The Vols Aren’t Winning A Championship Anytime Soon, But That’s Never Been The Point
By Janie Brice
Boarding the school bus in sixth grade, I sat down in my usual seat and plugged in my headphones to ignore the berating going on behind me. Two of my friends were receiving insult after insult regarding their fathers, who were part of Butch Jones’s terrible, horrible, no good, very bad season record. Just as another insult was about to land its blow, they both shot up: Jones and his staff had been fired. Fifteen minutes later, they got off the bus, and I never saw them again.
With the Vols’ loss to Oklahoma Saturday night, fans are calling for Josh Heupel’s head. They want someone to blame for what they consider to be a disastrous season: 6-3, with a slim-to-no chance of making it to the playoffs.
I have watched Phillip Fulmer tear up while stepping down after 17 years as head coach and the only national championship title in recent history. I endured the anger in the inferno of downtown as Lane Kiffin ran out on a devastating 7-6 season with no warning. I felt the weight of Jones crumbling to a 4-8 record, the worst in history, leading himself and his coaching staff to the slaughter as they were fired mid-season. I watched the news at age 11 of Jeremy Pruitt’s wins being vacated in violation of NCAA eligibility, concluding in a ghastly 5-19 overall record.
I have seen the ups and the dramatically devastating downs of Tennessee Football. The Heupel era is the most up the Vols have been in years, and we are taking it for granted. Sure, the Vols aren’t going to win a national championship anytime soon, but that is not what it means to be a Volunteer. Being a Vol is like being a Lions fan, or maybe even a Bills fan; every time you think you have it, you’re not quite there yet.
And that’s the beauty in calling yourself a Tennessee Vol. From the burning of mattresses to the tossing of goalposts in the Tennessee River, bleeding orange means having to patch your wounds from time to time. So relax, have a seat, and enjoy the Vols because you enjoy the spirit, not because you are expecting a championship win from a team that lost its quarterback and 12 starters in the offseason.
It’s like our die-hard former coach, Fulmer said during his exit from the team:
“Our Tennessee family is united in its goals, but divided in its path to get there.”
So chin up, get back out there, and keep cheering for the Vols because maybe one day, we can crown ourselves national champions.
In the meantime, I’ll settle for a cheaper ticket.