They didn’t fancy our chances

This was taken before the SEC Championship game yesterday. Clearly Buddy and Smokey don’t think much of our chances. And boy, were they right – but not by much. The Vols did pretty good for themselves. I’m down, but not cussin’. Heck, considering the way things started out – I think the season ended pretty well.

And you know what was the best thing? I actually got to watch the game – via pay per view at College Sports TV. The website’s a little clunky and streaming video is never crystal clear nor very big – but I was actually watching live. Awesome.

T is for Toothbrush, T is for Tennessee

I’d rather drink muddy water, sleep in a hollow log
Drink muddy water, sleep in a hollow log
Than be down in Atlanta, treated like a dirty dog
- Jimmie Rogers

Nope. I don’t care if we are treated like dirty dogs. The point is Tennessee is playing in Atlanta for the SEC Championship. Y’all might not like the way we got there, y’all might think your team should be there, y’all might not have liked the bumpy, hard, hole pocked road to Atlanta – but we made it.

Holy Cow – who’d a thunk it after those losses to Cal and Florida and that humiliating stumble down in Tuscaloosa? Goodness, come again, who’d a thunk it after those nail biting, nauseating overtimes and missed field goal triumphs against …cough…Vanderbilt?

And if Smokey can sneak away the bone of the SEC Championship, y’all can call him a dirty dog, y’all can say we’re undeserving. That’ll be just fine.

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This toothbrush has been on reserve for a few years. It’s still in its original packaging and it sits on top of our bathroom cabinet, visible but out of reach. The Vol-in-Law occasionally asks me if it’s time to open up that toothbrush. Nope, I say, not yet. Not yet. We’ve got to wait until the right moment.

The right moment is almost here.

He asked me this week if the Vols win in Atlanta if we can open the toothbrush. Yes, I said. If Tennessee wins, I can open the toothbrush.

Brush-a, brush-a

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OK, I just want you to know, before anyone starts with any toothless hillbilly slurs that I’ve been using other toothbrushes. Orange, yes, but not any special Tennessee Vols toothbrush.

Missed it

What a monumental close one. On Saturday, the Volunteers beat Kentucky by whisper after slogging through four overtimes. What a season. Now Tennessee is playing for the SEC championship.

Of course, I missed it. My dad was visiting and even though he’s an alum, he’s not a football fan. Not in the slightest. And he told me that he was a jinx for Tennessee. If he listened or watched the game, that was it, the Vols would lose.

So, I put chose not to listen live, but hear it in the morning. I don’t know what went wrong, but I couldn’t load the game. I tried for quite some time before I gave in and watched the video highlights where they freaking gave away the outcome of the game in the first 2 seconds.

Go Vols

All on the line

I’m kind of an intermittent football fan – and by football I mean soccer. I absolutely love the international tournaments – the World Cup and the European tournament and I support England all the way. But I have to admit, I don’t usually watch the qualifying matches and friendlies.

I’ll be watching tonight, though. Tonight it’s all on the line. If England don’t at least tie with Croatia, they won’t be going to Euro 2008. And this is a serious second chance. If Israel hadn’t beaten Russia recently, this game would be a mere formality.

Tonight they play at home in Wembley Stadium – the sight of great England football victories of the past. But tonight it could be a den of shame, particularly for Steve McClaren the England football manager. He took over from Sven-Goran Eriksson after the last World Cup. Folks criticised Eriksson because they saw him as conservative and lacking flair and because England never went all the way. Others thought he was too in train to personalities (e.g. Beckham, particularly during his lackluster days during Euro 2004) and too obsessed with celebrity life .

But if the Football Association wanted a different style and a different approach why go with McClaren? He was Sven’s assistant and a bit of Sven-lite.

I hope England pull it out tonight. I’ll be watching. But win or lose, I think McClaren’s days are numbered. That it should even be a strong possibility that England fails to qualify for an international tournament should be putting him on seriously shaky ground.

And in other sporting news…

I don’t really much care for baseball. But I just want to acknowledge Jen – my expat blogger near neighbour – and her team winning the World Series. That must be amazing. That must feel like, well, like your team winning the World Series.

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I don’t much care for NFL Football either. Tennessee didn’t have a team when I left the US and no other team ever captured my loyalty. But apparently the NFL is looking to win hearts and minds on foreign soil. Namely British soil. In the Independent:

Rebuilt Wembley Stadium hosted the first regular-season NFL game in Europe, and fans of all teams have flocked to northwest London to see the New York Giants beat the Miami Dolphins 13-10.

But instead of drawing lots of British fans, a lot of the folks there were American.

Many in the sold-out stadium came from the United States, and the dreary sky poses no problem.

I’m sure the expat contingent in London put up a good showing, too. There’s no firm estimate of how many Americans live in London, but we could probably just about fill Wembley stadium*. But the story nicely captures the feelings of a small contingent of Brits who love them some American football – all apparently hooked from catching a game on tv.

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* but not Neyland stadium.

