Reply to a comment

Reply to this comment

vol98champ writes:

in response to SewaneeVolFan:

Well, at least not until a UT team wins another consensus National Championship. (Fulmer has half of ours, remember.) Or has a run like Fulmer did for almost 75% of his UT coaching career.

Do we call the folks who love Gen. Neyland Neylandistas? Are there Knute Rockneistas or Bud Wilkinsonistas?

One of the glories of following football is the past great accomplishments, like the unscored-upon for a whole year UT team or the undefeated '98 team.

Heck, I'm from Sewanee and we still celebrate one single year back in the 19th century. And of course our record winning streak against 'Bama before the SEC was formed (of which the University of the South was an original member, naturally).

So to me it kinda makes sense that UT fans would celebrate Philip Fulmer, one of the greatest coaches UT has ever had.

Furthermore, most UT fans regret the circumstances under which Fulmer had to leave. Football is a cutthroat business, and partings are always messy, with one or both parties always unhappy, if not mistreated or cheated.

But that was a particularly sad parting, a bad thing happening to a good man, whether or not he was still the man for the job.

Right around the time Jim Harbaugh stops thinking about pass interference will be the time Fulmer fans stop wishing things had turned out differently for him, whether or not it was best for UT to make a change.

So, to answer your point, no, it doesn't look like the Fulmeristas are ever going to go away.

Anymore than the Neylandistas are going to go away.

Fulmer was great for UT, especially as long as he had Cut and Chief. Let's also not forget Manning who probably came to UT because of Cut. Name the receivers and O lineman who made it in the NFL who played during Manning's tenure. I was a big Fulmer fan until his last year, but it was time for him to go. A good hire like Saben, Spurrier, Urban, or half a dozen others who are very successful would have us back in the NC picture, but UT avoids these guys like the plague. They prefer paying 3 mil a year for a possibility to paying 5 mil for a sure thing.

Share your thoughts

Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.

Comments can be shared on Facebook and Yahoo!. Add both options by connecting your profiles.

Features