17 days!

never forget.

is it football time in tennessee yet or WHAT.

38 days!

12 days!

today, we are blessed with a 2014 season preview from ESPN.

Breakout player: Most of the preseason drama at Tennessee revolved around the quarterback race, but Jones ended that last week when he named Worley the starter. Had he not injured his thumb and missed the remainder of the season a year ago, the Vols probably would have gone to a bowl game. He's been put in some tough positions during his career, including being thrown to the wolves as a true freshman before he was ready. But he's persevered. His arm has gotten stronger. He's healthy now, and he also has more playmakers around him this season. Nobody's pushing him for the Heisman Trophy or even All-SEC honors, but here's betting Worley has a very solid senior season after throwing more interceptions (13) than touchdown passes (11) in his previous three seasons.

Most important game: We'll cheat and go 1A (Florida on Oct. 4) and 1B (Missouri on Nov. 22). Both games are at home, and both will go a long way toward determining whether or not the Vols can make it to the postseason. They've lost nine in a row to Florida, so ending that drought would be a big step in the right direction for Jones and the program. The Missouri game is sandwiched between a home game with Kentucky and the regular-season finale at Vanderbilt. It could be that the Vols have to win all three to go bowling.

also important to know, the SEC network is dedicating much of it's airtime tonight and tomorrow to the vols. here is the schedule:

Tuesday, Aug. 19
8 p.m. - 2014 Tennessee Football Preview
9 p.m. - SEC Storied: The Color Orange, The Condredge Holloway Story
11 p.m. - 2014 Tennessee Football Preview

Wednesday, Aug. 20
12 a.m. - Nine For IX: Pat XO
1 a.m. - 2004 Football: Tennessee vs. Florida
3 a.m. - 2005 Football: Tennessee at LSU
5:30 a.m. - 2013 Football Tennessee vs. South Carolina
12 p.m. - 2007 Football: Tennessee at Kentucky
2 p.m. - 2014 Tennessee Football Preview

now, if one of the hundreds of you that are using my netflix / hbogo / hulu logins has access to the SEC network on your cable, kindly email me with your username / password so that i might enjoy this on my roku. plz and thx.

 

that'll do, pig.

i didn't even know pig howard was in trouble, but i'm relieved to hear he returned to footvol practice this week.

19 days? is that possible? omg so excited.

still 34 days.

#Broncos open their stretching period with "Rocky Top" much to the delight of a dancing Peyton Manning. #9News pic.twitter.com/ONMeR1MZE4
— 9NEWS Sports Denver (@9NEWSSports) July 28, 2014

25 DAYS.

it's that time of year again. football season is peakin' right around the corner. in 25 days, we'll be whole again. one thing you need to know is that UT's new coach (and creator of this season's #brickbybrick motif), butch jones, is this week's sports illustrated cover girl!


also, check out the UTsports jersey countdown. each day, you will get features of all the players who have worn the numbers of how many days until kick-off. genius, really. (i can't wait for 14!!)

anywho, get yourself excited. it's coming!

3 DAYS!!!!!!

originally purblished in august 2009.

the countdown continues:

10. the pride of the southland marching band
9. smokey
8. rocky top
7. the color orange
6. eric berry
5. trash talking
4. lane kiffin derek dooley

3. tailgating!
everyone knows that half the fun of college football takes place before the players even take the field. tailgating is a mainstay of any successful gameday, and i would argue that no one does it better than the SEC. the term refers to the act of partying on or around the tailgate of a vehicle. however, this practice has evolved into a staple of college football tradition and culture.

from the grove of ole miss to the decks of the vol navy, fans have been known to wake up at all hours of the morning to get a head-start on the day's festivities. a noon kickoff means you better be outside and drinking by 8am at the latest. rules is rules, and i don't make them.

no tailgate would be complete without the phenomenon of cornhole, which has taken the world by storm over the past decade. the crisp thud of a well-worn bag on a warm fall afternoon is enough to jolt the volunteer heart right out of the past nine vacuous months of football-less-ness.

so everyone drag out the bags-and-boards, plug in the jambox, and fire up the grill, because football season arrives tomorrow, the vols take the field in 3 short days, and those natty lights aren't going to drink themselves!!!

bonus link: top 10 tailgating colleges

7 (and 6 and 5 and 4) DAYS!!!!!!!!!

