The cost of being a fan............

#51
#51
volzfanz said:
Journalists with ESPN and the NFL all ran stories of Gruden possibly coaching at UT. WREG-TV, a CBS affiliate in Memphis, reported that Gruden had an offer "in hand". How is any of that the fault of fans or as they are so lovingly called.....OGs? I doubt if CBS gets its info from message boards. Furthermore, when did the Athletic Depts policies and procedures become something that is none of the fans business? Must be when they stopped charging for tickets or maybe when the school declined private donations and federal or state funding. I admit that sometimes we, as fans, have lofty expectations, but is that any different from other fans across the country?
There are some real issues with the university and the Athletic Dept that really hinder this football programs ability to compete for players and coaches. That seems obvious and not even up for discussion. Just look at the downward spiral over the last few yrs. What those problems are remain a mystery and fans deserve to know why their monetary, not to mention emotional, investments are not paying the dividends that are expected. I hope CBJ will stop this runaway train and everyone will support this team going forward. But to accuse the fans of wanting too much is not only absurd, but insulting as well. Fans are the life blood of every team and should never have a ceiling placed on their expectations, unless it is not the goal of the team to be the absolute best at what they do.
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To be fair, something happened with Gruden. You don't go 10 days dead silent with rumors swirling as hard as they were. Both sides must have been talking and gaining significant ground. I don't know if it broke down at the very end, but it certainly got further than anyone will officially say.
 
#52
#52
SolidRockGolf said:
The funny part about the Tee Martin scene is that a lot of posters didn't want CDD to hire him last year when he was coming from Kentucky.

Now they think he's the best thing since sliced bread and then get upset that he didn't come.

His best option is to sit at USC for atleast 2 years and build a good resume there. It will definitely help him climb the coaching later.
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Yep. No point in uprooting the family and coming to Tennessee right now. He's got a good thing going, and if he keeps it up he may end up here in a much higher capacity soon enough.
 
#53
#53
Wii60 said:
To be fair, something happened with Gruden. You don't go 10 days dead silent with rumors swirling as hard as they were. Both sides must have been talking and gaining significant ground. I don't know if it broke down at the very end, but it certainly got further than anyone will officially say.
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I highly doubt it. I refuse to believe anyone on this board is connected to anything going on in the AD at this point. It's asinine to believe any of the rumors were based in fact.
 
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#54
#54
rockytop9808 said:
Yep. No point in uprooting the family and coming to Tennessee right now. He's got a good thing going, and if he keeps it up he may end up here in a much higher capacity soon enough.
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Family has to come before football and LA is a better fit. That said, I don't think he gets to parade around saying VFL as much as other Lettermen can.
 
#55
#55
Wii60 said:
Family has to come before football and LA is a better fit. That said, I don't think he gets to parade around saying VFL as much as other Lettermen can.
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Was he doing that in the first place?

The man helped lead our team to a national title. That's a big deal. There's zero reason to hate on him for not abandoning the job he's in now.
 
#56
#56
rockytop9808 said:
I highly doubt it. I refuse to believe anyone on this board is connected to anything going on in the AD at this point. It's asinine to believe any of the rumors were based in fact.
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The AD would have shut it down. Too much negative PR spent, they aren't idiots.
 
#57
#57
I understand your point.....You need to understand that UT does not coach this as a donation but as an investment in the future for our school and future students and players

I will send you the form and while it says donation it's on the back of a 3 page letter underlining progress made with students ,athletes and facilities

Boosters at the suggested donation should receive certain benefits and a degree of access depending on the size of your wallet.(This happens at EVERY school to some extent) This year we were stone walled with no communication and not even a letter explaining the no communication policy
This is a COMPLETE failure of the PR and Marketing Dept

I do not expect anything other than the degree of communication like Vince Dooley at Georgia
He communicates personally to all Boosters
he gives them a line to an admin that reports to him and he appears weekly year round on TV to discuss the good and to regulate the bad

The other thing I think maybe you don't appreciate is that while 90% of the donors aren't the Big money donors.,The school and programs NEED these people and count on these people and budget a certain percentage in the operating budget

There are big money donors at most schools Look at Arkansas..They have 2 MAJOR donors and it shows

