The infamous UT Rocky Top/Lee Corso Commercial...

#51
#51
(hatvol96 @ May 31 said:
Fowler was spot on in his assessment of the behavior of UT fans after the Heisman Trophy announcement in '97. The only thing Fowler did wrong in that entire scenario was voting for Peyton Manning. His commentary was accurate in all other aspects.
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There is nothing wrong with being an emotional fan.What I make out of this statement is you are adding Tennessee fans to your "To Hate List" along with Manning and Fulmer.Shame on you.
 
#52
#52
(lawgator1 @ May 31 said:
It was a mock PBS Frontline report with a dead pan reporter who goes in search of Clayton Bigsby, a renowned author of books on white supremacy.

When the reporter makes his way to Bigsby's home, he finds that Bigsby is actually black! The gimmick is that he's blind, so he doesn't know he's black. He was raised at an all-white orphanage and taught to be racist.

The rest of the skit has Bigsby and the reporter going to different meetings of the KKK and book signings as they encounter situations designed to highlight the irony. For example, they are at a stoplighht and there is a car next to them with three or four white teenagers, dressed up in what you might call urban gear, listening to rap music.

Bigsby leans out the window and yells at them to turn the "jungle music" down, "G__damn nig ___s," he mutters under his breath (not realizing of course that he is black). The kids in the car look at each other and one asks, "Did he just call us nig___s?" After a pause, they all high five each other, excited that a black man called them that.

It is sort of hard to describe. But it is genuinely one of the funniest damn things I have ever seen in my life. And it is so precisely because it is making fun of the stereotype itself by joking within it.
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Bigsby goes on to kill his wife for marrying a black man. Chapelle is a true comedic genius.
 
#53
#53
(utfantilidie @ May 31 said:
There is nothing wrong with being an emotional fan.What I make out of this statement is you are adding Tennessee fans to your "To Hate List" along with Manning and Fulmer.Shame on you.
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Only those who treated the '97 Heisman voting like the Lindbergh Kidnapping.
 
#54
#54
(lawgator1 @ May 31 said:
Yes but I was under the impression that the issue taken with it had to do with painting UT as somehow emblematic of general Southern poverty. You see that steretype of the poor, uneducated South all over the place. Heck, the Andy Griffith Show and the Beverly Hilbillies were built on that stereotype!

I understand feelings run deep on this issue and I respect the opinions of those who say they were really offended by it. Just adding in my own perspective (I'm in my early 40's) that the joke of this commercial was the stereotype itself and that it was so over the top as to not really be insulting or defamatory. I concede that others see it differently.
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I wasn't offended by it but thought it took a shot that wasn't necessary. None of the other schools they chose had the same level of using a stereotype about an entire group of people (Tennesseans/Southerners). Others used a school tradition or just poked fun at exuberant college students (I think the FSU one showed some kid jumping from one RV to another and not making it - nothing Florida-centric or even FSU-centric).

I think the Hillbilly's and Andy Griffith shows also had the southerners as the hero's. There was no positive portrayal in the ESPN ad.

As I said, no big deal to me but I can see how it would be considered offensive to some.
 
#55
#55
(volinbham @ May 31 said:
some kid jumping from one RV to another and not making it - nothing Florida-centric or even FSU-centric).

I think the Hillbilly's and Andy Griffith shows also had the southerners as the hero's. There was no positive portrayal in the ESPN ad.
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Ernest T was not much of a hero. Usually the brunt of a joke about Southern ignroance, poverty, simplicity, etc. But again, proving my point, the jokes were SO ridiculous as to mock the stereotype itself, rather than fuel the fire.
 
#56
#56
(lawgator1 @ May 31 said:
It was a mock PBS Frontline report with a dead pan reporter who goes in search of Clayton Bigsby, a renowned author of books on white supremacy.

When the reporter makes his way to Bigsby's home, he finds that Bigsby is actually black! The gimmick is that he's blind, so he doesn't know he's black. He was raised at an all-white orphanage and taught to be racist.

The rest of the skit has Bigsby and the reporter going to different meetings of the KKK and book signings as they encounter situations designed to highlight the irony. For example, they are at a stoplighht and there is a car next to them with three or four white teenagers, dressed up in what you might call urban gear, listening to rap music.

Bigsby leans out the window and yells at them to turn the "jungle music" down, "G__damn nig ___s," he mutters under his breath (not realizing of course that he is black). The kids in the car look at each other and one asks, "Did he just call us nig___s?" After a pause, they all high five each other, excited that a black man called them that.

