SEC FOOTBALL RELIGION OF A REGION

In SEC Football: Religion of a Region, McKeethan covers 1) The highs of winning – As the clock counted down, I turned on the Vol Network to get John Ward’s call. Since it was his last game, I knew he would have something special. “Martin takes the snap from center and goes to one knee. This football game is coming to a close. This football season is coming to a close! Tennessee fans come from everywhere. Media come from everywhere. We’ll count it down with you – five, four, three, two, one. The national champion is clad in BIG ORANGE!!!! Final Score Tennessee 23 Florida State 16!” Immediately I fell to the floor and began crying. After a few seconds I was able to gather up enough strength in my vocal cords and call Dad. Even though my folks didn’t have caller ID, he knew who it was. “We won it!” said the voice on the other end of the call. We celebrated, cried tears of joy, and reminisced about the season and seasons past. After so many years of getting close, we were finally on top of the college football world! The years of frustration, close losses, and the resulting temper tantrums were worth it to get to this point. I stayed up until about 2:00 in the morning, listening to the post-game show on the Vol Network. I showed up at work the next day around noon. The first place I went was Paul’s office. We slapped high fives and exchanged a bear hug. Once more, my tears were uncontrollable As I look back on my life, there are only a few days I would truly call great. Obviously the days Sarah and Josh were born are among these events, along with the day Beckie walked down the aisle to join me. January 4, 1999, ranks alongside those blessed events. 2) The lows of losing - LSU took over on downs and salted away a 31-20 victory. Walking out of the Georgia Dome that night was one of the lowest feelings I have ever known. Tennessee let a chance of a lifetime slip away. No game has ever wrecked me emotionally like this one did. I slept only a few hours after getting back home. At church the next morning no one knew what to say to me. At work Monday morning it was like a morgue. All we could do was shake our heads in disgust. In addition to being devastated emotionally, I became ill physically. On Christmas Eve, over three weeks later, I was so sick I got out of bed for only a few minutes to see Sarah and Josh sit on Santa’s lap. There is no doubt in my mind the illness was psychosomatic. As devastating as the loss was short-term, the long-term effects of the loss were even greater. You will read in the rest of this chapter and in the next few chapters about the fortunes of LSU and UT in the remainder of the decade. A complete role reversal took place the night the lights went out on the Big Orange in Georgia. In the nine years since that dreadful evening, LSU has won two national titles and finished in the top ten five times. Tennessee’s highest finish since 2001 was a twelfth-place ranking in 2007. In the thirty-plus years of watching SEC football, I have not seen a game that came close to that one in historical significance. Sixty years and one day after Pearl Harbor, UT fans experienced a day that will live in infamy. Ironically, in his first year at Alabama, Coach Saban drew an analogy between the Tide’s loss to Louisiana-Monroe and Pearl Harbor. Some thought the comparison was tasteless, but I completely understood his perspective. Nick Saban has been in the national spotlight since that night in the Georgia Dome. Conversely, Phil Fulmer never recovered. The Vols would not return to the national title hunt for the remainder of Fulmer’s stay in Knoxville. Dad said it best when he stated, “Everything changed that night. For Saban and for Fulmer. For Tennessee, LSU, and eventually Alabama.” It is impossible to overstate the impact that game has had on my life. I had become accustomed to winning conference titles and competing for national championships, so much so that I have often felt in the past nine years that part of my identity is missing. It’s not too strong a statement to declare that part of me died that night in Atlanta. I eagerly anticipate reincarnation in the future under Coach Dooley, who ironically was on the winning sideline that night. 3) The rituals of an SEC fan – I have attempted to capture the passion of SEC fans in my writing; however, I find it impossible to express intangible emotions with tangible words, so I will leave you with something more concrete. I look forward to each coming season: • The hope that all teams have on national signing day • The anticipation that comes with spring practice • The waiting game we play in the summer • The realization on opening weekend that football is finally here • The ritual of Saturday in the fall – kids getting homework done and parents getting chores done in the morning because nothing can interfere with the games of the afternoon and evening • Going to church Sunday morning to either celebrate the previous day’s victory or mourn the loss with like-minded souls • Repeating the cycle every year It appears my efforts to stick with the tangible and concrete have failed. There are great, inescapable emotions in the life cycle of an SEC fan. I know this is the way many of you grew up. This is the way I grew up. This is the way Josh is growing up. I had the privilege of inheriting the love of the sport from my father. I am simply trying to pass it down to the next generation.