TeamMainStreet
Well-Known Member
Quote:
I'm noticing a very similar trend with regards to Gator Nation's outlook on Tennessee that I witnessed with FSU circa 2009.
Everyone used to laugh and joke about FSU being "back." Even media members such as Pat Dooley got in on it. It was a running joke each year that FSU was back and any subsequent loss was met with lots of laughter and ridicule. Their two losses to Oklahoma in consecutive years made for particularly rich fodder, as did the losses to NC State and us in 2012. Our losses to them in 2010 and 2011 were blamed on Meyer's meltdown, Muschamp's inexperience, and injuries at key positions.
However, what people failed to notice (or at least acknowledge) was that they were actually building something substantial. Each year, they were recruiting better and stealing targets like Greg Reid, Kelvin Benjamin, Tim Jernigan, and, ultimately, the big one in getting Jameis Winston to spurn his home state of Alabama.
Despite reports of Jameis dominating their spring game in April and how unstoppable their O looked, the 2013 season was met with the same type of sarcastic ridicule of years past. Only, this time things were different. Jaboo went up and down the field in his first start up in Pittsburgh. Then, in their big match-up at Clemson, with so many Gators anxiously anticipating them to once again face-plant and fail epically, the Noles came out and "did it big," as Jameis implored, and destroyed Clemson 51-13 in Death Valley. Suddenly, everyone was looking at the favorite to win the 2013 national title, and they ultimately did. The Noles were "officially" back.
It was incredibly unsettling and disorienting for the vast majority of my fellow Gators, but not me. Much like Dr. Michael Burry in The Big Short, I had been following the signs (our inability to sign Reid, Jernigan, Benjamin, and their huge coup in getting Jameis away from Bama and Auburn) and knew FSU was primed to explode back into the national spotlight.
Now, I sit here today noticing the exact same trend with Tennessee. Pat Dooley derisively refers to them as "The Kardashians," because they've gotten a lot of hype for "doing nothing." I see my fellow Gators lampooning another late season surge by them and writing it off to weaker competition down the stretch (even though they hung 50+ on a Vandy D that many Gators wanted to anoint as one of the best in the land after shutting us down in a 9-7 win). I see people taking shots at Butch Jones, saying he can't coach the big games, just like they did Jimbo.
Well, I hate to break it to everyone, but Tennessee is about to have a 2016 season that will be comparable to FSU's 2013. The first big moment will be at the Bristol Motor Speedway against Va Tech. Then, they will hammer us in Neyland, snapping the long losing streak, which they have been dangerously close to doing the last few years, anyway. That will garner them a lot of spotlight in the media and solidify their status as the SEC East frontrunner. However, that's not going to be the biggest streak they snap. The ground is really going to begin to shake when they take Alabama to the woodshed in Knoxville, which I wholeheartedly believe is going to happen next year. This will enable their "hype" to transcend the conference as a whole - no longer confined to just the East - and serve notice that our side of the conference is officially back. From there, it will be an easy stroll to Atlanta, where they pound the West representative and earn a berth in the playoffs.
Will they win it all? That, I don't know. They will obviously be good enough to do it, but Oklahoma also returns a lot, as well as Clemson (whose "big" year was supposed to be next year anyway). So, I'm not ready to say "Tennessee: 2016 National Champions" just yet. However, I won't at all be surprised if it actually happens and could easily see it.
Keep laughing at them, if you want. Continue to think they'll blow it once again. But, just remember, you all said the same exact things about FSU in 2013.
My money is on Rocky Top in 2016...
------Lawrence from Florida Gatorsports.com
op: op: op:
http://forum.gatorsports.com/topic/3612 ... -with-fsu/
I'm noticing a very similar trend with regards to Gator Nation's outlook on Tennessee that I witnessed with FSU circa 2009.
Everyone used to laugh and joke about FSU being "back." Even media members such as Pat Dooley got in on it. It was a running joke each year that FSU was back and any subsequent loss was met with lots of laughter and ridicule. Their two losses to Oklahoma in consecutive years made for particularly rich fodder, as did the losses to NC State and us in 2012. Our losses to them in 2010 and 2011 were blamed on Meyer's meltdown, Muschamp's inexperience, and injuries at key positions.
However, what people failed to notice (or at least acknowledge) was that they were actually building something substantial. Each year, they were recruiting better and stealing targets like Greg Reid, Kelvin Benjamin, Tim Jernigan, and, ultimately, the big one in getting Jameis Winston to spurn his home state of Alabama.
Despite reports of Jameis dominating their spring game in April and how unstoppable their O looked, the 2013 season was met with the same type of sarcastic ridicule of years past. Only, this time things were different. Jaboo went up and down the field in his first start up in Pittsburgh. Then, in their big match-up at Clemson, with so many Gators anxiously anticipating them to once again face-plant and fail epically, the Noles came out and "did it big," as Jameis implored, and destroyed Clemson 51-13 in Death Valley. Suddenly, everyone was looking at the favorite to win the 2013 national title, and they ultimately did. The Noles were "officially" back.
It was incredibly unsettling and disorienting for the vast majority of my fellow Gators, but not me. Much like Dr. Michael Burry in The Big Short, I had been following the signs (our inability to sign Reid, Jernigan, Benjamin, and their huge coup in getting Jameis away from Bama and Auburn) and knew FSU was primed to explode back into the national spotlight.
Now, I sit here today noticing the exact same trend with Tennessee. Pat Dooley derisively refers to them as "The Kardashians," because they've gotten a lot of hype for "doing nothing." I see my fellow Gators lampooning another late season surge by them and writing it off to weaker competition down the stretch (even though they hung 50+ on a Vandy D that many Gators wanted to anoint as one of the best in the land after shutting us down in a 9-7 win). I see people taking shots at Butch Jones, saying he can't coach the big games, just like they did Jimbo.
Well, I hate to break it to everyone, but Tennessee is about to have a 2016 season that will be comparable to FSU's 2013. The first big moment will be at the Bristol Motor Speedway against Va Tech. Then, they will hammer us in Neyland, snapping the long losing streak, which they have been dangerously close to doing the last few years, anyway. That will garner them a lot of spotlight in the media and solidify their status as the SEC East frontrunner. However, that's not going to be the biggest streak they snap. The ground is really going to begin to shake when they take Alabama to the woodshed in Knoxville, which I wholeheartedly believe is going to happen next year. This will enable their "hype" to transcend the conference as a whole - no longer confined to just the East - and serve notice that our side of the conference is officially back. From there, it will be an easy stroll to Atlanta, where they pound the West representative and earn a berth in the playoffs.
Will they win it all? That, I don't know. They will obviously be good enough to do it, but Oklahoma also returns a lot, as well as Clemson (whose "big" year was supposed to be next year anyway). So, I'm not ready to say "Tennessee: 2016 National Champions" just yet. However, I won't at all be surprised if it actually happens and could easily see it.
Keep laughing at them, if you want. Continue to think they'll blow it once again. But, just remember, you all said the same exact things about FSU in 2013.
My money is on Rocky Top in 2016...
------Lawrence from Florida Gatorsports.com
op: op: op:http://forum.gatorsports.com/topic/3612 ... -with-fsu/
