Trust me Vol fans, the joke will be on USC
January 13th, 2010

I know it hurts fellow Vol fans. I know the future, especially the immediate future, looks really bad. I will urge you to not focus on tomorrow, next week, or even next year. Instead think of the history, tradition, and future that Tennessee football has and will continue to have long after these two cheap used car salesmen coaches we just rented for a year, will ever have at USC. Let me put all this in perspective for you.

Lane Kiffin’s career record is 12-21. Lane Kiffin was 5-15 with the Oakland Raiders. Lane Kiffin was 7-6, with only close losses to speak of, at The University of Tennessee. Lane Kiffin was the third, no wait fourth, actually the 5th man for the job at USC. Oh, and by the way, you better make sure your daddy comes and brings your diapers with him, because you ain’t worth it without your daddy. Oh, and one more thing, make sure you bring that crazy guy with the raspy voice who convinced countless numbers of recruits to come to Tennessee and be part of history, but then five minutes later conducts a conference call to early commitments and tells them not to go to class – yeah bring him too. Because at USC, and in fairness, many other places – WE WILL SELL OUR SOUL TO THE DEVIL HIMSELF – if it means we have a chance to win.

I am not going to pat myself on the back, but in full disclosure, I did not like the hire when we got Kiffin. I wanted Brian Kelly because he actually proved that he could win. I guess that is not that important anymore. I questioned the hire when I was doing my weekly radio show and got torn apart because of it. I heard the following:
“Get on board and you are either with him or against him.”
“You can sit there and cry about the hire, but he is going to embrace the traditions and know what it means to be a Vol.”
Those are just a few of the examples, the rest all included the words, “his daddy is coming.”

Then he started running his mouth to other coaches and recruits. I mean, he ran his mouth to coaches who had won national championships. I didn’t like that either, so I said something about it. And then, there was just more blasting about me not being a true fan. How could I question the coach because he is just getting attention to UT. Oh, he got attention alright.

So, I thought, maybe I am just too old school? I mean, could it be that what you say completely outweighs what you do? We liked what he was saying, but before he did anything?

I can go on forever, but I will just leave it this way – yes, he got attention to Tennessee, but most was that other college football fans thought he was an idiot, crybaby, spoiled little brat that has ridden and will continue to ride, his daddy’s coattails as far as he can without producing any results. That’s what other fans thought about him, and that pretty much sums up my feelings too, AS A VOLFAN.

When I think of this year – I think of Eric Berry and what kind of man he was and is. I think of Jonathon Crompton and the progress he made at QB. I think of Nick Reviez and his passion and character and will to be the best. I think of Rico McCoy and how he battled defensively. I think of the maturation of Luke Stocker at TE, and how he is going to be so important in the future offensively. I think of the highlight reel runs of Monterio Hardesty, and the toughness, and leadership skills he showed on the field and didn’t talk about off the field. I think of the unselfishness of Aaron Douglass and how he sacrificed positions for the better of the team.

There is something in common with all those things that I enjoyed – all were provided by Tennessee Vols, guys that came here before that spoiled little brat, daddy’s boy did. These players were, Tennessee Vols.

I then thought of things that I didn’t like about this past season. I thought of watching Laney on ESPN, with the rest of college football laughing at him, go after coaches that accomplished things on the field. I thought of Laney continuously sticking his foot in his mouth and for whatever reason, many Vol fans didn’t care. I thought about how poor our special teams were, but was told we had the best special teams coach in the country. I thought about how awful it was to have three guys get arrested, and two dismissed. Then, I though about how awful it was that one actually got to stay after this, and two weeks after a failed drug test. I thought about a coaching staff that appeared only to be concerned about what we didn’t have at UT, instead of focusing on what we did have and have always had at UT.

There is also something in common with these – all were provided by the aforementioned spoiled little brat and HIS players.

Don’t worry about the recruits that are bolting. Do you really want kids that don’t want to be here? Is the chance of winning that freaking important to you? Have you learned nothing from this process? To those recruits that don’t want to be here – “DON’T LET THE DOOR HIT YOU IN THE ASS ON THE WAY OUT!” Go, go with those coaches who are not afraid to change the color of their underwear in the middle of the night for an extra dollar

Now, if you are a true Vol fan, ask yourself this important question:

If Lane Kiffin pulled a Billy D. at Florida and said that he made a mistake – would you welcome him back?

If your answer is yes, then you still have a great deal to learn about being a true Vol fan. You now know that you cannot sell your soul for an extra win or two.

Lest no other coach forget when you come here – You only get one chance to become a true Tennessee Vol. Thankfully, his five minutes of Vol fame have been spent, so forgive me if I don’t shed a tear. We will find the right coach for OUR program, the Vol program and when we do the moments spent thinking of this punk will be nothing more than a joke at USC’s expense.

I will continue to always tell it straight
Paul