In critical, adverse junctures of your life, you might have turned to a family member or close friend, who — with the very best intentions — uttered the most depressing phrase in the English language: “Well, things could be worse.”
It’s depressing because it’s true. No matter how dreadfully things might be going, they actually could plummet to lower depths at any time.
Strangely, some people take solace from the possibility that in the worst of times, the worst times could become worse. With an awareness of that audience, I feel compelled to point out that the academic plight of a handful of Tennessee football players could be worse.
For example, take Florida State, which for Music City Bowl purposes, should be known as Florida State Lite. About 25 FSU players have been suspended for the game because of their involvement in a widespread cheating scandal.
See, things could be a lot worse.
Only six UT football players have been ruled academically ineligible for the Outback Bowl. That includes three starters — wide receiver Lucas Taylor, defensive tackle Demonte Bolden and linebacker Rico McCoy.
This classroom update might inspire you to a moral tirade on the lack of discipline so prevalent in today’s student-athletes. In general, I encourage moral tirades. But in this case, it’s obvious that academic failure isn’t all bad. In fact, it reflects a sense of integrity sometimes lacking in big-time college athletics.
Certainly, these student-athletes could have cheated and maintained their eligibility. Instead, they failed honorably.
Based on a friend’s reaction, not everyone appreciates that. “How could anybody not pass six hours?” he asked.
Back in the dark ages of education, when an electric typewriter constituted a technological advancement, my final semester of college consisted of only six hours — an upper-level history course taken on a pass-fail basis, and a lower-level geography course in which an average student with the attention span of a flea could make “C.”
The history course consisted of only one test, a final exam. The geography course had a mid-term and a final. Those meager requirements fit my schedule, which included a full-time job and a week’s vacation.
Unfortunately, the week before finals, I discovered that a semester project was required in geography, and that the history professor actually cared about attendance. Bottom line: I easily could have flunked both courses, and, to this day, have recurring nightmares that I didn’t get my degree.
So I can empathize with college football players, who are consumed by a sport that is every bit as demanding as a full-time job.
At UT, the players who didn’t meet those demands this semester might be temporarily regarded as failures. At FSU, they would be heroes. Instead of being known as the players who didn’t make their grades, they would be known as the players who wouldn’t cheat to make their grades.
That’s why I was a little disappointed in the headline on Friday’s press release from UT’s Sports Spinformation Office. It read: “Vols conclude work in Knoxville, (coach Phillip) Fulmer addresses academics.”
I would have preferred something like: “Six UT Players Take Honorable Way Out.”
Sports editor John Adams may be reached at 865-342-6284 or adamsj@knews.com.
Memorable moments in Pat Summitt's…
Tennessee's signing class for 2012
Phillip Fulmer through the years
Scripps Interactive Newspapers Group
Comments » 70
CrankE writes:
So then John Adams completed his "semester project" in geography (Geography is the DEVIL Bobby Bouchez!!) AND maintained his average flea attention span, the full-time job, and the week's vacation and got his duh-gree from LSU.
Bigger_Al writes:
Good point, John. I remember my last semester at UT when I had only nine hours to get my MSME degree - primarily a five hour final design project in which we found a major flaw less than 48 hours before it was due. We took a break at 3:00 AM and went to Sam and Andy's, and I was sure I was going to have to call GE and tell them that I didn't exactly get my degree, and that I would need a few more months to report.
I do hate to see upper classmen letting this happen to them. But, I can relate.
Kwitcherbellyachin writes:
Mmmmm... I could go for a Sam & Andy's Philly sandwich right about now. I spent several years myself there after a cram session or two for Statics or Thermo.
Bigger_Al writes:
Pepper Steak and Pepper Cheese on Dark. $2.44.
I don't guess we can blame any of this on our outgoing "Assistant Head Coach for Player Development"?
gohawks1 writes:
Here's a scary thought - what if they did cheat? Ponder on that one for a while, John.
pdhuff#552644 writes:
tngeoff - did you ever see an odd ogg or any of his relatives at Sam & Andy's?
Feel for these youngsters, however self-inflicted.
texan writes:
Turkey and swiss cheese on dark with mustard and Bob Kessling standing next to me in line when at WBIR. 1AM. I knew I had 2 semesters left then. Whatever happened to the LAP?
nmvol writes:
Spent a lot of time at Sam & Andys while I was at UT. Sure so miss it.
jeremy writes:
way to polish a terd.
texan writes:
oh yea forgot to mention Victor and Gus. "Need another cold one?"(in their Greek accents) God rest their souls.
texan writes:
Thanks John Adams for something we can all agree on. Where did you go in Baton Rouge to build your ego?
