Where were you? - September 11, 2001

[jaybird_1981]

That was the feeling from most in the sports world IIRC. The 2001 SECCG disaster was the most painful loss I have ever witnessed. UT probably would not have beat the canes, but you never know until you play. They absolutely slaughtered the VOLS the next year at Neyland but the 2002 squad was not very good & was decimated with injuries. We did however return the favor to Miami the following year at the orange bowl.

Yeah I remember watching that game and not understanding how a backup QB & backup RB were torching us. I did get to go to the Citrus Bowl that year and watch us destroy Michigan and that was one of the most fun games I ever went to so at least there is kind of a bright side to it.

 

[PEPPERJAX]

Nope we would've been in the Rose Bowl NC game if we had beaten LSU

Right but we lost to UGA earlier in the year. We were discussing if there was a CFB playoff back in 2001. IMO we would have been in playoff with one loss but not two after losing to LSU.

 

[Rickyvol77]

Right but we lost to UGA earlier in the year. We were discussing if there was a CFB playoff back in 2001. IMO we would have been in playoff with one loss but not two after losing to LSU.

Ah gotcha...it wouldve been close

 

[lukeneyland]

Nope we would've been in the Rose Bowl NC game if we had beaten LSU

He’s referring to the two loss scenario. We were discussing if we could have made into the playoffs as a two loss team. Sorry now I see that he already clarified that

 

[PEPPERJAX]

Yeah I remember watching that game and not understanding how a backup QB & backup RB were torching us. I did get to go to the Citrus Bowl that year and watch us destroy Michigan and that was one of the most fun games I ever went to so at least there is kind of a bright side to it.

Saban absolutely outcoached Fulmer and Chavis in the second half.

 

[DancingOutlaw]

Always have admired the spirit of the boys that went over to avenge what happened. Unfortunately they got used for something entirely different. Lions lead by sheep. It’s hard to imagine the things that they had to see and do

The thing of it was if you joined up after 9/11 you were simply too late to get in on the party in Afghanistan. That was a lot of SF and small unit stuff anyways. However, you did just punch your ticket for Iraq two years later.

 

[lukeneyland]

The thing of it was if you joined up after 9/11 you were simply too late to get in on the party in Afghanistan. That was a lot of SF and small unit stuff anyways. However, you did just punch your ticket for Iraq two years later.

I never thought of it like that actually. That makes it even sadder

 

[DancingOutlaw]

Saban absolutely outcoached Fulmer and Chavis in the second half.

I was there for that one. The guy in front of us had smuggled in a liter IV bag full of bourbon taped to his leg. We were having a party in the first half that turned into a nightmare in the second. We had stupidly bought victory cigars before the game, which I know for a fact doomed our team. Sorry to all.

 

[McDad]

I was there for that one. The guy in front of us had smuggled in a liter IV bag full of bourbon taped to his leg. We were having a party in the first half that turned into a nightmare in the second. We had stupidly bought victory cigars before the game, which I know for a fact doomed our team. Sorry to all.

I hate you for costing us that game. My LSU wife and in laws were unbearable.

 

[OldVolMan]

At least you are old enough to actually have seen Tennessee win big. I faintly recall how nuts my dad went when we won in the Swamp that year, and then how sad we were after LSU. I remember next to nothing about the actual playing of the games

Yes, I have seen the good with the bad. And, must say the Vols have brought me many fond memories. Been to several TN/FL games taking my son and have left upset many times, but the opportunity to experience them with him was a blessing.
Winning is the ultimate, but never under estimate the experience.

 

[PEPPERJAX]

I was there for that one. The guy in front of us had smuggled in a liter IV bag full of bourbon taped to his leg. We were having a party in the first half that turned into a nightmare in the second. We had stupidly bought victory cigars before the game, which I know for a fact doomed our team. Sorry to all.

That was a good LSU squad don't get me wrong, but we had no business losing that game. C. Clausen was throwing to Stallworth, Witten, Washington, and Eric Parker. Overstreet, Henderson, and Haynesworth were on the same D line. Every single position group on offense and defense were loaded with future NFL players.

 

[DancingOutlaw]

I never thought of it like that actually. That makes it even sadder

A guy in business college with me that I knew from home was in ROTC and couldn't wait to graduate and go to Iraq in 2003. This was right after the "Mission Accomplished" speech where you could already see that things were going to go squirrely (disbanding an entire army that knows where a shitload of munitions are stored can tend to do that). I was like man I hope they put you in charge of a radio outpost in Kuwait or something.

 

[DancingOutlaw]

That was a good LSU squad don't get me wrong, but we had no business losing that game. C. Clausen was throwing to Stallworth, Witten, Washington, and Eric Parker. Overstreet, Henderson, and Haynesworth were on the same D line. Every single position group on offense and defense were loaded with future NFL players.

That and the UGA game in the same year was crushing.

 

[ajvol01]

Saban absolutely outcoached Fulmer and Chavis in the second half.

Foreshadowing

 

[lukeneyland]

Yes, I have seen the good with the bad. And, must say the Vols have brought me many fond memories. Been to several TN/FL games taking my son and have left upset many times, but the opportunity to experience them with him was a blessing.
Winning is the ultimate, but never under estimate the experience.

