Sep 16, 2009
Traditions: Football
I have decided to write a Series of Blogs about UT Traditions that are awesome. Over the next couple weeks I will get to experience Several of them, and over the past few weeks I have experienced others.
I'm not sure which is my favorite tradition, but Football Saturdays are definitely in the running.
Every Saturday in the Fall, people all over the state, and many around the nation get up with their Orange clothing for the day already set out waiting for them. They get their Lunch that day from a grill somewhere, either from the back of a pickup truck, out of someone's backyard, or from under an EZ-up in a parking lot. The part that is consistent about Tailgating is that its always with friends, and its always a good time. On some of the Saturdays, more than 100,000 people get the opportunity to go to the game. Hundreds drop anchor right next to the Stadium in the Tennessee River to form the "VOL NAVY." Thousands more travel to Knoxville just to tailgate near the Stadium, and Hundreds of Thousands watch the game on Television.
When inside the Stadium, those 100,000 fans listen to and watch The Pride of the Southland Marching Band. Apart from sounding amazing every year, they also have one of, if not the best Marching Band Field Shows in the World. Before every game they spell out VOLS, and USA. For one home game every year, Fans are lucky enough to witness the "Circle Drill," which is the Pride's most intricate and impressive Show. I suggest to youtube it.
The Pride plays one of Tennessee's most honored traditions, Rocky Top. While Rocky Top is not our official fight song, it is what we sing at sporting events. Towards the end, it says "Good ol' Rocky Top, WHOO! Rocky Top, Tennessee" and during a close game, that Whoo hits like a Sonic Boom.
Football Players Fulfill three great traditions at UT. The Vol Walk, The locker room sign, and The opening of the T.
The Vol Walk takes place a couple hours before kickoff every game, and its a time for the players to walk from the Other side of campus to The Stadium. A crowd forms to watch them walk by, and the crowd opens up in front in front of the team. All the players give High-Fives, and all the fans get an opportunity to wish the players luck before the game.
The Locker Room Sign is the best name I could come up with for this tradition, Every Player touches a sign above the locker room door on their way out onto the Field. It says "I will give my all for Tennessee Today!" A lot of students have a similar Sign above their bedroom door, and its a big feature on the back of T-Shirts.
The Opening of the T is a Tradition that The Pride and the Team participate in together. The Pride, along with the Cheerleaders and Dance Team, form a huge T that spans the width of the field and runs almost halfway down the field. As the pride starts playing "Down the Field" they walk away from each other, and a massive T shape forms, and the Team runs through it. At this point, everyone in the Stadium is on their feet, and screaming.
School Pride and School Spirit are two things that UT has a lot of. There isn't a better way to show it than to come to a Football game and experience it for yourself. I'm really excited for my family to come down. My Mom's Parents will be down for the Auburn Game, and My Dad's Parents and Sisters, and their families will all be down for the South Carolina Game. It will be an incredible experience for my Cousins, who are all younger than my younger brother, and the adults are in for a surprise. There is nothing like a UT Football Game.
"I will give my all for Tennessee Today!"
• • •
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
« Home