It’s game day for the Tennessee Volunteers. Tonight we take on Kentucky in the Sweet 16. It’s an exciting day for Vol fans. And against all odds, I would now count myself among those excited fans.
But here’s the thing - I’ve watched maybe one other Tennessee basketball game all year. In fact, that might be the only college basketball game I have watched all year. I could name maybe 1 and a half UT players, and I know Rick Barnes is the coach. I’m not exactly sure what our strengths and weaknesses are - I think people talk about their defense? But I know that tonight, I’ll be sad if they lose, and happy if they win. I’ll even be frustrated if the ref makes a bad call (as if I knew what a bad call was in basketball).
I think that’s part of what I love about living in a college town like Knoxville. There are some people who know every player, including the guys on the bench, for both teams tonight. There are plenty of folks who have spent the week listening to hours of talk radio analyzing potential outcomes for tonight. There are people who will be emotionally affected for potentially days by the outcome of the game. And then there are people like me - who are Vol fans because they live in Knoxville.
And what I love about it is that in times like this, we’re all in it together. We all wear orange as we go throughout our normal days. We all say “Go Vols” as if the team could hear us. And we’ll all sing Rocky Top in celebration if they win - or make a good play - or really just do anything at all. It’s a fandom that you can get swept up in. You don’t have to know any of the players, you don’t have to study for the big game, and you don’t even have to know anything about the sport taking place. But you too can take part in the action. You too can celebrate the wins and feel the sadness in defeat. You too can say “Go Vols.” There’s no entrance exam, minimum payments, or secret handshake to get in. Fandom is this inclusive, equalizing force in the city. And I’ll be honest, I’m glad to be a part of it. Let’s go beat those other guys!
*If you have previously heard me enthusiastically defend and champion the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga Mocs, #GoMocs, you might be a little confused. Last year I wrote a post about the evolution in my philosophy of sports fandom. You can find that explanation here. Don’t worry, you can take the Moc out of Chattanooga, but you can’t take the Moc out of a Moc.