Time shift

Now y’all know I love the Vols, but I love my sleep, too. And lately, with the baby’s night wakenings, I’m really not getting enough. So when a night or evening game comes on, I don’t listen live. With a five hour time difference between London and Knoxville, yesterday’s game against South Carolina would have started after midnight here, and I really need to catch my Zs when the baby’s asleep.

We turned on the game this morning – they keep the free audio up at UTSports.com for several days. I stayed away from the Internet, I didn’t check any scores. I just listened as live.

But of course, it isn’t live. So if things get a little boring (say with a big old lead like 21-0 at half time), then there’s a temptation to switch away from the game and just check the score. But it ain’t over ’til it’s over – and anyway both times that I’ve quit listening at halftime this season, UT lost. So I couldn’t stop listening.

And then things started to turn sour. Very sour. All of a sudden South Carolina were up and then it was tied. And we remembered the other thing that’s made a difference. Whenever the baby hasn’t been dressed in orange, UT lost. And the little guy hadn’t a scrap of Tennessee orange on. The Vol-in-Law scrambled around the house looking for orange accessories, which to be honest aren’t actually that hard to find.

Of course, the truth was that the game was already decided. But it’s amazing, how you can get wrapped up in the moment passed.

But setting that aside with Cletus suitably dressed we appealed to the gods of football to turn back time – to reach back through the hours and change the outcome, because there was no way that Tennessee was going to pull this one out of the bag.

And in those long final minutes of sickening, growing dread that Tennessee was going to lose despite the fact that all the teams that needed to lose to keep us contenders actually had lost (Kentucky and Florida) it was tempting to turn to the score and end the pain.

And eventually my husband had to go out, so we succumbed to temptation. And you know what, Tennessee lost. Just as I suspected. And I turned to another website to get the story -and realised that I had somehow misread the score (I do blame sleep deprivation). Holy Moly, Tennessee won. All our last minute appeasements to chance had shifted time and resulted in the right score. Even the Vol-in-Law screamed in glee. (Of course, this set the baby to crying.)

Go Vols.

That bites

Man, I hate it when UT loses to Alabama. Sucks. Sucks. Sucks.

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We left at half time to go to a party in a pub. We took Cletus, which might have been a mistake. Folks were watching the rugby world cup finals in the pub (England v South Africa). England was looking for a second championship in a row. Emotions were high. Cheers were loud. Everytime England scored or had a chance, the pub roared and Cletus burst into tears. Maybe it was the noise, or maybe he’s a budding South Africa fan.

Of course, we’re raising him to support England in football – soccer and rugby, too I guess – and Tennessee in football (football). Not a good time right now.

Beat Bama

It’s just a darn shame I don’t know any Alabama expat bloggers. When I had the bet going with Chris for the Georgia game, it sure added a little extra sparkle. It would be fantastic to make some Bama baby in England (heck, anywhere in Europe would be fine) wear the beautiful Volunteer orange.

The best part about it was that the Vol-in-Law finally felt like he had a bit of a stake in it – given that his only son might have to wear the red and the black. For once, he listened to the game and said “we” when referring to Tennessee. He’s never really seen himself as a fan – merely a Vol-in-Law.

As for Cletus, my husband knows the boy has only one option in the NCAA fandom stakes, on my side it’s all UT. In the UK, universities and sports don’t really go together – although Cletus will be free to support Daddy’s alma mater in the annual Oxford-Cambridge boat race.

They wear it well

Hey look y’all – Chris in Oxford comes good on the bet. I’m sure you’re thinking it’s bad enough that Georgia loses, but to have to wear our colors must rub salt in the wound. And then you had to dress your baby and your dog in the beautiful Tennessee hues. But to put the old Volunteer logo on your bbq grill well, I gotta hand it to you – that’s good sportsmanship.

Your little feller always looks adorable even in red and black, but to this Tennessean’s eyes he looks even better in orange. That’s one fine picture for the baby album.

I’d say better luck next year, but I wouldn’t mean it.

How ’bout them Vols?

Well, hey hey – Go Vols. What a fantastic game – (Tennessee wins 35 to 14) Between you and me, I wasn’t quite sure they had it in them. Well, I thought the Vols definitely could win, but I wasn’t sure they would win and I certainly didn’t think they would trample. Phil Fulmer must have found a can of whoopass he’d forgotten about way back in the back of the cupboards.

Or maybe Phil told the Volunteers that there was a little tiny boy across the big, big ocean who would have to wear Georgia kit. Yep, I bet against another expat blogger – a Georgia fan – that if the Bulldogs won I’d dress my boy in Georgia gear.

“Y’all don’t want to see that baby Vol wearing red and black!” Coach Fulmer told the assembled kids in the locker room. “Y’all don’t want to see that sad baby’s face when he sees himself wearing red and black. Men, think of the children.”

On the upside, a young boy in Oxford will soon be introduced to beautiful Tennessee orange. His daddy, even posted a Rocky Top mp3 on his Georgia supporting blog. Magnanimous in defeat – I got to admit that’s more than I would have done. Rocky Top has hardly ever sounded so good.