mystery solved : 30 rocky top edition

boy, oh boy, do i have an article for you. a query that has been pestering me for years came to an exciting conclusion during this morning's commute. let me begin at the beginning.

on november 15, 2007, i was watching 30 rock. you probably remember. it was the episode guest starring edie falco as a democratic congresswoman from vermont, with whom jack has a tryst. in one of my favorite scenes in all of 30 rock history, the two are conversing at a party, and the following dialogue ensues:

ALEC BALDWIN [to bartender]: I'll have a white rum with diet ginger ale and a splash of lime.
EDIE FALCO: Wow. I never would have pegged you for a University of Tennessee sorority girl.
[EDIE FALCO exits]
BARTENDER: Sir, here's your "Nancy Drew."
ALEC BALDWIN [looking offended]: For men it's called a "Hardy Boy."

LOL, right?

i've always been curious about how this honor came to be bestowed upon my prestigious alma mater, and i assumed i would never ever ever know.

then, i was watching last week's 30 rock episode, in which jack and liz travel to his mother's home in florida after her death. there, they learn that the woman believed to be her housekeeper is actually her live-in lesbian lover. spoiler alert retroactive.

while attempting to confirm their suspicions, the woman drops the following line on her way to heat up a pot of blue gatorade for them:

"I DVRed a documentary about the woman who designed all of Pat Summitt's blazers."

LOL, right?

anyway, i texted fellow 30 rock aficionado thomas wilhelm that i thought there must be a UT alum involved in the writing over there. this was no coincidence.

speaking of coincidences (!!), you may remember yesterday when i alerted you to the latest episode of alec baldwin's podcast in which he interviews lena dunham. i listened to it on the subway last night, and they mentioned a guest from a couple episodes ago, paula pell.

she is a writer on SNL, and lena had some very complimentary things to say about her. i still had that episode on my phone, so this morning, i gave it a listen. alec reminded us that she was mentioned in tina fey's book, during a story about how tina once fought to keep this kotex classic sketch, written by pell, in an episode. they also played the audio from her tylenol BM sketch, in which alec appeared while hosting.

in the midst of their conversation, which was pretty entertaining, alec asks paula where she went to college. first of all, what are the odds that he asks that question. second of all, THE ANSWER WAS THE UNIVERSITY OF TENNESSEE.

i followed up with a little more research at my desk when i got to work and confirmed that she has done some writin' for 30 rock.

THE END YOU'RE WELCOME GO VOLS.

(follow @perlapell on twitter)