It is with sort of hard to describe. But it is genuinely one of the funniest damn things I have ever seen in my life. And it is so precisely because it is making fun of the stereotype itself by joking within it.
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After hearing numerous interviews DC has had, I think he now regrets some of his comedy skits because to quote him "I use to think they (white people) were laughing with me and later on I was thinking they may be laughing at me".
 
#57
#57
(lawgator1 @ May 31 said:
Ernest T was not much of a hero. Usually the brunt of a joke about Southern ignroance, poverty, simplicity, etc. But again, proving my point, the jokes were SO ridiculous as to mock the stereotype itself, rather than fuel the fire.
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Even Ernest T had some redeeming qualities - he had an excellent arm!
 
#58
#58
I saw the commercial and really thought nothing of it, except that it was one of the worst ESPN commercials that I have seen. (The one with the Crocodile Hunter tackling the Florida Gator was hilarious by the way)
 
#59
#59
(utfantilidie @ May 31 said:
After hearing numerous interviews DC has had, I think he now regrets some of his comedy skits because to quote him "I use to think they (white people) were laughing with me and later on I was thinking they may be laughing at me".
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I am truly sorry to hear him say that. I was definitely laughing WITH him. I found nothing in his skits to support any stereotype. In fact, quite the contrary. His style really did mock the mockers, in my opinion.
 
#60
#60
(rockytop muskrat @ May 31 said:
I saw the commercial and really thought nothing of it, except that it was one of the worst ESPN commercials that I have seen. (The one with the Crocodile Hunter tackling the Florida Gator was hilarious by the way)
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I missed that. Got a link by any chance?
 
#65
#65
It didn't bother me that they made fun of southern stereotypes at all. If we can't find humor in ourselves, where can we find it?

I did find it bothersome they singled out one university.
 
#66
#66
(lawgator1 @ May 31 said:
I am truly sorry to hear him say that. I was definitely laughing WITH him. I found nothing in his skits to support any stereotype. In fact, quite the contrary. His style really did mock the mockers, in my opinion.
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I too felt he was a bit insecure and paranoid about the whole deal.Something about 50 mil he didn't seem to trust.
 
#67
#67
(utfantilidie @ May 31 said:
I too felt he was a bit insecure and paranoid about the whole deal.Something about 50 mil he didn't seem to trust.
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I think he is just one of those people that is so smart and creative that he can talk himself out of anything.
 
#68
#68
I'm sure when hatvol and his staff were writing this commercial for ESPN they were really intent on sticking it to the Vol Nation. That is laughing at them and not with them.

I didn't think it was funny but I didn't find it offensive either...just stupid.

And ole Woodson wasn't even mentioned in the heisman race until the OSU game. That game won it for him...and the Vandy game lost it for Manning...but I've never been a heisman guy...before 1997 or to this day.
 
#69
#69
I'll say this and that will be that, but with Michigan winning/spliting the N/C with Nebraska, I thank that propelled Woodson past Manning.I hate UM and have the deepest admiration for PM so it's just my unbiased opinion.
 
#70
#70
(OldVol @ May 31 said:
You display again your total lack of understanding.

You can't possibly fathom the rigors of harsh poverty.

It's silly for me to discuss this with someone from your generation who has no knowledge of true hardship. Your tone, as it often becomes clearly evident, reveals a life that knows nothing of true
difficulty. When you've known real hardship, it softens your views.

I hope you and my children never learn this harsh reality.

It does leave you with a poor perspective on the subject. You can never understand a thing so personal until you have personally experienced it.
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I think at some point in life, you learn to laugh at yourself.
 
#71
#71
(utfantilidie @ May 31 said:
There is nothing wrong with being an emotional fan.What I make out of this statement is you are adding Tennessee fans to your "To Hate List" along with Manning and Fulmer.Shame on you.
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He's not jealous of anyone.
 
#73
#73
(hatvol96 @ May 31 said:
ESPN simply got tired of fielding calls from the idiot fringe of the UT fan base.
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Maybe you would understand better if ESPN did a commercial like that about whatever team you pull for. :wacko:
 
#75
#75
(Orangewhiteblood @ May 31 said:
Maybe you would understand better if ESPN did a commercial like that about whatever team you pull for. :wacko:
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Ah, yes. The tired, trite "If you have a sense of humor and don't blindly hate ESPN you can't be a real UT fan" post.
 
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