For the first time ever, Tennessee fans were able to post an Instagram celebrating a victory over the Alabama Crimson Tide in what was the game of the year so far in college football. Knoxville was a spectacle on Saturday, setting the scene perfectly for what would be an even better game between two of the best teams in the country.
After 59+ minutes of back and forth action and 98 combined points split evenly, everything lied on the shoulders of Tennessee’s kicker Chase McGrath, who booted home a 40-yard field goal as time expired to send Neyland Stadium into a frenzy.
This kicker is now forever a legend at Tennessee
— Bovada (@BovadaOfficial) October 15, 2022
Rightfully, the students wasted no time celebrating Tennessee’s first victory over Alabama since 2006 on the field, tearing down the goal posts in the process and carrying them out of the stadium to the river.
Feel bad for anyone who doesn’t like CFB pic.twitter.com/FPwulzVmbk
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 15, 2022
This is what college football is all about, and if there was anyone deserving of this moment, it was the fans of the Tennessee Volunteers. For over a decade, the Vols have been a laughing stock in the SEC, but their fans, who are some of the best in college football, have stood by the program every step of the way, packing out Neyland Stadium on a weekly basis.
Oftentimes, programs are undeserving of their fan base’s undying love, and that’s been the case at Tennessee for most of the last two decades. These people haven’t stopped supporting the program — with their hearts and their wallets — despite the Vols putting a piss-poor product on the field year after year. The program should be proud to take a minuscule financial hit to allow their fans to enjoy this moment. Nearly every program across America has done so at some point without saying a peep, but of course, the Tennessee Athletic Department took this as an opportunity to make even more money.
Yesterday, they began a GoFundMe page for the cost of the field goal posts.
https://twitter.com/Vol_Football/status/1581726661078228993
Now, this is not a Tennessee hit piece. College Football is better; the SEC is better when Tennessee is a competitive team. They have one of the best fan bases in the country, which is why it’s gross that the program is trying to take advantage of them in this situation. The cost of the goal posts, and the fine they will have to pay for rushing the field is pennies compared to the money Tennessee brings in every year from their football program.
What makes it even worse is the Tennessee President was caught on camera saying it doesn’t matter what fines they will ensue, saying, “We’ll do it every year.”
Randy, what’s that gonna cost? “It doesn’t matter, we’ll do this every year!!!” @Vol_Football @randyboyd @Vol_Sports @Vol_Sports @BarstoolTenn pic.twitter.com/eJm3bMScAq
— Hanes Torbett (@Tarheelbb) October 16, 2022
It’s an embarrassment that Tennessee Football is publicly asking for a handout to pay for these fines, and the grossest part is they will likely get even more money than they need to cover the costs, and they’ll have no problem pocketing it. This is one of the lamest, scummiest things I’ve ever seen done by a college football program, especially one that is printing money on their own, and it’s a shame they had to take away from what was the greatest moment of the last two decades in Volunteer football history.
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Photo: Kevin Langley/Icon Sportswire
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