Let's not easily cast aside 90% of the Boosters and tell them simply to leave becuse right now,or call the unreasonable victims we can't afford itThe minimum amount required has risen EVERY year and with all of the problems a Large percentage are leaving and taking their money to another place with less drama
We can't make up the loss of their"donations" by just selling a seat at the games


TNGlen said:
It's funny how the lower 90% of donors think they are owed something. First of all, UT is a business. It is run like a business and therefore it's books are not open for general public scrutiny unless you get a court order under the FOIA. Second, when the peeps that get a season ticket every year start thinking of the money that they spend as an investment, they are simply showing the value of the public education system. It isn't an investment, it is a donation. There is a big difference and people should educate themselves on this difference. Last, we aren't owed anything. If you don't like the way the AD is handling a situation, then STOP DONATING. It is really very simple. Just don't give them money. When they call to ask why tell them. Write letters, make phone calls, write editorials, but stop thinking that the people that run that University owe you anything. Hart answers to the top boosters....period. When they say jump, he says how high. When you as a fan become one of the top 1% of the boosters, then you get to make decisions and be in the know. Until then, just donate or don't donate and pull for the team or don't pull for the team. That is ALL you can do. This being owed mentality is endemic to the American Public today. It invades every facet of our lives. Grow up and stop being a victim.
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#59
#59
rockytop9808 said:
The people who got all riled up about Gruden are the same ones pissed at a grown man for not leaving a school where he's established himself to come to Tennessee. In other words, people with the intelligence of four-year-old children.
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I wanted coach Gruden and have absolutley no ill will toward Tee.

4 year old?
 
#60
#60
rockytop9808 said:
It wasn't very big (at least with any kind of seriousness) outside of places like VolNation.
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You can argue that any single source was just trying to generate viewership, but the sum of the outside sources not refuting everything even when the mainstream media touched on it lead me to strongly disagree with that notion.
 
#61
#61
TNGlen said:
Why is it that you and others refuse to believe the statements made by several including Guden's agent that Hart didn't talk to Gruden. The boosters were handling this and the Haslam's decided that they didn't want him. Hart was probably told to keep his mouth shut. STOP BEING A VICTIM. You lead yourself down a primrose path and then got pissed when you found out is wasn't true. If you want to complain, write Jim and Bill a letter and see how that works out for you.
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Then why not just squash the rumors from the get go? Gruden's agent didn't come out until late in the game to bust any notion of JG coming here. BTW, I'm not "pissed" about anything concerning UT athletics and In no way am i a "victim".... I do think UT fans have every right to expect our AD to go after the very best coaches available (whether fans need to be completely "in the loop" duringthe process is an entirely different matter... in short, we don't.) and if it doesn't work out, so be it but the AD needs to at least ask and apparently that wasn't the case here...FWIW, I believe jones will turn out to be a good hire... If not, I have other things in my life to devote attention to....
 
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#62
#62
gnm53108 said:
I wanted coach Gruden and have absolutley no ill will toward Tee.

4 year old?
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I don't think anyone would have been upset with Gruden, and I'm sure a lot of people wanted him.

The people I'm talking about are the ones who are now blaming basically the entire Tennessee administration for somehow ruining a deal that likely didn't exist in the first place, and are now *****ing and moaning about how we made a desperation hire because we couldn't close on the big one. There's a distinct difference between wanting a guy and whining when the pipe dream doesn't come to fruition.
 
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#63
#63
bluetickhound16 said:
Then why not just squash the rumors from the get go? Gruden's agent didn't come out until late in the game to bust any notion of JG coming here. BTW, I'm not "pissed" about anything concerning UT athletics and In no way am i a "victim".... I do think UT fans have every right to expect our AD to go after the very best coaches available (whether fans need to be completely "in the loop" duringthe process is an entirely different matter... in short, we don't.) and if it doesn't work out, so be it but the AD needs to at least ask and apparently that wasn't the case here...FWIW, I believe jones will turn out to be a good hire... If not, I have other things in my life to devote attention to....
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Because it's not the AD's job to keep people from being idiots.
 
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#65
#65
rockytop9808 said:
I don't think anyone would have been upset with Gruden, and I'm sure a lot of people wanted him.

The people I'm talking about are the ones who are now blaming basically the entire Tennessee administration for somehow ruining a deal that likely didn't exist in the first place, and are now *****ing and moaning about how we made a desperation hire because we couldn't close on the big one. There's a distinct difference between wanting a guy and whining when the pipe dream doesn't come to fruition.
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I think there was alittle more to it than you think but I gotcha.
 
