Tennessee Volunteers Blog UT Martin Knoxville Tennessee

Knoxville, Tennessee:  A sunny day in eastern Tennessee, the Sunsphere shining brightly from the car window on I-40 and the opening weekend for the Vols!  Even though the mood was exciting kicking off another year of Vols football, the home opener had an erie somber mood to the stadium filled with 99,000 fans.  With the past few months of the Derek Dooley era starting in Rocky Top and his stark difference in press and media compared to former coach Lane “The Weasel” Kiffin, there has been a sharp difference in perception with the Vols football program and it showed on Saturday.  The start of the Weasel era last year brought some excitement to the program and some well wanted and needed swagger, something we had been missing for years with former head coach Phillip Fulmer but the Weasel era quickly careened out of control.
Now the mood for this game could also have been affected by the mere fact that the Vols are playing UT Martin (some high school in Tennessee I think) but it appears as if all Vol fans have approached this year with a fair amount of trepidation.  I’m sure we’d all admit that hopes for a good year, given all the offseason problems and drama, are simply delusions of grandeur but it should be noted that the Vols should NEVER lose their attitude.  All programs have their ups and downs, their great seasons and the ones everyone would like to forget.  In the midst of all of that, the Vols are the winningest program in college football history which is something to always be proud of.
The 2010 season may prove to be very aggravating but that should be no reason for the Vol Nation to lose swagger or attitude.  In the conference like the SEC, where teams quickly devour one another, the Vols need to stay positive and stay strong and not “work like heck” but “beat their ass”!!!