I have never been prouder to be a Vol.

There are currently two teams in the SEC with 4-6 records (1-5 in conference); coincidentally, they played each other this past weekend. Two teams with identical records, but the perceptions of their fan bases couldn't be further apart.

Maybe it's because we're exactly where the consensus opinion back in the summer predicted we'd be at this point; 4-6, and needing to win out to just make a mediocre bowl. Maybe it's the euphoria of having the first back-to-back wins of a season that saw us go zero for October. Maybe some of it is the excitement of a new coach that, especially in contrast to the previous one, we "get", and who we feel "gets" us. Whatever the reason, we've held our heads high, no matter the adversity - the blowouts, the thirteen man mistakes, the injuries, the quarterback 'controversy', the growing pains, et cetera - and as we head into the final stages of a season that have seen some very low lows and precious few highs to hang our hats on, we can all clearly, and loudly, proclaim that yes, it is still great to be a Tennessee Vol.

The Ole Miss fanbase, on the other hand... what can I say? If we can be accused of having somewhat unrealistic expectations since 1998 (and I think we can all cop to a bit of overexuberance at some point between then and now; I know I can) then the expectations of Ole Miss fans regarding their football team is downright ludicrous. Perhaps this is a lingering result of Ole Miss dominance of the SEC during the late 1950s and early 1960s; SEC fans' memories are long lived, and pride dies a slow, noisy death. But even a 1-5 record in the better division of the toughest conference of college football is no excuse for a fan quitting on their team. Just read the open thread for the game. Or the postmortem. They've given up. They're over it. With all we've been through - a new coach with a heralded pedigree but a shaky resume', 2AM bar brawls, having a game won but then losing it in the worst imaginable way - no one quit. Not the coaches. Not the players. And not us. We've picked ourselves up, dusted off our britches, combed our hair, and BOOM back on the horse.

So hold your heads up, Vol nation. Are we in a dark period of Volunteer football history? Yes. Will this young team and coaching staff have further struggles this year and next? Almost assuredly. And through it all, will we continue to say, with pride and conviction, that it is GREAT... to BE... a Tennessee VOL?

 

You're damn right we will.

 

 

GO VOLS.