Randy Smith
Tennessee football fans are disappointed today. That's a huge understatement actually. Maybe the word distraught would be better than disappointed. Here are a few comments I overheard following the 31-24 two overtime loss to Oklahoma on Saturday night: " I've had my heart broken again.", "I'm selling all my U.T. stuff. Better yet, I may burn it all.", "We were playing not to lose in the second half instead of playing to win.", or " We were just out-coached."
I've been a Tennessee fan since I was ten years old; fifty-four years total.
And I can honestly say I am not heart broken. Am I distraught? Absolutely not. I am however, disappointed. The Volunteers will regroup this weekend against Western Carolina, then it will be time to play Florida in the "Swamp" in the SEC opener. If the Vols can snap that long losing streak to the Gators, the loss to the Sooners will be forgotten.
When I picked Tennessee to be 10-2 for the season, including a win over Oklahoma, I had fallen victim to the hype surrounding the U.T. program; just as most other Vols' fans had. Realistically however, I should have known better. This is still one of the youngest teams in the country. For the last two seasons, I had been preaching patience to the Big Orange Nation, but this pre-season, I went against my own advice.
One of my best friends, who is working in the media in Knoxville actually opened my eyes a bit the week of the Bowling Green game. He said, "Where do some people get that we're going to win ten or more games? We just won six a year ago, and with all this young talent we have coming in here, it's just not realistic to think we can improve that much in a year's time." I didn't tell him but our conversation took place just a couple of weeks after I had predicted the Vols to be 10-2 and win the SEC East. Two games into the season, that goal is still very possible, though not likely.
Think about this for a moment........If the Volunteers had fallen behind 17-0, then fought their way back into the game only to lose in double overtime, would we all be as disappointed as we are today? Probably not. This isn't the first time the Vols have blown a big lead only to lose the ball game and it will not be the last time. I think it's important to keep our eyes on the prize, and "stay the course."
Back in 1985, the Volunteers blew a big lead and wound up in a 26-26 tie with UCLA. That was also the home opener for the Vols and following the game, fans began to spew their wrath at Coach Johnny Majors. Tennessee would finish as co-champions of the SEC that year and would face top-ranked Miami in the Sugar Bowl. The rest , as they say, is history. The Vols blew out the Hurricanes 35-7 and kept them from winning the national championship. That honor would go to Oklahoma in a real twist of irony.
There is still a lot of football to be played in 2015. A double overtime loss to a team as good as Oklahoma is just a tiny hiccup on the Volunteers' path on their return to glory.
To quote Coach Majors following a tough loss in which the Vols had the lead late in the game....."Even my mama burns the biscuits every now and then."
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Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. He is currently teaching Broadcasting at Coahulla Creek High School near Dalton, Ga.
His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for thirty years.
He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century.
In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have four grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, DellaMae and CoraLee.