding gift at our reception. It now hangs in our "Tennessee Room". Also in that room, is a large picture book of Neyland Stadium. On the inside cover of that book are the following words, "Of all the great, historic, and important things that have happened inside this great stadium, on this sacred field, none are as meaningful and important to me, as the day I asked Gina to be my wife. 10-22-04"

On 10-23-04 we watched from the stands, as Tennessee defeated Alabama 17-13. On Alabama’s second offensive play of the game, defensive end Parys Haralson scooped up an Alabama fumble and returned it for a touchdown. As Haralson crossed the goal line we smiled a little bigger than the other 107,015 in attendance. Haralson had just ran into "our" endzone; he had returned the ball "Back to the Checkerboards".
 
#12
#12
OrangeSquare said:
I did it the day before the Tennessee-Alabama game. Here's the story....

Back to the Checkerboards​

Before my wife and I even began dating, I gave her possibly the greatest present any southerner could give someone. I introduced her to Neyland Stadium on a college game day. It was the start of the 2003 season, and Tennessee was taking on Fresno St. on the blistering hot day of Sept. 6, 2003. Gina and I sat on opposite ends of a group of five. We didn’t get to talk to each other very much that day, but little did either of us know that one of the most important days in our lives would take place in that same stadium just a little over a year later.

Just as we began dating, I decided that I wanted to add some orange flair to my new house. I decided that I was going to paint a checkerboard design on the walls of one of the downstairs rooms, and turn that into my "Tennessee Room". I asked my new girlfriend to help me. She did, and as we spent over 29 man-hours on just the paintjob alone, we unknowingly were forming a symbol of our lives together. We still add to our "Tennessee Room" just about every time we go into the room. If it’s orange or sports the logo of the Tennessee Volunteers, we add it to our room. Building that room from the ground up and especially adding the checkerboard was perhaps the inspiration for me as I began planning the next step in our lives.

The 2003 season had passed, where we had gone to nine of the games together. We went to heartbreakers like Georgia and Clemson, and also thrilling victories like the overtime game against South Carolina, where she learned just how fanatic I was as I sat through the game with a temperature of over one hundred. As the season went on, we continued to build our relationship and our combined love for the Vols as we sat through five overtimes in Tuscaloosa Alabama as our Vols won 51-43, and the thrilling 10-6 win in Miami where the Vols ended the 26-game home winning streak.

As the 2004 season started, I made the decision to take our relationship to the next level. It was then that the inspiration of our "Tennessee Room" struck me and I began to plan our trip "Back to the Checkerboards". It was my vision, to ask Gina to be my wife at the fabled checkerboard’s of Neyland Stadium, because of the familiar pattern that held so much meaning to our relationship. With the help of Tennessee, I staged a tour of Neyland Stadium to take place the day before Tennessee played Alabama on October 22, 2004. She would take Gina and I on a mini-tour that included seeing the Vols’ new locker room and media relations’ room before walking us out onto the storied Shields-Watkins field at Neyland Stadium.

There we were, as Alabama players were beginning to come onto the field to prepare for their final walk-through before the game, standing at the North Endzone, having our picture taken. We were at the same endzone that the Vols run out of as they stream onto the field every home football game. We were at the same endzone that opposing team’s fans sit above to watch their team’s misfortunes unfold. We were at the same endzone that has seen many a classic moment, including Mose Phillip’s 70 yard rain soaked TD against Florida in 1992, and Peyton’s last bootleg for a TD against Vanderbilt in 1997. Most importantly, we were at the endzone where we would be beginning the rest of our lives together. That of course means that Gina said yes, and we left the field so that we could go to the Neyland Thompson Sports Center, to watch the Vols in their last walk through before the next day’s game.

We watched practice and had our picture taken with Coach Phillip Fulmer. That picture later became an autographed wedding gift at our reception. It now hangs in our "Tennessee Room". Also in that room, is a large picture book of Neyland Stadium. On the inside cover of that book are the following words, "Of all the great, historic, and important things that have happened inside this great stadium, on this sacred field, none are as meaningful and important to me, as the day I asked Gina to be my wife. 10-22-04"

On 10-23-04 we watched from the stands, as Tennessee defeated Alabama 17-13. On Alabama’s second offensive play of the game, defensive end Parys Haralson scooped up an Alabama fumble and returned it for a touchdown. As Haralson crossed the goal line we smiled a little bigger than the other 107,015 in attendance. Haralson had just ran into "our" endzone; he had returned the ball "Back to the Checkerboards".
Click to expand...


That's beautiful. MY husband popped the question while we were wrapping Christmas presents. :shakehead:
 
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