Ward knew 1998 Vols were special : govolsxtra.com

"Anderson, there's something different about this team.''

On the Tennessee team bus leaving the Carrier Dome in Syracuse, N.Y., John Ward was moved to make that observation to his friend and radio colleague, Bill Anderson. It turned out to be prophetic.

Ward was not predicting a national championship on Sept. 5. But something struck him about that last-second, 34-33 victory on opening day of the 1998 football season and the way the team and coaches carried themselves.

There did, in fact, turn out to be something different, something special about the '98 Tennessee Vols. They channeled it into a 13-0 season and a national championship, climaxing with a Fiesta Bowl win over Florida State.

And when the scoreboard clock in Tempe, Ariz., hit zero, Ward, the iconic play-by-play voice, told his delirious audience, "The national champion is clad in big orange.''

Looking back over 10 years, Tennessee fans recall a dream-come-true season. It was that to Ward, too, but it was first and foremost business as usual.

"It was a matter of doing 13 games,'' he said.

His final 13 games. Ward had announced in June prior to the season he was retiring.

"I really wanted to quit that day,'' he said. "That was my plan.''

A private person, Ward preferred to avoid the farewell tour that his friend Cawood Ledford, the Kentucky broadcast legend, had endured by announcing his retirement a year in advance.

But Ward was talked into staying on for the 1998-99 school year to honor the Vol Network sponsors he had sold the previous winter.

In retrospect, he wouldn't have missed that championship season for anything.

"God has a plan for us,'' Ward said. "Somewhere there is someone who gives us timing.''

Though he wanted to dodge any fanfare related to his impending retirement, it became obvious that would not be the case.

Ward was overwhelmed by the "Give 'Em Six" celebration honoring he and Anderson at Thompson-Boling Arena. He was touched to hear Kenny Chesney perform the song he had composed for the occasion.

When coach Phillip Fulmer invited Ward and Anderson to join the Vol Walk before the final home game against Kentucky, Ward declined.

"I'm not going to infringe on the players,'' he said.

But when captain Al Wilson called and asked them to walk, Ward and Anderson relented.

At halftime, Ward was caught unawares by a tribute from the Pride of the Southland Band. When Chesney sang "Touchdown Tennessee," on the field, Ward, watching and waving from outside the radio booth, broke into tears. He wasn't the only one.

"I don't think it affected the way I broadcast the game,'' said Ward, the consummate pro.

The final game was at Vanderbilt. Ward resisted staging the pre-game call-in show in public because they hadn't done it elsewhere on the road. Again, he was persuaded otherwise.

"We did the show at the Parthenon (in Centennial Park) and there were thousands and thousands of people,'' he said. "As far as you can see. It was overwhelming.''

It took a Highway Patrol car with siren blasting to extricate Ward and Anderson from the park and get them to the stadium.

As bowl week arrived, Ward didn't. He worked a basketball game at Auburn and didn't get to Tempe until the day before the game, too late to join Anderson as an honorary grand marshal in the Fiesta Bowl Parade.

Ward got a parade anyway. On game day, the route from the hotel to the stadium was lined with Tennessee fans.

"And when we got to the gate they (stadium security) wouldn't let us in,'' Ward said.

He and his crew had to cool their heels as the bomb squad scanned the stadium in preparation for Vice President Al Gore's arrival.

By evening a big moon was rising over the desert. Anderson nudged Ward and pointed out that it was orange. So was much of the crowd, and eventually, so was the national champion.

"It was a wonderful experience,'' Ward said, "because of the involvement of the Tennessee fans who went to the time, trouble and expense to be out there for the game.''

Ward signed off his final football broadcast as he had so many hundreds of others and headed back to the hotel.

The phone in his room rang. It was a reporter from Atlanta.

"He said, 'Are you celebrating?' and I said, 'No, I'm studying for a basketball game,' '' Ward recalled. "We had to play a game as soon as I got back to Knoxville.

"That's what I did. It was no different. I would have done that in 1968. I had to get ready for the next game.''

Mike Strange may be reached at 865-342-6276.

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