Monday Morning Quarterback

I? Have a horrible instinct for choosing which football game to watch. Last Sunday, I decided the Cowboys were going to beat up on Tampa, so I quit watching after one quarter (Jags 24, Cowboys 17). Saturday night, we abandoned watching the Tennessee/Florida game because we figured the Vols were cruising to victory (Florida wins, 21-20). Yesterday, I tired of watching Eli Manning getting flattened and gave up on the Giants/Eagles (Giants score 17 points in the fourth quarter to force overtime, then win 30-24). Come to think of it, a few years back I passed up on free Titans tickets because I didn't want to drive all the way to Nashville. And? I missed the Music City Miracle. So from now on, I will watch all games available, to their completion. Or at least save them on my DVR. I'm considering getting DirectTV just so I won't miss anything.

Now. Speaking of football. Much of my early football fervor has waned, and remarkably quickly. I am not by any means a fair weather fan. If I were, I'd have abandoned the Tigers years ago. But I've said it before, the more wins you get, the more you want. And it is hard to maintain a high level of excitement when there are phenomenal losses like the debacle this weekend at ECU. We're idle this Saturday (which I can only assume is in observation of my birthday) and I had been hoping we'd win so we could ride a wave of momentum into the next game... and the invasion of the Orange.

It's not that I don't think we can beat the Vols. It can be done. It has been done. But come on, Tigers, at least give my optimism a leg to stand on here. And for me, the Tennessee game is about more than just the game itself. It's about the Liberty Bowl being filled with as much (or more) Orange than Blue. It's about being surrounded by Vol fans as we tailgate (perhaps it is fortuitous that the game as been scheduled for 11 am, thereby limiting pre-game tailgating, at least for my group, to mimosas and a box of doughnuts). It's about orange shakers in my face, coolers that play "Rocky Top" when you open them, and comments like, "THAT is what a kicker looks like." These are all things I endured this Saturday, and we weren't even playing each other.

So. I face the week ahead with hope that Vols get it all out of their system and take out their revenge for last week's loss on poor Marshall, that the Tigers find their mojo, and that my own enthusiasm will return. It's not too much to ask. Right?