Guitar Shots to the Head: A Shameful Cheer Piece

Given the tone of the board this week I can truly say, that for the first time there is little argument about the Florida game and what UT will have to do to win it.  The Tennessee football team will have to play a perfect football game if they are to beat the favored reptiles at home this Saturday.   That fact alone has led the nation into very unfamiliar territory.

Indeed, this game has taken a fork in the road to nowhere.  By most accounts it appears as though all of the polish and shine has worn off of the UT/Florida rivalry.  It gives me very little joy to write that or think about it.  Unfortunately it is a reality that we all must face.  The consolation is that the Nation gets to face it together.

It used to be, before a game like this, that UT fans could talk legitimate X’s and O’s.  They could wax poetic about what it might take to win the game.  Now, judging by the mood, we are simply hoping for some kind of miracle.  Will St. Fulmer call down a plague of locust upon the Florida bench?  Will Percy Harvin be leprosy?  Will Tim Tebow lose one of his legs at a gator farm?  Will Luke Stocker actually catch a pass?

In recent history with the Gators there has always been some question about which Tennessee team would show up; would it be the team that could run the football, and stop the run, or would it be the turnover prone Vols?  Now, regardless of the inconsistencies of Fulmer’s teams, this is hands down the most pessimistic approach to a football game that this collective fan base has ever taken.

If you are looking for a kind soothing word from me, I must apologize.  I don’t have one. In fact, I am still as mad as Fulmer looks (that grimace is very telling).  It reminds me of what Mr. Miyagi said to Daniel-san when they were entering the building for the All Valley Karate Tournament. Daniel-san was a little anxious and looking to feed on the tournament experience of Miyagi.  Miyagi had nothing to say to ease his fears.  Instead it was, “First time you…..first time me”.

So this is what it has come to?  What was once a major college event in the landscape of college football is now just an after thought for Meyer’s bunch?

 “First time you….first time me”.

On Saturday, Meyer will be on the Florida sideline, and you know what he will be yelling.  “Sweep the leg, sweep the leg!”

The response from this football team should mirror everything they have been taught by this staff, beginning in the spring.  It is time to put wax on, wax off, sand-a-floor, and paint a fence to work.

Hopefully, when the dust settles, it is not anger over Florida player comments that gets this football team riled up.   Instead, it is my sincere desire to see some old fashioned guts and glory when the ball is kicked off on Saturday.

Dig down deep Vols.  Show us some of that UT pride.  Pretend like Tebow is spelled Testaverde.  Crane kick the Gators back to the swamp, and show the world that the Big Orange T at midfield still means something.  Regardless of how some of us pretend not to care, it still means something to us. Go Vols!