Game Review: Alabama v Tennessee October 22, 2010

Tennessee remains on track to go winless in October, as predicted. If being a Vol just meant wanting to have more points at the end of four quarters than the opponent, I’d’ve thrown in the towel by now.

Being a Vol means blessing the Sunsphere’s heart as you take the Henley Street exit; it means eating the world’s best burgers with loved ones on Market Square as other games play in the background; it means eschewing the day-to-day distractions of domestic demands to spend some much needed time in the crisp autumn air; it means hiking across campus to show a first time visitor the sites, even if he won’t appreciate them; it means allowing the optimistic orange shading every surface in sight buoy your spirits not matter how daunting the odds; it means having your pick of friends from among 100,000 strangers, if you so choose; it means admitting that even if you were against the initial plans, a bricked-over Neyland Stadium stands superior to the previous erector set edifice; it means lining the street a half hour before the Salute to the Hill and still not getting a prime location for the Sea of Orange; it means being awed every time you’re reminded Dad remembers Rocky Top before the “woo” and Grandma and Grandpa remember UT before Rocky Top at all; it means being chilled by the perfect build-up during the pre-game show, even for the fifty-fifth time; it means knowing, loving, and doing every band cheer every time; it means getting just as excited for halftime, when the Pride of the Southland earns its moniker, as you do for kick off; it means not being able to refrain from telling anyone and everyone Neyland is the sixth largest non-racing stadium in the world and the Circle Drill is “the most daring and difficult” and impressive band maneuver ever performed; it means singing the alma mater with your best friend for the first time since you became alums; it means a Vol fan never loses—whatever the scoreboard says, she’s spent the day making memories with her dearest friends and family in her favorite place on earth supporting the university that supported her so much in the crucial years of young adulthood.

Anyone who chooses to support the Vols because they want the thrill of dominant victory every game will be inevitably disappointed. But for those of us who have dedicated our time, money, and tears to our team, who come back season after season out of love for something larger than ourselves, whose fandom is inseparable from our very beings—we can only pity those with better records who will never know utter football joy.