"You've got to accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative and don't mess with Mr. In-Between."

— Johnny Mercer

Ever sit at the beach and watch the waves roll in? I think it's interesting to just sit and watch the motion. What's most interesting to me is what happens just before a wave rolls in.

The water rolls out.

The beach is drained for a second or two before the next big wave crashes onto the sand.

Before tidal waves and tsunamis, the beach can drain for hundreds of yards. Or so the Discovery Channel tells me.

Well, I think something like that has been happening here in Knoxville over the past few months.

Following last season's 5-6 tsunami, the water of fan expectations drained so far off the beach that you had to wonder if it would ever come back. "Have the Vols fallen into a permanent state of low tide?"

But now, just as inevitably, the expectations are back on the rise. The water rolls out, the water rolls in. Ah, the cycle of a sports fan's life.

A month ago, anyone "in the know" would have talked about the following worry spots for the Vols: offensive line, quarterback, receivers, health at running back, and the defensive front seven.

Today, anyone "in the know" would point out all of the positives coming out of Tennessee's first few practice sessions.

"Ainge says he knows the offense better." "Coach Fulmer says this offensive line isn't a big worry for him." "Special teams are getting more attention." "Trooper Taylor's got the receivers working harder." Or so we're told.

And, with that, the wave of expectations is rising all over Big Orange Country. Even in the dark spider holes where the villainous media lurk.

Talking with sportwriters and radio hosts who take part in my weekly TV show, it's obvious that they're also starting to wonder if this team isn't destined for better things than they might have predicted a month ago.

Should predictions of 7-5 actually have been predictions of 8-4? 9-3? Of, dare I say it, 10-2?

Much of this traces back to the positive talk coming from the UT campus right now. It goes a long way when Vol players and coaches are saying all the right things.

Muhammad Ali once said that he felt that if he called himself "the Greatest" enough, people would eventually buy it. They did.

That's what we do. We're influenced by what we hear, see and read. And the smallest things can stick with us.

For example, about a month ago, a caller on a radio show asked me who Tennessee would go after if this happened to be Phillip Fulmer's last year on The Hill. Jokingly, I said Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden (ignoring the fact that he would take a three million dollar paycut to come to Tennessee).

I thought that was the end of the story until just a couple of days later, when I heard a caller on another show say, "I heard that Tennessee is interested in Jon Gruden." Just last week, another Vol fan approached me and said that Gruden's buying up half the property in Sevier County, his wife (a Sevier County native) wants to come home, and that Gruden doesn't care a lick about "money."

Uh-huh.

The point is, if UT players and coaches say the right things, and the media reports those things, then those things will start to sink in.

Even if all the "right things" were said before last year's 5-6 season, too.

So I think the recent upswing in expectations is as natural as the waves hitting the shore.

It's August and the Vols can still go undefeated. "Fulmer's at his best when expectations are low." "The players are smarter, faster, and tougher than a year ago." "And they're all hungrier, too."

Call it "Vol Fever," but most East Tennesseans seem to be catching it. The govolsxtra messageboards are now filled with "we'll kick Cal's butt" comments.

Is that the right path to follow, Vol fans? Or is this just the work of a few "Hype-oid Marys" who are spreading the good feelings and repeating the positive talk of the coaching staff?

Being a jaded, cynical member of the media, I know what I think.

But go ahead and change my prediction from 8-4 to 9-3 anyway. Hey, these guys really are saying all the right things.

John Pennington hosts The Hall's Salvage Sports Source on Sunday at 11 a.m. on WATE. He also writes a blog at govolsxtra.com.