Mattingly: For new coach, here's UT Tradition 101

Memo to Lane Kiffin:

There are those timid souls who, for whatever reason, pooh-pooh the idea of promoting tradition and history, particularly when times might be perceived as bad, football-wise.

There is something special about Tennessee tradition and heritage, especially for those of us who have been around a while.

That's the message being sent to you, Lane, as the new sheriff in town.

"I will give my all for Tennessee today."

Wherever Tennessee plays, that message is the last thing players see as they leave for the playing field. It's a silent motivator, a statement of purpose set forth from those who have gone before, who have worn the orange jerseys over the years.

The young men representing the University of Tennessee on the gridiron have faced that challenge, week-in and week-out, year-in and year-out. They've traditionally been up to the legacy. It remains a way of life, with great challenges and great rewards.

One old Vol, a longshoreman disguised as a fullback, put the idea succinctly.

"To play for Tennessee, you have to get wet all over," said Leonard Coffman, a Greeneville native from the glory days of 1937-39.

Game day on campus has likewise been something special.

On football weekends, the campus seems to take on a life of its own, as Vol fans, seemingly coming from everywhere at once, descend on the stadium area, everyone anticipating what might happen. There are tailgates by the hundreds, a steady stream of traffic, and building excitement. Orange dominates.

Then there's the "Vol Walk," a magic moment dating to 1989. That's how the team gets to the stadium. The Vols used to get there by bus, maybe even by foot, but this way is much more fun.

The event is replete with cheerleaders and a pep band. Tennessee fans by the thousands turn out to greet their heroes as they walk to the stadium.

The itinerary is a sentimental trip through most of the recorded history of Tennessee football.

For the home team, there's a right turn on Johnny Majors Boulevard coming out of the Neyland-Thompson Sports Center (named for Gen. Robert R. Neyland and Knoxville business leader B. Ray Thompson). Players and coaches alike respectfully touch the names on the granite monument to Vols of days gone by, located just outside the building.

It's then left up Lake Loudoun Boulevard, right on Volunteer Boulevard, then right again onto Peyton Manning Pass, to a left turn on Phillip Fulmer Way.

There's a right turn to the dressing room through Gate 21 at the north end of the stadium, also named for Neyland. There are also the names of the man and his wife who made the first stadium, 3,200 seats, a reality in 1921, Col. William Shields and wife, Alice Watkins-Shields.

It says something about the influence of a man named Bob Neyland that game day at home begins at a football building and ends at a stadium, both bearing his name. The four-lane boulevard by the river behind the south end of the stadium is also called Neyland Drive.

The visiting team, for its part, generally comes down Neyland Drive from either side of town (depending on the hotel of choice), turns on Lake Loudoun Boulevard, then right on Phillip Fulmer Way, and ends up behind the south end of the stadium on Tee Martin Drive at Gate 7, complete with police escort.

The home team, wearing orange jerseys and white pants, please, with the "Ts" on each side of the helmet, runs onto the field just before kickoff through a large "T," facing north to south, with a left turn to the team bench on the east side. Those who haven't yet seen it will find it to be an experience they'll never forget.

If it doesn't have an effect on Vol fans, call for the medics.

Some free (and unsolicited) advice:

Keep the Vol Walk.

Please say, KNEE-land, "just like my knee," as Bob's wife, Ada Fitch (Peggy) Neyland, Mrs. Neyland to many, once said. Knoxville radio reporters and other media are slow learners on this issue, but remember that it's KNEE-land.

The band also will play Rocky Top more than several times, maybe 20 to 30 times, maybe more, during each game. It might drive you crazy, but it drives the opposing coaches crazier. Lou Holtz said that after the 1990 Notre Dame game.

While there did seem to be some legitimate crazies in the west end zone at the Oakland Coliseum, they don't compare, in the least, to what you will see at Tennessee and across the SEC. Neyland Stadium is a special place, and the SEC is something unique as well. You'll find that out quickly in 2009.

You are now one of the heroes.

Welcome to your new home.

An unabashed believer in tradition and history, Tom Mattingly is the author of "The Tennessee Football Vault: The Story of the Tennessee Volunteers, 1891-2006" (2006), to be published in second edition in 2009, and "Tennessee Football: The Peyton Manning Years" (1998). He may be reached at tjmshm@comcast.net. His News Sentinel blog is called "The Vol Historian."

© 2009, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
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