Keeping Up With The Joneses

On Friday the University of Tennessee hired Butch Jones to take over their football program after firing Derek Dooley nearly three weeks ago. After rumors of John Gruden, Mike Gundy and Charlie Strong, the Vols ended up with the 2011 Big East Coach of the Year. Shortly after several outlets confirmed the report Friday morning, Vol fans did what Vol fans do best as of late.
Flip out.
Sports talk radio was flooded with calls from some of the most idiotic fans that Southern Appalachia has to offer. Facebook and Twitter exploded with post from some of the finest arm chair Athletic Directors in the country. Messages boards went into full fledge meltdown mode.
This has been an almost daily occurrence for the past five seasons on Rocky Top. Vol fans are angry. They're angry because they've had four losing seasons in five years. They're angry because they've had five head coaches in five seasons. (Including Jim Chaney). They're angry that they haven't seen a bowl game in two years and haven't won one since Bush was in office. "This is Tennessee", they say.
They're right. This is Tennessee.
Gone are the days when Phil Fulmer roamed the sidelines of Shields Watkins Field. Gone are the days when the real UT was playing for a spot in the SEC championship game every year. No longer is there 102,000 plus packed into Neyland Stadium for every home game.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg.
No longer are they beating, or even competing with Bama, Florida, and Georgia. They have been embarrassed by Mississippi St, ran out of Nashville by in state Vanderbilt and lost to Kentucky for the first time in 26 years.
They're down. And they've been down so long that being down is all they know.
They're so used to being down that all they knew how to do when AD Dave Hart made the decision to hire the 2011 Big East coach of the year, who has won four conference championships in six seasons and has a record of 52-27, was act like a four year old who didn't get what they wanted for Christmas. They didn't take time to consider the success he has had everywhere he has been. They didn't want to listen to some of the most respected people in the sports world tell them that Butch Jones was well respected among the coaching circles and praised Dave Hart for hiring him to turn the program around.
They forgot that they love the University of Tennessee because of what it is. They love it because of the Orange and White. They love it for the Vol Navy, Vol Walk and Neyland Stadium on fall Saturdays. They sing Rocky Top to the top of their lungs while they salute the Pride of The Southland Band. That's Tennessee football. The wins brought them tradition, and that tradition isn't going any where.
Is Butch Jones John Gruden? No.
But his credentials suggest that he could have any number of jobs, and he choose, no he begged for this one. In four days on the job he has embraced everything that Derek Dooley didn't in three years. He's not intimated by Saban, Miles or Richt and he doesn't care that he wasn't UT's first pick.
Butch Jones has won everywhere he has every been, and Tennessee needs a winner right now.
Vol fans We may not have the mansion on the hill, but in order to keep up with the Joneses, we need Butch Jones.

Fandom In The SEC

As #2 Alabama gets set to take on #3 Georgia this afternoon in Atlanta for the SEC Championship most SEC fans focus is on that matchup because the winner will earn a trip to Miami to play top ranked Notre Dame for the BCS National Championship. And for Tide and Dawgs fans it's the biggest game of the year.
Alabama is looking to get back to the title game after winning it last season, and Georgia is looking to play in the national title game for the first time in decades.

Both have a tough loss on their résumé and both should feel fortunate that winning this game affords them the luxury of getting the chance at a BCS title shot.
If your an Alabama or Georgia fan, you were elated when Kansas St. decided not to play defense at all against Baylor and Oregon's high powered offense was shut down by Stanford.
But if your not, and your school resides in the SEC, you were, or should have been, pissed.

Why?

For the first time in seven years we were going to get a BCS champion that wasn't in the South Eastern Conference. One of these two teams could have put an end to Nick Saban's back to back title run. One of these two teams could have, and should have, left Alabama and Georgia fans whining about how a one loss SEC team should be playing in the title game over an undefeated "weaker conference" champion.
But these two teams decided that wasn't going to happen. They decided to waste a golden opportunity, a possible once in a lifetime chance to win a national championship. Flat out blew the chance to put SEC dominance on notice.
I could go on and on and on. But I won't.

And before you mistaken me for a west coast guy or an SEC hater, you should know this: My team plays in the SEC.
And I am not just your average fan. My fandom goes well beyond most outside of the SEC don't understand. To us, it's the most important, unimportant thing in this world.
Which brings me to my point.
How the hell does any fan that supports an SEC team, support other SEC teams?
I've have wondered this for years. When I ask, I get the common fans responses.

"I pull for the SEC."
"If my team ain't in it I wanna see an SEC team win it."
"It makes the conference look strong."
"It's more money for the conference".

It's ludicrous, idiotic, and downright stupid for any fan who's team plays in the South Eastern Conference to want to see another South Eastern Conference team succeed. If your one of these fans, with all due respect (And I'm saying with all do respect) your not really a "fan."
I mean sure, you wear you team colors, you watch the game on TV, and you know what you know about your team because of the last local newspaper article but that just makes you a normal fan. And normal is okay. If your teams plays in any other conference in America other than the SEC.
In the SEC we real fans eat, breath and sleep for our teams. We live for our teams 24/7-365. We pack parking lots hours before games. We know who the third string QB is and where he played high school ball. We spend countless hours logged on to sites that we pay for just so we can get the latest info on our teams or the 17 and 18 year old kids that they are recruiting.
We do not under any circumstances want to see our rivals succeed. Ever.
It hurts our program more than the average fan can understand. It's hard enough to recruit high school stars, even harder when your rivals are successful, and damn near impossible when their winning National Championships.
The conference is making hundreds of millions in TV contracts alone. They don't need the money.
And nothing bothers me more than to hear a Tennessee fan say they hope one of these teams playing tonight win the BCS title because there in the SEC.

That's exactly why you don't want them to win.

And if your one of these people you should
not ever refer to yourself as a "fan" again unless your understand what it means to be a fan.