It's Football Time in Tennessee
Each fall thousands of visitors travel into East Tennessee to see our trees explode with vibrant colors but, for residents, the wave of orange that signals the start of “leaf season” also means “UT Football Season!” While Big Orange Football kicks off September 1, most fans will have to wait until September 8 to see the Volunteers in live play – and don’t think they’re happy to wait! In 2006, fan attendance averaged 105,789 per game, exceeding Neyland Stadium’s 102,037 seating capacity, offering standing room only to nearly four thousand fans in the third largest stadium in the country (the record-breaking turnout was for the 2004 TN-Florida game with over 109,000 in attendance). These fans cram in to Neyland to cheer the players on, no doubt, but UT Football is more than that - autumn Saturdays when the Vols are in play are as much cultural events as a sporting ones.
Home game Saturdays begin the week before. It’s no exaggeration to say that for the week leading up to a home game, every passing day brings a greater concentration of orange in the form of t-shirts, car magnets, signs, antenna toppers shaped like “Ts,” hats, orange and white pom-poms, and merchant banners selling anything and everything – but selling it with spirit. The media begins to speculate on players, coaches, and chances while recounting last year’s victories and defeats. All the while, armchair coaches across the region are offering their own predictions to anyone who will listen.
Game day arrives and the region’s population simply shifts and concentrates. Many head to UT’s beautiful campus to park early, walk about, and tailgate. Others congregate with friends at homes, restaurants, and sports bars (don’t worry, the game will be on!). UT students host impromptu events such as mini-parades and Frisbee tournaments. It really is a day for the fans. A witty writer once pointed out that UT Football is so popular the state’s traffic cones are even orange and white! If nothing else, they match everything else, at least when there’s a home game.
