The News Sentinel's morning sports show has been on the air for less than three months. Obviously, that's not long enough to prepare me for the wide range of callers.

I expect to hear anger, humor, stupidity, joy, despair and wackiness on The Sports Page. I also expect to hear, "I told you so."

But I don't expect to hear concern for an opponent.

That's what we have heard more than once in the last few days: Tennessee fans trying to discourage fellow fans from booing Air Force players as they enter Neyland Stadium on Saturday night. Their requests tell you how different this game is.

And the Air Force media guide tells you how different this opponent is.

College football media guides are as much about self-promotion as they are information. For example, in the first 35 pages of the UT media guide, you can read glowing accounts of the school's facilities, tradition and pipeline to the NFL.

But you won't read about Capt. John Vargas, a 1996 Air Force Academy graduate who earned three letters as a linebacker but never made it to the NFL. All he did after graduation was serve his country.

Quoting from the Air Force media guide: "An F-16 pilot, Vargas completed 102 combat missions, totaling more than 400 hours in multiple operations. He provided close air support and employed ordnance on high-value targets such as Al Quaeda personnel, equipment and strongholds.

"During one sortie, he and his wingman discovered a convoy under attack. Vargas flew directly over the suspected enemy locations at high speed and low altitude while expending flares, causing the enemy to stop engaging and allowing the convoy to move to safety.

"He also handled three aircraft emergencies, including a divert to North Africa. He was also involved in developing F-16 tactics, technique and procedures for missions never before executed."

Vargas was honored this year as the winner of the Col. James Jabara Award for Airmanship. No, it's not the Heisman Trophy. And no, it wasn't presented on ESPN. But you might consider it worth a few paragraphs in a sports column.

The award is named after an honest-to-goodness Okie from Muskogee. Jabara was born in Muskogee, Okla., after his parents moved there from Lebanon. He later graduated from Wichita (Kan.) High School, enlisted in the Air Force, earned his pilot's wings, was commissioned as a second lieutenant and joined World War II in progress.

He flew 108 combat missions in Europe. And he was just getting started.

In his first tour of duty in the Korean War, he shot down six MiG-15 jets. Two years later, after volunteering for a second tour of duty in the same war, he shot down nine more MiGs.

The Colonel James Jabara Airport outside Wichita, Kan., is named after him. So is the award given annually to the Air Force Academy graduate "whose actions, directly associated with an aerospace vehicle, set him apart from his contemporaries."

Jabara, who was killed in a car accident in 1966, was only 5-foot-5, so he wouldn't have made much of a linebacker. But his height didn't stop him from becoming America's first jet ace.

Air Force might not have any five-star recruits on the field Saturday. It might not have any NFL prospects, either. Instead, it might have someone like Jabara or Vargas -- someone who is more likely to help you win a war than a national championship; someone who is all about America, but not necessarily an All-American football player.

Booing opponents as they enter your stadium is acceptable football behavior. If the opponent happens to be a service academy, that doesn't make you unpatriotic.

But two standing ovations -- one for the Vols and another for the Falcons -- would be more appropriate Saturday. They're both your teams.