I agree. I’ll always remember the sheer noise and atmosphere of that 2015 Oklahoma game. That was the most special atmosphere I’ve ever been able to be a part of. I remember the East upper deck where I was standing literally vibrating. I wouldn’t trade Alabama’s countless titles for Neyland’s atmosphere or noise. There’s something almost spiritual about that place when the crowd is up for it . It’s one of the reason I’m so vehemently opposed to renovations at Neyland that go beyond insuring structural integrity.

 

[LouderVol]

I agree. I’ll always remember the sheer noise and atmosphere of that 2015 Oklahoma game. That was the most special atmosphere I’ve ever been able to be a part of. I remember the East upper deck where I was standing literally vibrating. I wouldn’t trade Alabama’s countless titles for Neyland’s atmosphere or noise. There’s something almost spiritual about that place when the crowd is up for it . It’s one of the reason I’m so vehemently opposed to renovations at Neyland that go beyond insuring structural integrity.

Not sure if it was that same year but UGA when Pig Howard fumbled the ball out of the endzone. We also blocked a punt. I was under the upper deck, crowd noise was unbelievable.

 

[PEPPERJAX]

Not sure if it was that same year but UGA when Pig Howard fumbled the ball out of the endzone. We also blocked a punt. I was under the upper deck, crowd noise was unbelievable.

That was the 2013 season.

 

[ajvol01]

Not sure if it was that same year but UGA when Pig Howard fumbled the ball out of the endzone. We also blocked a punt. I was under the upper deck, crowd noise was unbelievable.

That was 2013 vs UGA. Debut of Smoky Gray uniforms.

I was hopeful we had a football coach. 3 years later I figured out we had an actor playing football coach.

 

[newokie03]

09/11/2001 - location, Jackson, TN - job, Navy Recruiter. I was on my way to talk to a young man about his future. He was a high school drop out who had just gotten his GED and didn't see a lot of future in West Tennessee. On my way to his house, I heard about the first plane hitting the Trade Center while listening to the radio. I heard about the second while at his house. As I sat in his living room talking to him and his parents, the towers fell. I spent the next 2 hours trying to comfort these people, my fellow Americans, my neighbors that everything was going to be ok. My Navy cell was blowing up, my personal cell was blowing up but all I could do was comfort this family. When I went back to my office, we were closed for 2 days for threat assessment. For the next few months, I have never seen our country as united and in touch. I miss that. I hope that tomorrow, if only for a minute, we can put side our political differences and remember what it felt like to be united in pain and suffering for our fellow countrymen. GOD BLESS AMERICA!

 

[AM64]

I was home alone (retired and my wife was away for a couple of weeks on active duty). My mother called and asked if I was watching TV; I told her "no"; and she said "I think you should." I wound up having to go to school later to pick up my son when he heard the news and was upset about my wife. She was OK - at Camp Lejeune, NC - Navy nurse. I was more concerned immediately about my brother because he was a Delta pilot flying internationally, and I had no idea if he was flying that day or where he was. Definitely a different kind of day. Seems my brother was stuck someplace in Europe for a few days. Within a couple of years, my wife was on active duty stationed in DC at the Navy Annex (now the site of the AF Memorial) adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery and overlooking the Pentagon.

 

[ajvol01]

I was home alone (retired and my wife was away for a couple of weeks on active duty). My mother called and asked if I was watching TV; I told her "no"; and she said "I think you should." I wound up having to go to school later to pick up my son when he heard the news and was upset about my wife. She was OK - at Camp Lejeune, NC - Navy nurse. I was more concerned immediately about my brother because he was a Delta pilot flying internationally, and I had no idea if he was flying that day or where he was. Definitely a different kind of day. Seems my brother was stuck someplace in Europe for a few days. Within a couple of years, my wife was on active duty stationed in DC at the Navy Annex (now the site of the AF Memorial) adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery and overlooking the Pentagon.

When the first tower fell my immediate gut reaction was “We’re going to war”.

In hindsight, how in the hell they ultimately let that day justify going into Iraq again I’ll never understand.

I guess it’s obvious the majority on Capitol Hill are just there to get re-elected and don’t really care what their decisions mean for the rest of us.

 

[AM64]

When the first tower fell my immediate gut reaction was “We’re going to war”.

In hindsight, how in the hell they ultimately let that day justify going into Iraq again I’ll never understand.

I guess it’s obvious the majority on Capitol Hill are just there to get re-elected and don’t really care what their decisions mean for the rest of us.

While my wife was at the Navy Annex, we spent some time at Ft Myer and Henderson Hall (Marine facility between the annex and Ft Myer). All adjacent to Arlington National Cemetery, all historic, and all you never forget (the Old Guard is at Ft Myer). I'm a vet, my father, wife, and brother are all retired military; and perhaps for that reason it all affects me more, but I can't understand sometimes how little respect politicians show the military. I often think that military service should be a requirement for the president since he becomes commander in chief - perhaps a better understanding would limit our involvement in wars that in the long run seem to serve no real purpose.

 

[508mikey]

Sadly no ceremony around here thanks to this fake virus garbage and mindless politicians

 

[volfanjustin]

We went to NY last summer, we did a tour of the memorial and what an emotional experience. During some of the personal stories there wasn't a dry eye within the group. A few pics to follow

 

[volfanjustin]