#66
#66
rockytop9808 said:
I don't think anyone would have been upset with Gruden, and I'm sure a lot of people wanted him.

The people I'm talking about are the ones who are now blaming basically the entire Tennessee administration for somehow ruining a deal that likely didn't exist in the first place, and are now *****ing and moaning about how we made a desperation hire because we couldn't close on the big one. There's a distinct difference between wanting a guy and whining when the pipe dream doesn't come to fruition.
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You don't have to believe the AD blew it to believe that there were serious discussions. Sometimes things don't pan out.
 
#67
#67
rockytop9808 said:
Because it's not the AD's job to keep people from being idiots.
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Fair enough but why not keep yourself from looking like one also? Right or wrong, Hart appears (even by people completely unrelated or associated with UT) to have bungled this search. If Jones succeeds, as I feel he will, that perception will go away....
 
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#69
#69
rockytop9808 said:
It's pretty rare to see an AD come out and comment on baseless rumors. Usually nobody has any idea what's going on.
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I'm not sure the rumors were completely baseless... At one point even ESPN (among other news outlets) was reporting that Gruden had an offer from UT. You ate spot on about nobody usually knowing exactly whats going on. Most coaching searches (from my personal observation...) are MCF's until about 30 minutes before the hire is made....
 
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#72
#72
BandVOL said:
I understand your point.....You need to understand that UT does not coach this as a donation but as an investment in the future for our school and future students and players

I will send you the form and while it says donation it's on the back of a 3 page letter underlining progress made with students ,athletes and facilities

Boosters at the suggested donation should receive certain benefits and a degree of access depending on the size of your wallet.(This happens at EVERY school to some extent) This year we were stone walled with no communication and not even a letter explaining the no communication policy
This is a COMPLETE failure of the PR and Marketing Dept

I do not expect anything other than the degree of communication like Vince Dooley at Georgia
He communicates personally to all Boosters
he gives them a line to an admin that reports to him and he appears weekly year round on TV to discuss the good and to regulate the bad

The other thing I think maybe you don't appreciate is that while 90% of the donors aren't the Big money donors.,The school and programs NEED these people and count on these people and budget a certain percentage in the operating budget

There are big money donors at most schools Look at Arkansas..They have 2 MAJOR donors and it shows

Let's not easily cast aside 90% of the Boosters and tell them simply to leave becuse right now,or call the unreasonable victims we can't afford itThe minimum amount required has risen EVERY year and with all of the problems a Large percentage are leaving and taking their money to another place with less drama
We can't make up the loss of their"donations" by just selling a seat at the games
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I would reply if I could understand your post. The minimum amout to get a seat has been $500 or so per seat for YEARS. If you want to talk ticket price do so. When you put in 1000 a year don't expect to get treated the same as someone that donates 1,000 times that every year. Stop *****ing about not getting told everything that goes on in the AD. If you think you are being put upon, you are a victim.
 
#73
#73
bluetickhound16 said:
Then why not just squash the rumors from the get go? Gruden's agent didn't come out until late in the game to bust any notion of JG coming here. BTW, I'm not "pissed" about anything concerning UT athletics and In no way am i a "victim".... I do think UT fans have every right to expect our AD to go after the very best coaches available (whether fans need to be completely "in the loop" duringthe process is an entirely different matter... in short, we don't.) and if it doesn't work out, so be it but the AD needs to at least ask and apparently that wasn't the case here...FWIW, I believe jones will turn out to be a good hire... If not, I have other things in my life to devote attention to....
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Agreed. I think it could be handled better, but I don't think our major boosters are the sharpest pencils in the cup either. The AD may have been told to STFU and not say a word. I personally don't know. The point of this thread was not being told everything that was going on and whining about it. That is being a victim.
 
#74
#74
rockytop9808 said:
I don't think anyone would have been upset with Gruden, and I'm sure a lot of people wanted him.

The people I'm talking about are the ones who are now blaming basically the entire Tennessee administration for somehow ruining a deal that likely didn't exist in the first place, and are now *****ing and moaning about how we made a desperation hire because we couldn't close on the big one. There's a distinct difference between wanting a guy and whining when the pipe dream doesn't come to fruition.
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^This.
 
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