2012 update : this 2009 post doesnt make sense anymore, but just deal with it, ok? it's been edited just slightly, but not with very much effort because unlike 2009, i have a job now (thanks, barack!). please note the prescient hatred for penn state. 

gosh, i know! i have been slacking big-time on the UT-football-greatness list. to make it up to all of you, and to get us all back on schedule, ima do a 4sie today. here we go!

10. the pride of the southland marching band
9. smokey
8. rocky top

7. the color orange!!

this should come as no surprise to anyone who knows me. orange is my favorite color. just ask anything i own. like my bike.

pantone 151c = where it's at.

6. eric berry!!

good luck! you're never going to catch him!

i love eric berry so much that i named my bike after him, and she's a lady! the UT safety is the first heisman-candidate we've had since peyton manning (i'm pretty sure). i hear what they're saying, that his chances are slim. tennessee will need to have a fairly successful season, and he'll have to pull out an amazing play in every single game. pssh. like that's even hard!!

he's the fastest runner. he takes the ball whenever he wants it. he'll run right around tim teabag. and watch out if you're georgia... he'll hit you so hard! he can play any position, just ask him! and he has the cutest tweets.

just sayin'... be sure to keep your peepers on number 14. he's a show-stopper!

5. trash talkingugh. georgia is the worst. their colors are red and black, which are ugly and boring. and they can never beat tennessee. it's like, if you put adult clothes on a bunch of toddlers and sent them out onto a football field...THAT's what it's like when georgia plays.

don't even get me started on florida. they repeatedly have poor wardrobe choices, they think their quarterback is so great, and their stadium is totes UgLy!

and auburn. second-rate at just about everything. guh-ross! their mascot is "tigers" but they yell "war eagle" like it makes any sense at all. that is 1) not an acceptible greeting, 2) not your mascot, and 3) not even an animal. more like "butt eagle".

and the same goes for the rest of you.

to be fair, the SEC is the greatest conference in all of college football, and i'd rather see all of these teams win than anyone in the big 10, especially the mf-ing nittany kitty katz. me-ouch!

4. lane kiffin!!

what a dreamboat. and he loves trash talking, too! lane's been making plenty of pre-season waves. i'm actually starting to think he might be a little bit crazy... like, beyonce-crazy. and i like it.

while we're all on p's and n's, waiting to see if he backs it up, i am enjoying the ride. my approach to tennessee football tends toward belligerent confidence, and i get the impression his does too.

keep it up, lane. can't wait til saturday! fuck this guy.

8 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

originally purblished in august 2009.

omg, tomorrow is the last saturday without football for MONTHS! the countdown continues...

10. the pride of the southland band
9. smokey
8. "rocky top"

i'll tell you what, i don't even know where to start with this one. we're all familiar with the inescapable heart flutter that accompanies a good listen at this song. tennessee's unofficial fight song is regarded far-and-wide as one of the most recognizable in all of college football. it's fast pace and upbeat tempo makes the volunteer spirit soar, and nothing gets a neyland stadium crowd more excited.

legend has it that "rocky top" was written in under 10 minutes (click that....trust me) at an inn nestled in the fabled mountain town of gatlinburg in 1967. the song was first performed by the osborne brothers, but peaked in popularity in 1970, when lynn anderson's version reached number 17 on the music charts! since then, "rocky top" has been cemented as a staple of southern tradition.

of course, my favorite version of the song is performed by the pride of the southland marching band, and they'll use just about any excuse to belt it out! you're sure to hear it after every touchdown, and during 'slow' games, i've even seen it played to celebrate the other team getting a penalty. i once heard an anecdote that then-florida-coach and notorious vol-hater steve spurrier was so vocal about his disdain for the tune, that the band made a special effort to play it as often as possible when visiting "the swamp", averaging 45 plays per florida-away-game!

8 minutes of big orange pageantry!

i think we can all agree that you haven't lived until you've experienced the rush of anticipation leading up to the moment you finally get to yell out that trademark "woo!" so, everyone get your stompin' shoes polished and ready, because we'll be hollerin' again in just 8 short days!!

bonus links:
dolly parton singing "rocky top"
100 songs of the south

9 DAYS!!!!!!!!!

originally purblished in august 2009.

welcome back to my special new 2Pz series:
10 things i love about tennessee football!!
let's just jump right back in...

