Tennessee vs Michigan - If this is it...

by Will Shelton on Mar 18, 2011 10:47 AM EDT in Tennessee Volunteer Basketball

I'm typing this from a hotel room in Lexington, KY at 1:11 AM. It's a Holiday Inn Express, so you have to value my opinion.

I can't sleep. I'm excited about the game with Michigan tomorrow (today). My mind races with all the possibilities surrounding Bruce Pearl, especially the one where this is his last game and how much more likely that's become in such a short amount of time. And most of all, I am fully aware that this is a relevant, championship opportunity we have in front of us today...but if we lose, I don't know how long it's going to take before the next one comes around.

I'm not sure what would save Pearl at this point, or if any decision has already been made. Nor do I know what percentage of the decision lies in Mike Hamilton's hands.

I do know that I am absolutely terrified of being irrelevant in basketball again.

It's unfair to put any additional pressure on a group of players that have certainly been through it this season. No one should ask them to win one for Bruce Pearl, and in that locker room today I'm sure no one will.

But with all the twists and turns our roller coaster season has been through, and all the uncertainty we face in the future...the beauty of the NCAA Tournament remains in the present moment. All you have to do is win. Survive. Advance.

In the fury of the moment, the goal that these players had when they came to Tennessee is still alive today. We're dancing. We're in. Nothing else matters today except Michigan. This team can still leave its mark. All you have to do is win.

Today, Bruce Pearl is still the basketball coach at the University of Tennessee. All that matters is today. All he has to do is win.

And for us as fans...as afraid as I am of basketball ceasing to matter around here for the immediate future, it still matters today. We're here. We're in. Even if the end of an era is creeping in all around us, it's not here yet. This team can still matter. And this season is not over yet.

I'm suddenly very aware of how very much I want to win this game.

So let's win.

Today, we're with you Coach. We've always been with you. And today is all that matters.

Go Vols.

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Once more unto the breach, dear friends.

Forget everything of the past week. Heck, forget the past 6 months of turmoil that has surrounded this team. Are we not Vols fans? We seem to have resigned ourselves to a fate that has not been written yet. That’s not what it means to be a Vol. I look around and I see sullen faces and attitudes. Screw that. This team deserves more than that. It deserves our support no matter the outcome. Why? They wear the Orange for all of us. Could this be Pearl’s last game? Perhaps. But, that doesn’t matter either. To paraphrase Coach Fulmer…this is about 40 minutes of something they know damn well how to do. No one has given them this chance. They have played themselves here. Let’s stop talking about what will happen after. Let’s just go out and win. And win again, and again. If not, so be it. We’ve been through it and we’ll deal with it when/if it comes. I never watched basketball of any sort before Bruce Pearl brought this program out of obscurity. I found myself growing as a casual fan to one that can now yell at the TV screen about missed calls of charging, traveling, and the like. No matter what has happened, we owe it to this team, and yes, THIS COACH to cheer like we always have. If we lose, it should happen with our heads held high and with our lungs depleted. If this is Bruce Pearl’s last stand…..then fine. But, I’m going to cheer however long this lasts and I will always be appreciative of how far he’s taken us. Recently, it’s been (like so many have said) exhausting to be a Tennessee fan. However, I’d rather be a VOL than anything else on this earth. Let’s go make Michigan wish they had never stepped on the court. GO VOLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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

by mike2ray on Mar 18, 2011 2:31 AM EDT reply actions 6 recs

rec'd

by Incipient_Senescence on Mar 18, 2011 9:58 AM EDT up reply actions

Indeed

Lou Brock loves Lamp.

by birdjam on Mar 18, 2011 10:33 AM EDT up reply actions

At the sound of the beep, the time will be 6 AM EDT.

In approximately 6 hours and 40 minutes, Tennessee may play its last game under Bruce Pearl. This season, by all rights, feels like a disappointment – yet today marks something the men’s program has never done. For all the talk of mental acuity (and I’ve been first in line there), the talent here is as good as it’s ever been. That’s on Pearl, same as all the negatives, which we know and we’ll hear rehashed plenty of times between now and June.