TeamXer writes:
It was all about The Roman Room. God bless you, George.
zqvol writes:
Just an FYI Sam and Andy's is going strong out in Farragut, on Kingston Pike.
texan writes:
pixmonks
You are on target. Is he still living?
ncvol17 writes:
Sam & Andy's is a fond memory for all students who were in Knoxville from at least the 50's through the 70's.. Roast Beef and smoked cheddar on dark w/mustard got me through 4 yrs of school. A VOL burger or a VOL Special or 2 every week supplemented it. Where is George from the Roman Room?. Anybody go to Brother Jacks for a mystery meat sandwich. Oh yeah, the Mensa members of our team. You could pass 6 hours taking classes like Health and history studies in your sleep...
martinvolfan writes:
Give me a break. Take care of your business in the classroom so that you can take care of business on the football field. Go Vols!
TommyJack writes:
Brother Jacks...You kidding me? I survived many of those sandwiches...
texan writes:
Brother Jacks, Man I haven't heard that forever. But my mouth is now watering. used to go there with my ROTC buddies often. Thanks.
Bigger_Al writes:
Gus is still at Good Times, I think. When I was there in the 80's, Bill was the man at Sam and Andy's.
Stefano's Pepperoni with the Wheat Crust could hit the spot right about now in Louisville, KY...
texan writes:
ncvol1' remember the infamous pizza burger?
ncvol17 writes:
ummmm.. pizza burger....good stuff
GerryOP writes:
Chili Cheese Dog -- Smokey Mountain Market!
Bigger_Al writes:
tngeoff - I think those turned into American Fitness, which turned into Premier, which went belly up about two years ago...
texan writes:
tngeoff, I called the owners at the Long Branch last year and they told me how much the strip has changed. They now have geek night upstairs every week. I was a bartender there in the 80's. What a change.
Bigger_Al writes:
Were the Smokey Mtn Mrkt Chili Cheese Dogs 3 for $1? I never had enough beer to give those a try. Not that I didn't have A LOT of beer...
texan writes:
greek
TommyJack writes:
Smokey Mtn Market kill dogs...oh yeah!
james#216392 writes:
I worked a job and took 12 hours and made the honor roll. Don't give me excuses, give me results. My taxes are paying their education. My sweat and hard work paid my way. They have everything given to them. Put forth some effort. Quit drinking, partying and getting arrested, and study a little.
ncvol17 writes:
Rooster sandwich & a double chili cheese dog at Smokey Mtn Market
texan writes:
Tommyjackk' I had to run over there during Hell Week my freshman year in my boxers. They tasted as good then as they do now from what my nephew tells me.
ncvol17 writes:
Uncle Sams nickel beer night... remember when a cheerleader was shot at Uncle Sams in the 70's?
takebkknox writes:
There you go Adams. It's official. You suck. Go back to Red Stick for a Swamp Lizzard Sandwich from Jeaux & Zally's.
texan writes:
ncvol17, my brother was in the parking lot that night according to him. I was in that glass bar at the time. Remember that?
Bigger_Al writes:
If it makes you feel any better, nobody's tax dollars pay for athletic scholarships at UT. Only donations to the VASF.
It doesn't make me feel any better...
GerryOP writes:
How about the T Room "roach coach" coming around by the dorms and fraternity houses in the spring evenings selling the biggest damn ... er ... darn burgers soaked in grease? Think they charged 75 cents a piece! Cheese was a nickle extra! After a night of PGA and grapefruit juice they really hit the spot!
wisonsinvol writes:
I can't believe it. Roast beef, smoked cheddar, mustard and mayo on long dark with a little horseradish and a tallboy. Can't be beat. I still stop at the Sam and Andy's out in west Knoxville to get the RB sandwich and tallboy.
GerryOP writes:
Wow, Geoff! If you were at Uncle Sams with your wife AND your girlfriend you were bold -- or foolish -- or drunk!! I tried that once and didn't live to tell the story! LOL!!
eefor10c writes:
Adams, you only said the attention span of a flea. If it had been the brain of a flea you wouldn't have made it.
reedt#304042 writes:
George at Sam and Andy's!! Remember it well around 1965-66. They had great pizzaburgers. Is George still alive? Also remember the old Vol Market where you could get 5 hot dogs for a dollar. Would get those and a pint of chocolate milk on my walk back to my East Neyland Stadium dorm room.