10. the pride of the southland band

9. SMOKEY!

having an adorable puppy for a mascot is certainly nothing to sneeze at, and you can rest knowing that we vols don't take this regal creature for granted. known colloquially as the bluetick coonhound, this magnificent breed is easily recognized for its distinctive coloring, caused by a unique mixing of black and white fur. just like the vols he represents, smokey is "muscular and speedy, not chunky or clumsily built. the head is carried well up and the tail carried over the back, without signs of fear or nervousness."

smokey's proud posturing is his way of telling you not to mess with him. just ask the alabama player who got a little too close during a pre-game warm-up. there's no need to be frightened however. so long as you treat ol' smokes with the respect he commands, he'll have you scratching his soft belly in no time!

ever wonder how we got so lucky?? me too. here's a little anecdote of how smokey came to be our mascot:

"Smokey was selected as the mascot for Tennessee after a student poll in 1953. A contest was held by the Pep Club that year. Their desire was to select a coon hound that was native to Tennessee. At halftime of the Mississippi State game that season, several hounds were introduced for voting. "Blue Smokey", owned by a Rev. Bill Brooks was the last, and howled loudly when introduced. The students cheered and Smokey became the mascot."

the result has become a tradition which has continued to flourish for 56 years. today's smokey is our 9th, and i think i speak for all vols when i say i look forward to saluting him for decades to come!

git 'em, smoke!

10 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

so, i'm not going to keep explaining this to you dummies. this countdown is entering it's 3rd year. get used to seeing it for the rest of your lives. LOVE YOU GO VOLS!!!!!

welp. it's that time of year again. 10 days away from kickoff. in honor of this impending momentous occassion, we're going to re-run last year's countdown. because it is certainly worth remembering. enjoy. and GO VOLS!!!

omg i can't believe it. the wait is nearly over! in just 10 short days, we'll be cheering on our vols again! they've got a new coach, and i believe, a new destiny. in anticipation of our re-entry back into the most magical time of the year, i'll be sharing with you 10 things i love about TeNnEsSeE fOoTbaLL!!

10. the pride of the southland band
shyeah, if by "the southland", you mean "my heart!"

when it comes to my love for this talented group, there really is no limit. i was once accused of being in charge of PR for the band because i wouldn't shut up about how amazing the circle drill is, and how lucky the alabama fans to whom i was talking were to be witnessing such a dazzling spectacle. UT's band is but one of the many spirited tentacles of the octopus of volunteer pride. they never fail to bring a tear to my eye when they belt out "rocky top", and if you don't get choked up each time they march that power-T down the field in the pregame...well, i'd venture to say that that your heart is made of ice cubes.

god bless you, pride of the southland. god bless us all.

twerkin' on a headstand

shout out from beyonce: "BRILLIANT. I think he did this video better than I did. :) Love B."

50 DAYS.

this trailer will air during the super joel this weekend!

how lucky are we?

Get More: Beyoncé, Music, More Music Videos

#dinnertime

30 seconds of countdown

Get More: Beyoncé, MTV Shows

in case you were wondering if beyonce's pregnancy would make her give us any less crazy face, here is your assurance.

11 DAYS.

here are some new additions to my tennessee t-shirt collection.  jicyww.

jealous?

and this one:

here's a detail of the back:

it's true, i will.

djv got this one:

lucky us!!

17 days!

justin hunter! (for rachel)

25 days!

the pads are on. official practice commenced this week. who's excited?

29 DAYS.

sports illustrated has a short feature on tennessee running back and lane kiffin hater, tauren poole:

FOR ALL THE BRIDGES LANE KIFFIN TORCHED ON HIS WAY OUT OF KNOXVILLE, THE Tennessee faithful can be thankful for a blaze he ignited before he left town, one in the heart of running back Tauren Poole. It seems far away now, some 20 months and 1,000-plus yards later, but in November 2009 Poole was an afterthought on Kiffin's lone Volunteers team, a sophomore with 32 carries in two years. So when the coach approached Poole in the waning minutes of a Nov. 7 laugher against Memphis, telling him to enter the game, the fourth-stringer's answer was surprising. "No," Poole said, the menial serving of playing-time scraps insulting him as much as none at all. "I'm good." (via)

0 DAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG ITS GAMEDAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

cLiCk tHiSsSsSs!! OMG! GO VOLS!!!!!