DRAWING THE CURTAIN ON PHILLIP FULMER'S FINAL ACT AS THE HEAD COACH OF THE TENNESSEE VOLUNTEERS

by Joel on Nov 30, 2008 7:36 AM EST in Tennessee Volunteer Football Comment 6 comments

Above all else, the greatest thing about sports is that it is unscripted entertainment. Competitors are cast together on the same stage with the director insisting from the shadows only that each is to attempt to achieve his own success by depriving the other of his. Often the impromptu drama in live sporting events rivals that of award-winning scripts designed by their very nature to lead you through an emotional gamut from status quo to conflict to denouement.

But if the unscripted nature of live contests is their strength, it is also their weakness. Often the hero fails. Often the villain wins. Too often the curtain closes with the audience looking quizzically at each other and saying, "Maaaaan. It should not have ended that way."

Yet it's precisely the unknowable ending that makes a positive conclusion all the more satisfying. There was really no reason for Vol fans to believe that their team would win its last game of the season, no real basis for believing that the players would be able to put together an entire game that would actually give them a real opportunity to douse Phillip Fulmer with Gatorade one last time or to carry him off the field with the honor he deserves.

But there it was, the happy ending. Coach Fulmer smiling. Gerald Jones and Jonathan Crompton racing straight for him as the clock cleared to zeroes so that they could have their opportunity to embrace him and tell him again how much he means to them. A host of players dumping the Gatorade over his back. A bigger host of players in the colors of both schools huddled together at midfield with Fulmer telling Erin Andrews and ESPN to just hold their money-grubbing horses for a second because we're gonna have our prayer -- it's Tradition, don't you know. Fulmer then answering the inane questions with all of the class and honor and integrity you have come to expect from him, saying not that the administration was wrong -- although he surely believes that they were -- or that his record suggests that he should have been given an opportunity to remedy the problems with the offense -- although he most certainly believes that it does -- but remarking simply that he "will always be a Vol."

And then there were Ramon Foster and Anthony Parker heaving Fulmer on their shoulders and carrying him off the field in a moving mass of welling-eyed, 200- and 300-pound players in a manner fitting a man who has devoted his entire career to the betterment of the Tennessee Volunteer football program. And there was that man, who had struggled against anger and tears three weeks ago, now riding high on the shoulders of his beloved players, smiling from ear to ear, carrying the game ball high and tight, just like he always taught his players whether they listened to him or not.

The curtain has closed. The house lights have lit. Perhaps it should not have ended this season, this game.

But regardless of whether it should have ended at that time, there can be no doubt that it should have ended that way.

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Well said > the perfect script for a tough story. Philip Fulmer, a man of class and integrity deserves the respect that goes with this ending.

Thanks Coach !!

by Heerb on Nov 29, 2008 11:46 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Well said, well said.

by rblakeh on Nov 30, 2008 12:42 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Perfect!

Just beautiful writing, Joel. Just beautiful. You’ve added to Phil Fulmer’s gift pile in the form of one little gem hidden under the big boxes. Hope he finds it. I’m glad I did.

Orange and Blue Hue: The World through GATOR-colored Glasses -- http://www.orangeandbluehue.com

by Gatorpilot on Nov 30, 2008 11:51 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Well said.

You know, I just couldn’t help getting up this morning thinking, “What in the world did we just do?” Too late now. I wish Coach Fulmer all the success that he deserves. He will forever be THE Vol in my book.

To Strive, To Seek, To Find, and Not to Yield.

by mike2ray on Nov 30, 2008 1:14 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

Poetry

Well done, sir! Watched the Phillip Fulmer Show today and the look on CPF’s face just showed relief. He’s had time to reflect and time to grieve, but everything that culminated yesterday just seemed to perfectly close the book on this chapter in such a storied history in Tennessee football. All the best to Papa! I wish him nothing but the best.

by ChattVol on Nov 30, 2008 3:34 PM EST reply actions 0 recs

An Open Letter to Coach Fulmer

Dear Coach,

As head coach, you brought class to a UT program that had been in search of a great coach since Doug Dickey had been at the helm.

Considering he was your head coach, I guess you’d say the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

You know, before posting this, I was curious to see how one of the most storied NCAA coaches of today compares.

Coach, your won/loss record outstrips Joe Paterno’s.

And he doesn’t have to contend with the weekly barrage of talent that teams in the SEC have to face.

Florida…Alabama…Georgia…Auburn…

These teams have been on your plate every season since you became head coach.

And let’s not forget the SEC Championship game.

Wonder how the hero of Penn State…or any other non-SEC coach…would have fared with this backbreaker of a schedule.

I am royally pissed that UT couldn’t give you at least one year to regroup.

Yeah, 2008 sucked.

And 1998 shined.

You see, I was in the stands in 1968 and 1969 as a student and watched the dynamic team that Coach Dickey assembled.

But as great as he was, he left Tennessee to return to Florida, his alma mater. (To his credit, he returned some years later as AD)

So we got Bill Battle, who did great as long as he had the players Dickey had recruited. Once he was on his own, it got kindof sorry.

And Johnny Majors, who had played for Tennessee, but could never bring the magic he’d had at Pittsburgh.

Coach, you brought us gold.

You recruited Payton Manning who made watching UT football a joy.

The year after his departure, you brought us the national championship.

Up until this year, when opponents faced Tennessee, they knew they were in for a tough fight…maybe their toughest of the year.

When I saw who you hired for offensive coordinator, I was really concerned that he would not be able to fill the shoes of Cutcliffe.

Regretfully, I was right.

Even with this sorry season, UT should have given you at least one more year to hire a more suitable offensive coordinator and get some better talent at quarterback.

But, a “what have you done for me lately” attitude lead to your dismissal.

I apologize from the bottom of my heart for those heartless bastards.

Know this.

You were appreciated by hundreds of thousands of Vols and millions of UT fans.

And we will all miss you.

To paraphrase a Garth Brooks country song,

"Good Ride, Coach

Good Ride."

by stonemtnvol on Dec 2, 2008 4:20 AM EST reply actions 0 recs