America needs a hero. Tennessee. Is. That. Hero.

by Joel Hollingsworth on May 4, 2010 7:15 AM EDT in Tennessee Volunteer Football

Pretend I had time to Photoshop a Power T on Larry Boy's forehead.

Dr. Saturday uses a Slate.com article discussing our collective need for underdogs as a jumping off point for identifying Tennessee as one of eight lovable long shots for the 2010 season:

Don't take my word for it: Check out Daniel Engber's lengthy examination of underdog economics in Slate.com for a persuasive case that casual fandom thrives overwhelmingly on the suspense of the upset, the comeback and the sense of community and shared experience that derives from witnessing the wholly unexpected (which, unfortunately, a lot of people these days may experience only through sports). Outside of our more longstanding, emotional attachments to specific teams, we need underdogs.

Of course, the scarcity that drives our fanatical demand isn't just of surprise but of the anticipation of live events attended by tens of thousands of people as well, but the unscriptedness of those live events surely plays a vital role. So yeah, we need underdogs, and this year, Tennessee is on the short list of long shots. We're shallow and behind on recruiting. Last year's #1 recruit ain't coming back. The only player with real experience on the offensive line is transferring. (Side note: Dooley says Aaron Douglas has to transfer to a school that's not on Tennessee's schedule and that is at least an eight-hour drive away from Tennessee. You'd expect a former lawyer to close that obvious loophole. If he's "driving" the Space Shuttle, he could live and play on the moon, but if he's "driving" a Big Wheel, he could just move to Farragut.) And ESPN's Chris Low has pegged Tennessee 10th in his recent SEC post-spring power rankings.

Even former UT QB Condredge Holloway is playing the expectations game, telling oneathem Big Orange Caravan crowds yesterday that "It's going to be a little bare, guys."

So woo for Tennessee as an underdog in 2010. Again. Consider it a public service to society, but let's not get used to it, mmkay?

So what do y'all think? Is it okay for Tennessee to be an underdog in 2010?

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One of the subtle pleasantries of our basketball season

was rediscovering the joy of cheering for the underdog. It’ll just be discovery with football, really – we did it against Florida and Alabama last year, but it still wasn’t an every Saturday sort of thing. This year, I’m not sure we’ll be favored against a BCS opponent until November…but yeah, we can have some fun along the way with it.

Rocky Top Talk

by Will Shelton on May 4, 2010 10:19 AM EDT reply actions

Um,

Is it okay for Tennessee to be an underdog in 2010?

I think it has to be OK, because that’s the reality we face.

Chris Low has us at 10th (in the SEC, not the nation, which is weird).

We can have balanced debates on both sides of the argument as to whether we can realistically exceed 6 wins this season (which feels more like Vanderbilt than Tennessee).

Dooley’s a good man, but the foundation gets laid this year for a rebuild into 2011/2012.

by memphispete on May 4, 2010 11:06 AM EDT reply actions