So enough of you last night liked my comment that I'll just write down this one.
Overall, yesterday was fun and a few thousand of you will probably have crazy stories from yesterday but here's mine...
Pre game, the line for cool beans was too long when we got there and, in hindsight, we should have set a location in Market Square. Either way, met some awesome rebs at Skybox and Downtown brewery & grill! We got some extra drinks at half barrel after seeing the cool beans line, got a couple more drinks with some of my Vol friends from when I was stationed in Middle Tennessee. It gets to about 6:30 and we head over to the stadium with the two Vol friends who we're going to the game with
The whole way over, my fiance (who is an Ohio State gal) kept making fun of the orange because it's "the ugliest shade of orange ever. No one can make it look good". Her reaction was a gag every time she saw the overalls...
Anyway, getting to the part y’all care about, we sat in Section Q which is apparently for players families, former players, and boosters. I found this out because the one guy to our right was their center from 2014-2017 and him and his wife were VERY kind and friendly the whole game. The boosters behind us were another story... over the course of the game, I tried not to he obnoxious because we were the only Navy in the lower section of Q. The first half was electric and fun but once we had points up, the boosters settled down. Apparently they have boats and fished with Lane and still talk to him on the regular.
During the second half when the momentum shifted, things started to change obviously. The one booster behind us started making comments about the injuries (real or not) and was getting more obnoxious the more he drank. My favorite exchange was
Booster: I just saw him get off the field and get right on a bike!
Fiance: That's part of how you help it...
Booster: I played for four years and that's not how we handled it
Me: dude you said you played in the 70s and hydration and stretching is how you help a cramp
Booster to me: learn to play! They're just being bitches
I felt things start getting a little weird before the trash incident though as they booed our injuries and ignored their own. At one point I pretty loudly pointed out how deafening their silence was when the one lineman was running off the field and heupel told him to get down. Didn't matter... then they cheered for Matt getting injured and we were PISSED. The former UT players around us were even pretty upset with that but that was when it all started going downhill.
While the 4th down (not) conversion was under review, the drunk boosters are shouting "first down!" In my ear and shaking my shoulder. I keep pointing out that there's no video angle of the ball and if the ball is against his ribs, he's clearly not at the line. Well the refs confirm what I say which HAD to of come from Birmingham and it starts. Several players were about to leave and stay to make sure we're OK (very thankful) but fans from our section all around to their band started throwing the trash. After 10 minutes of it, some of the UT fans try to police their own and a nice brawl ensued about 15 feet from us. The guy who was in the right ended up getting arrested and taken out in handcuffs with two others but the boosters are still behind us mouthing off. Once they started clearing the stands, fans began pouring out and I had a bad feeling about play restarting but we all know how that ended. Getting home was it's own adventure story because Knoxville is apparently a cluster**** post game
Overall, it was a hard win to watch even though the tears felt so good. Walking out, we couldn't be excited and every reb I passed had the same understanding of "let's not start a riot." I lost a ton of respect for a fan base that I used to stick up for. Also, below is the obligatory pic of me and the fiance
Overall, yesterday was fun and a few thousand of you will probably have crazy stories from yesterday but here's mine...
Pre game, the line for cool beans was too long when we got there and, in hindsight, we should have set a location in Market Square. Either way, met some awesome rebs at Skybox and Downtown brewery & grill! We got some extra drinks at half barrel after seeing the cool beans line, got a couple more drinks with some of my Vol friends from when I was stationed in Middle Tennessee. It gets to about 6:30 and we head over to the stadium with the two Vol friends who we're going to the game with
The whole way over, my fiance (who is an Ohio State gal) kept making fun of the orange because it's "the ugliest shade of orange ever. No one can make it look good". Her reaction was a gag every time she saw the overalls...
Anyway, getting to the part y’all care about, we sat in Section Q which is apparently for players families, former players, and boosters. I found this out because the one guy to our right was their center from 2014-2017 and him and his wife were VERY kind and friendly the whole game. The boosters behind us were another story... over the course of the game, I tried not to he obnoxious because we were the only Navy in the lower section of Q. The first half was electric and fun but once we had points up, the boosters settled down. Apparently they have boats and fished with Lane and still talk to him on the regular.
During the second half when the momentum shifted, things started to change obviously. The one booster behind us started making comments about the injuries (real or not) and was getting more obnoxious the more he drank. My favorite exchange was
Booster: I just saw him get off the field and get right on a bike!
Fiance: That's part of how you help it...
Booster: I played for four years and that's not how we handled it
Me: dude you said you played in the 70s and hydration and stretching is how you help a cramp
Booster to me: learn to play! They're just being bitches
I felt things start getting a little weird before the trash incident though as they booed our injuries and ignored their own. At one point I pretty loudly pointed out how deafening their silence was when the one lineman was running off the field and heupel told him to get down. Didn't matter... then they cheered for Matt getting injured and we were PISSED. The former UT players around us were even pretty upset with that but that was when it all started going downhill.
While the 4th down (not) conversion was under review, the drunk boosters are shouting "first down!" In my ear and shaking my shoulder. I keep pointing out that there's no video angle of the ball and if the ball is against his ribs, he's clearly not at the line. Well the refs confirm what I say which HAD to of come from Birmingham and it starts. Several players were about to leave and stay to make sure we're OK (very thankful) but fans from our section all around to their band started throwing the trash. After 10 minutes of it, some of the UT fans try to police their own and a nice brawl ensued about 15 feet from us. The guy who was in the right ended up getting arrested and taken out in handcuffs with two others but the boosters are still behind us mouthing off. Once they started clearing the stands, fans began pouring out and I had a bad feeling about play restarting but we all know how that ended. Getting home was it's own adventure story because Knoxville is apparently a cluster**** post game
Overall, it was a hard win to watch even though the tears felt so good. Walking out, we couldn't be excited and every reb I passed had the same understanding of "let's not start a riot." I lost a ton of respect for a fan base that I used to stick up for. Also, below is the obligatory pic of me and the fiance
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