In about 90 minutes, I’ll go into a meeting at work. After that, I have another meeting, and after that, yet another one. In approximately 6 hours and 40 minutes, I’ll be watching this team that has at times infuriates me, but it’s my team.

In approximately 6 hours and 40 minutes, the end of an era may begin. But it doesn’t have to end there.

Beep.

Formerly 'snail. You get used to it after a while.

by Chris Pendley on Mar 18, 2011 6:00 AM EDT reply actions

I can't sleep either.

I’m sad. I’m excited. I’m nervous. I’m confident. I want to cheer. I want to cry.

I love my guys.

It’s Great to be a Tennessee Vol.

Thanks, Will. Beautiful.

"It breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it stops and leaves you to face the fall alone." A. Bartlett Giamatti

by sddbaker on Mar 18, 2011 6:36 AM EDT reply actions

Faith Hope and Love.

…but the greatest of these is love. There is no doubt in my mind that whatever faults Coach has there is love for and among his sons, the object of our fandom, his players. Best of luck today as you rise to meet this challenge. The future holds what it may, but those are for tomorrow. We will have the strength to meet those in their time, I just pray for strength and guidance for today.

by chuckiepoo on Mar 18, 2011 7:40 AM EDT reply actions

Is it just me?

2 scenarios:
1. Did you lie about parking illegally yesterday? Yes, I lied about that
2. Did you lie about stealing a car yesterday? Yes, I lied about that
This is how I view the CBP affair. Yes, he lied, but he lied about something almost comically unimportant. To those of you “lying is lying” types, good luck living the rest of your life with that outlook.

by Florivol on Mar 18, 2011 9:25 AM EDT via mobile reply actions 1 recs

Well, and Hamilton was almost certainly dishonest

if he told people he was “misinterpreted” in that interview.

But lying is lying to the NCAA, and that’s a problem.

Rocky Top Talk

by Will Shelton on Mar 18, 2011 9:31 AM EDT up reply actions

Well...

…lying is lying to God — but the NCAA isn’t God. They just think they are.

by sddbaker on Mar 18, 2011 10:01 AM EDT up reply actions

they are like a Greek God

because they are extremely erratic and petty

I like orange and I am a dog person

by goldballs on Mar 18, 2011 10:33 AM EDT up reply actions 2 recs

Nice post

Michigan fans have seen this story before…

Earle Bruce had his players rally around him to upset Michigan and carry him off of the field after he was fired earlier that week, and Rich Rodriguez had his team get nuked by Mississippi State because the writing was on the wall.

Tennessee will probably either spectacularly overachieve for their coach, or fall flat.

@thewhitetiger16

Maize-Colored Glasses: Previewing #8 Michigan vs. #9 Tennessee, NCAA Tournament

by Alex Cook on Mar 18, 2011 9:28 AM EDT reply actions

My greatest concern

is starting hot, and then falling apart in the second half – someting that would produce a false sense of security, followed by an especially strong dose of “oh no…” that I don’t know if this Tennessee team has what it takes to fight through. We’ll see.

Rocky Top Talk

by Will Shelton on Mar 18, 2011 9:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Will,

I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!

by Greg Alan Edwards on Mar 18, 2011 9:30 AM EDT up reply actions

Sounds a little too familiar.

by sddbaker on Mar 18, 2011 10:03 AM EDT up reply actions

Sorry,,,hit wrong button

I dont think you need worry about UT becoming irrelevant in basketball again. You guys can hang that much success on Pearl no matter what happens. Just enjoy the ride, and let whatever comes , come. The successes seem to outweigh the failures in this case.

The worse offense here is a lock of judgement and handling of something that should not have been.

Good luck today.

I am now and shall forever be the Cat in The Hat, The Artist Formerly Known As ABC!!!

by Greg Alan Edwards on Mar 18, 2011 9:32 AM EDT reply actions