From the
Upper Deck
Vols Slipping
Downward on Slippery Slope
By Jim Steele
steele@mckenziebanner.com |
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There is a crisis on The Hill and University of
Tennessee athletics director Mike Hamilton must do
something about it quickly.
It seems that the Big Orange fold is shrinking or
perhaps becoming disenchanted. A couple of things stand
out that lead me to this conclusion: attendance and a
reluctance of top-tier bowls to court the 10-2 Vols.
I had a conversation over the Thanksgiving holidays
with a friend (yes I have them) and a fellow Vol fan
about the fortune (or misfortune) of the Vols. He
pointed out that no team wins the national title every
year and he is right. The last to win back-to-back
titles was Nebraska (1994-95). A few have come close
since then. He also was beating the drum over the
virtues of a 10-win season, all valid points.
But, I told him that after the 2002 season, I had had
a belly full of underachievement (I sort of know how my
teachers felt now). Year in and year out, we are told
that Tennessee should be in the mix for a national
title. That's fine. I don't think anyone expects the
Vols to win it every year. But at least be in the
chatter come December. Since 1998, the Vols have done a
nice job of silencing that chatter by performing so
poorly at pivotal points during those seasons.
Yes, the Vols have won 10 games this year, but they
are a hollow 10 wins. This season, there were a lot of
empty seats in Neyland Stadium. The final home game of
2003 with Vanderbilt drew just over 100,000, which for
most people would be great (Vandy would love to have
half that for just one of its games that didn't involve
Tennessee).
But Vanderbilt traditionally packs the house at
Neyland, no matter how dismal it is. Same for
homecoming. A Tennessee homecoming generally draws close
to a stadium record for capacity. This year, the Vols
fell short against Duke. They drew only 104,722. In the
season opener (on Labor Day weekend no less), the Vols
only drew 103,860 against Fresno.
The outsider might say "Wow, what a crowd, so what's
your beef, Steele?"
Opening-day attendance is usually much more
significant, at least 106,000. That tells me that a lot
more folks besides me are feeling dismayed. Sure, the
Vols had two quality wins this year (at Florida and at
Miami). But they failed horribly against Georgia and
Auburn, two games they had to have. Really, they only
needed one of those games.
People were whispering that Tennessee would get
(rather settle for) a bid to the Outback Bowl in Tampa,
but that crew opted to take a four-loss Florida team,
fresh off a defeat against visiting Florida State,
instead of Tennessee, (barely) a winner in its last
game. What does that tell you? It's not just the fans
who are skeptical of Tennessee, it's the rest of the
nation as well. Why should bowl games consider the Vols?
Of their 10 wins, only four of them had winning records
(Florida, Miami, and D-1 wannabes Fresno and Marshall).
Of those 10 UT vanquished, the overall record is 55-67.
I hear an echo. Sounds very hollow to me.
The Vols have a problem with credibility because of
their performance post '98.
If I can see this, surely Hamilton must, too. |
