At the end of the day I have to sit back and say "it's just a game." But to many of us diehard SEC fans pulling for any of our teams it's more than just a game. It's pride in an institution - and I will stick by UT through thick and thin. If I could watch them lose to Vandy last year AT HOME and still be diehard UT nothing will ever stop me from cheering on the Vols.
Now, I'll throw a mini rant out there for what it's worth:
The thing that has always bothered me the absolute most about UT is that we play NOT TO LOSE instead of playing TO WIN. LSU played to win. In my heart I knew it was over when they done the fake punt and got the first down. I immediately thought, my God, when is the last time we done something like that. My whole beef with the UT team is the fact that we always seem to play with that playing not to lose mentality. I've seen us lose far to many games doing that. We done that last week against USC and came much closer to losing than we would have if we would have taken advantage of that 1st and goal at the 5 in the fourth quarter. When, or if UT ever starts playing TO WIN then I won't be as disappointed at the losses we have. They won't taste nearly as bad. When we get up big we drop back into softer coverage and let everyone pick us apart. When we get up big we lose that killer instinct and go into safe mode - and it bites us square in the jewels more times than I'd like to remember.
One other thing: I think this isn't just something that pertains to UT but all schools anymore. We see a kid who has bled UT all his life in Ryan Karl go out there and play as passionate as he can play. He may not be the most atheletic, the fastest, the strongest, etc. But that kid has something alot of kids don't have anymore - a TRUE love for his school and desire to play well for them. I'm not saying our players from Florida, Texas, or California don't care - but I do think that they don't care nearly as much as they should at times. I may be completely wrong but I'm of the mindset that sometimes you should take chances on players that really love the school and give them a shot - even if they aren't quite as physically gifted as another guy. I think passion for your team and passion to do well for the program can override some of the athleticism. If UT even lined up 5 men on each side of the ball that cared as much as us fans here on the VN do you'd see a big difference IMO. I've seen people with incredible heart do some things other people can't do that are obviously much more physically gifted. I just think we need some more players that really bleed orange and love UT - maybe I'm off base there but I think it would help.
Oh well, I'll always love and support my team but after yesterday I'm scared about the rest of this season. We could lose all 3 games if we aren't careful. Arkansas scares the crap out of me and Vandy is pretty good but surely we can get some revenge on them and Kentucky will come to Neyland ready to play. That's the other thing that has bothered me lately about the Vols - they can't protect the home turf. We are losing far too many home games and Neyland will lose the scare factor for other teams I'm afraid. Last year we let S. Carolina, Vandy, and UGA all beat us at home and just squeaked by Memphis. This year we've lost to Florida and LSU at home and squeaked by Air Force. We must start doing a better job at protecting our home field.
