“The good old days weren’t always good and tomorrow ain’t as bad as it seems.”

– Billy Joel

Billy, I have to disagree with you. Personally, I really miss the ’90s. Those days pretty much WERE all good.

As someone who thinks a person ought to call it as they see it, it was a lot more fun in East Tennessee in the ’90s.

A person could talk about win streaks, a “Decade of Dominance,” unequaled heights and realistic national championship hopes just about every dang year.

And that person would NOT be called a homer. He was just being honest. Tennessee’s football program was at an all-time high. The numbers and facts and national rankings said so.

But the un-fun thing of calling it as you see it … is having to call it when you see it slipping away.

Suddenly, facts and numbers aren’t as easy on the eyes to the folks in the orange-colored glasses. “Facts? We stopped paying attention to numbers when the millennium turned.”

Well, I’m going to say something that many of you don’t want to hear, anyway.

Besides, UT already has a team of cheerleaders that can be seen on the sidelines every Saturday. And there are always a couple of folks in the media willing to trade their credibility for an exclusive interview or a pat on the back from the “5-6 wasn’t really that bad” crowd.

So at the risk of being unpopular, here’s how I see it: Right now, Tennessee doesn’t deserve respect.

There, I said it.

Respect was the big talk before the Cal game. “Why does ESPN act like last year’s whipping of the Bears was a fluke?” “Why don’t people believe the Vols will crush Cal?” “Why doesn’t Tennessee get respect?”

Because the lab-coat wearing, true-eyed outsider is moved by records and data, not heartstrings. And the recent win-loss numbers don’t inspire much confidence.

Tennessee didn’t get respect prior to the Cal game because, flat-out, they haven’t earned respect in quite a while. Not since 2001. And even the end of that season could be seen as a confidence-drain.

Seven times in the last 10 seasons Tennessee has finished the year ranked lower than where the media placed them in the preseason poll. After one game this season, they’re off on the same foot.

Does that earn the national media’s respect?

UT hasn’t won a conference title since 1998. Does that cause ESPN to view the Vols as a powerhouse?

Do national fans and the national media “woulda coulda shoulda” away losses like the hometown fans do? Of course not.

Did you look at Michigan’s loss to Appalachian State and throw out any “yeah buts?” Nope. My guess is, like me, you laughed and said, “Michigan choked again.”

Right now, people view Tennessee’s program as they do Michigan’s. As a tradition-rich school that hasn’t come through in the clutch since their last national title in the late ’90s.

How can that be? Why is Tennessee viewed in that light?

A record of 14-11 in its last 25 games is how that be. That’s not a one-year slip. That’s an average football team. Over, now, more than two seasons of work.

To put a 14-11 record over a 25-game span in perspective, Tennessee lost 11 games over a six-SEASON stretch from 1993 through 1998.

To find the last time the Vols dropped 11 out of 25 games you have to go back to a span of games stretching from 1979 to 1981.

That’s not negative. That’s fact. And that’s why Tennessee doesn’t get respect. That’s why, right now, Tennessee doesn’t deserve respect.

Arkansas is 15-10 over its last 25 games and the Razorbacks pounded UT last year. Have you argued for them to get more respect? For that matter, should Hog fans be upset if this year’s UT game is played up as the Vols looking for “redemption?”

Ask yourself, why should the national pundits view Tennessee any differently than the way we followers of UT view other programs? They shouldn’t. And they won’t.

For the record, Tennessee may yet finish this season 13-1 with another crystal football in the trophy case. If so, as a numbers geek who tries to give an honest opinion, my life will be a whole lot happier.

It’s much more fun to cover wins than losses. That is a fact.

But for now, until the Vols do start winning big again, there’s no reason for anyone to play the “no respect” card. Tennessee cashed in its championship chips a long time ago.

John Pennington hosts the Halls Salvage Sports Source on Sunday at 11 a.m. on WATE.

© 2007, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.