Every fall, as the Smokies turn that bright hue of orange, it serves as a harbinger for what is to come. In Tennessee, it only means one thing. Knoxville is about to erupt with the anticipation of watching the storied UT football program take the field. There was a great deal of confusion earlier in the year over some of the clowns in Knoxville calling Neyland Stadium a Fort. For me, it is more like a sanctuary. It is a sacred venue where the Vol faithful, adorned in orange, convene to make a connection with the team that they follow with unsurpassed loyalty. This year the Vols returned the favor at home by winning every time they took to Shields/Watkins field.
On Saturday, as an overmatched Vanderbilt football squad threatened the sanctity of our lovely venue, the ghost of George Cafego intervened. With apologies to those that don’t believe in the paranormal, with one breath from the spirit of Cafego a football on its way to the uprights took an unusual left turn, and the game fell into the hands of the Vols. It was Cafego that taught every self respecting Vol to hate the Vanderbilt Commodores. I for one am happy to oblige.
Don’t miss the irony of Cafego’s intervention. He was a coaching legend for the Vols who was relegated to special teams by Johnny Majors, and as his health deteriorated in his later years, he became a dedicated kicking coach. It is only fitting that his role in the game Saturday occurred after another special teams let down with the Vols. As it turns out, he was only playing with Bobby Johnson’s head in classic coach Cafego style.
Now, here we are again. Fortunately we have been here before. To borrow a quote from Luke Wilson from the Wendell Baker Story, “It doesn’t have to be executed perfectly to have a perfect endingâ€. This season could have been a train wreck but being on the precipice of the SEC championship game, I find myself thinking the same thing. Fernando was wrong. It isn’t always better to look good than to feel good. Just ask the Georgia Bulldogs. They (along with the national media) should know by now that the Tennessee Volunteers are the only team in the SEC east that controls their own destiny. Learn to live with it. Sure it hasn’t looked perfect, but it sure has taken some pride and determination.
In many ways Vol’s season has played like a plot in a cookie cutter Hollywood film. Hero is tested and hero fails; hero gets up off of his back; hero saves the day. With the drama surrounding the season, at times it has played much more like an episode of the Jerry Springer show than a feature film. Luckily for UT fans, the Vols are now returning to the silver screen. A mediocre to good football team has a unique opportunity to silence its critics. As unhappy as Dr. Pepper and Frito Lay may be about the situation, the rules are quite clear. If the Vols beat Kentucky in Lexington this Saturday, no amount of campaigning, groveling or crying will get the Georgia Bulldogs into the SEC Championship game. The die for this football team is cast.
I could make 100 arguments about how our team was outmatched and outplayed on Saturday but now is not simply the time for that. Needless to say in the third quarter of the Vanderbilt game the headline for Guitar Shots this week was going to read “Malice in Wonderlandâ€. I was fairly disgusted with much of what I saw on Saturday, but it is time for Vol fans to live in the now. For me, The Jerry Springer Show has no place on a Volboard this week. The team that we follow and support has a rare opportunity to turn a nearly squandered season into a feature film. To borrow another quote from a Kris Kristofferson’s character in The Wendell Baker Story, “When you reach the age that I am now, your yesterdays, todays and tomorrows are all in the same room.â€
This late in the season, this week is what we are left with. Our yesterdays, todays and tomorrows are right here, right now. This is not the time to talk about a national coaching search, or recruiting and player development. I am not even going to spend time talking about how we match up with the Kentucky Wildcats because at this point it is not even about UT’s upcoming opponent. Now it is all about guts and determination.
On Saturday when Tennessee takes the field again, as far as I am concerned it is us against the world and all we have is today. I say jump on the Big Orange Caravan to Kentucky to watch the Vols claim their spot atop the SEC East. It is time for this football team to finish what they have started. For one week, all else should fall by the wayside. Goodbye Jerry Springer, hello silver screen!