Hunter writes:
Lest we forget - Old College Inn with cheese bings and the "Mett and Beans" dinner special. I miss campus food......
justin35us#209705 writes:
I lived in Louisville for a while, I hate that place. No offense to you other Louisvillians. I am glad to be back in a REAL college sports town, just been back over a year. UT campus is amazing, UL campus isn't even like a real college, night and day. Speaking of UL, I am surprised they didn't get Coker to take Willie William's roster spot.
DroopyDrawers writes:
I am from the old school. G&H on corner, then The Torch. Have no idea what it is now. $.25 draft and onion rings. G&H stood for Gag & Heave. Across the street was Blue Note. Pabst Blue Ribbon $.40. Good ole days.
snafu14u#241639 writes:
Good ole days: Bartend at the LAP then Krystal at 3am. Or got o the Famers Market Diner (forget the name). Couldn't get all the food on the table. Use to bounce at Uncle Sams when they first opened.Crazy times. bonzaivol
wyomingvol writes:
I wouldn't wipe my backside with the KNS...
ALLVOL12 writes:
Get a life Adams, you are terrible. Go write for TIMTEBOW.COM
WaltGoVols writes:
I remember goinbg to Uncle Sam's in 1978. And Sam and Andy's. Remember the big plastic bull on the roof?
I had me a lot of Krystals breakfasts too. I was sad to see The Last Lap go as well.
bloodrunsorange writes:
Dr. Cherry’s geography, of course Uncle Jimmy Walls geology, Dr, Long’s love and marriage, and Mrs. Badget and Mrs. Berry’s will not read grammatical mistakes (draw the red line “F”) when whoever typed your paper left out the comma, days. Those two English teachers still irritate me. I wrote a paper about the hallowed ground in Neyland Stadium and Berry flunked it saying there was no deity involved and I said your not from around here are you? This is the South not Yankee land. I still got the F and that paper. It was really nice to remember Sam and Andy’s, Roman Room, Brother Jacks, Scrug Ribs, Vol Burger, Litton Burger and fries, the Place, and no negative comments from the doom and gloom bunch. Phil will pull us out of this simply because he is one of us and he has to make it happen. In this life all you really own is your integrity and he will not let us down. It would be hard to live with yourself knowing you’re capable of getting the job done but you let your buddies down. I’m trying hard to keep the faith. Go Vols!
OhioOrange writes:
Thanks to all for the walk down memory strip...
Getting to the age when every chest pain can be tied to a Good Time's steak in a sack with hot pepper cheese, or an onion bagel steamed with two inches of cream cheese, and a side of "Gus Chips" (some may know that as
the burnt cheese scraped off the steamers)...
...watching Mayo and two other lineman to be named later get their a.... kicked outside 3 for 1 Happy Hour off Lake Avenue by one guy half their size who, unfortunately, did not wear a warning sign that indicated his advanced training in the finer art of fisticuffs...
...watching D. Carter do the same to countless other drunks in the same parking lot...
...sitting on the wall across from the Circle K with a Quart of Magnum watching in amazement the night the clerk walked off the job and let the store get looted, I wonder if the distributors ever got their kegs back...
...every night ending at Krystal's(there goes that odd pain again) for nachos with extra jalapeno's and Krystals on the half shell (one bun removed), my conscience allows me to hope that their workers got 'combat pay' after midnight...
As an alumni, I also remember suffering through the 0 and 6 start with Duncan Stewart sitting on the billboard until we won. If I can survive that, I believe I can survive almost anything.
It takes a special kid to excel in the demands of the classroom and the demands of major college football. Nothing has changed since I was in school. Unfortunately, the coaching turmoil has contributed to folks not keeping an eye on the shop.
OhioOrange writes:
Sorry, one of the burnt out brain cells flared back on for a moment...
CORRECTION: D. JONES not Carter
pdhuff#552644 writes:
tngeoff, memories - yes, Holloway - the Artful Dodger from Huntsville, Alabam, I believe.
The logistics of being sure at least 6-10 Buds were chilled post-game in Charley Peppers parking lot. Damn that walk back up to Cumberland. Oh well. That was a wife ago.
Check out Tennessean.com/Biddle: Vols Flunk as Phil Watches - "ites" won't like this column! That said- I'm kinda melancholy awaiting what effort we'll display vs the "mammals with a fetid odor" (Check out that description) in the Outback. Won't be surprise either way, we've displayed an affinity for both. Doldrums approach, my friend. Merry Christmas and odd oggs for all.
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.