I love going to the movies. Even bad movies.

There was a flick a few years back called "I Love Trouble" that you probably don't remember. There's no reason you should.

The leads were Nick Nolte and Julia Roberts. It was with high expectations that I slapped my money on the ticket counter.

Alas, it was awful. Nolte and Roberts might be stars but they generated worse chemistry than Latrell Sprewell and P.J. Carlesimo.

The game plan, er, the script stunk. After 15 minutes, it was obvious no championships, er, Oscars would be forthcoming.

After 45 minutes it was further obvious that what had seemed like a great idea in some producer's office had become a train wreck in the execution.

But I stayed until the credits rolled.

Just like I'm going to stay with Tennessee's misbegotten 2005 football season until the credits roll.

Of course, it's my job to stay the course. I get paid to cover a 2-9 team just the same as a 9-2 team.

You're the fan. Nobody's paying you. You can come and go as you like.

No doubt, a lot of folks are ready to bail out on the '05 Vols after a touchdown-less 6-3 defeat at Alabama on Saturday. Some of you probably beat the rush and bailed two weeks ago after the loss to Georgia.

With Halloween fast approaching, instead of gathering for an anticipated championship run, the Vols are staggering at 3-3 going into Saturday's visit from South Carolina.

"Here we are going into our eighth game and they're going into their seventh game,'' the South Carolina coach noted Sunday, "and we actually have a little bit better record than they do.

"Who would have thunk that before the season starts?''

No one. That's who.

Leave it to Steve Spurrier to point out the irony.

Spurrier, Tennessee's arch-nemesis in the 1990s at Florida, has resurfaced at South Carolina, where his Gamecocks are 4-3 after back-to-back SEC wins.

As for the Vols, back-to-back SEC losses have deflated any dreams of an October revival.

"Sometimes,'' Spurrier continued, "you think you're loaded at all positions and they don't quite jell together.''

Like movies, like wars, like bank heists, sometimes football seasons don't quite jell together as planned.

In this disposable age of instant gratification, the life span of a disappointing product is short and not so sweet.

The 2005 season for Tennessee fans was supposed to be about championships. It's not, as it turns out.

So do you throw it away now? Do you walk out halfway through?

As a fan, that's your call. And, please understand, I'm not here to persuade you one way or the other.

Tennessee fans, like those at any other big-time program, pay a price to get on the bandwagon.

Season tickets, a road trip to Gainesville, it all adds up. You want some bang for your buck.

Some of you want championships for your buck, nothing less.

If that's your standard, fair enough. No hard feelings. Have a nice Christmas. See you at spring practice.

I think I'll stick around. Let's not spin the Vols' season as anything other than a major breakdown, but even a breakdown has its fascination.

How will the leaders handle the reality of crushed goals? Which young players will emerge from the rubble?

Now that Alabama has thrown off the yoke, anybody else up to it? And the old standby, Clausen or Ainge?

I'm the type to stay in my seat and watch the final futile shot of a 101-40 basketball game. The verdict is long since over, but the human pageant isn't.

So I'll be there when the credits roll on the 2005 Vols.

Even if they roll in Shreveport.