Guitar Shots to the Head: The Volunteer Wrestling Alliance

Just when we thought fans would have an extended topic to debate during the off season, BJ Coleman took his ball and went home. Now the VolNation doesn’t have much to debate during the off season. Frankly, I don’t know if I could have withstood 5 months of the great Crompton/Coleman debate anyway.

For the last few years fans have clamored, begged and pleaded to end the “seniority rules” attitude on the UT sidelines. Attrition and defection will always be the natural result of such a drastic culture change.

Perhaps Vol fans will eventually learn to be more specific about their wish list. When begging for a culture change perhaps we should ask for fairly distinguishable characteristics among the remaining athletes. In other words, please give us a winner.

When was the last time that Tennessee had a “real”, clear cut starter at the quarterback position? That would have been Casey Clausen’s senior year. In the years following, the quarterback situation has looked more like a wrestling card than a depth chart. Think about it. Since Clausen’s departure we have had:

Yaw Yaw Shaffa’ vs. The Collarbone kid
The Collarbone Kid vs. Cajun Killer Clausen
The Collarbone Kid vs. Mountain Man-child (turned out to be more of an undercard than a main event)
Mountain Man-child vs. Big Red
Mountain Man-child vs. Big Red vs. The Chattanooga Hope

In the beginning it looked like the VWA would be fun and beneficial for the fans. After all, competition always allows the cream to rise to the top. Surely with all of the bouts a clear cut winner would emerge. Unfortunately the drama and the talent wouldn’t allow it.

This year, it appeared that we were headed toward a Fall Camp Triple Threat match. Then, without warning, The Chattanooga Hope hung his boots up. His departure was alarming to a lot of fans (the majority of which continue to be skeptical of the new head man on the Hill). The fact is that he wanted to be declared the winner half way through the match. He didn’t have the patience or the pain tolerance to deal with the steel chair. He thought he had Mountain Man-child penned, and that the referee was slow with the three count.

Stephens and Crompton are now left to duel it out.

The Vol QB situation personifies the paradox of open competition. It giveth the talent, but it also taketh the talent away. So, open competition is great when there is a clear cut winner. When that doesn’t happen, it serves as an omen for your program. It is a barometer for mediocrity.

Hopefully, one day in the near future we will look at all of this as means to a good end. I’m positive that Lane Kiffin is operating under the assumption that he and Jim Chaney can turn one of these guys into a serviceable, SEC quarterback.

With any luck, the retirement of the old commissioner will eventually shut the VWA down for good. Until then, let’s find a good home for the championship belt and get on with the season.

Until next time, Go Vols!