There’s no raw data point to measure this, outside of a reduction in online views and YouTube hits that have even hit our site, but vibes make it clear the Tennessee Football community’s excitement around Josh Heupel has dwindled. Vol fans just don’t seem as excited about the program as they did a year ago.
To a certain degree, you could understand that. After exceeding expectations in 2021, UT had its best year in decades in 2022, which triggered excitement for 2023. The Vols had a drop-off that year, but the hype behind Nico Iamaleava stepping in as the starter kept the excitement alive for 2024.
A College Football Playoff appearance this past year, though, wasn’t enough to outweigh a blowout loss in the first round, a bad loss to the Arkansas Razorbacks and Iamaleava never really putting on the show he was expected to. All of those things have led to dreaded apathy creeping in.
Tennessee fans must beware.
The era of dysfunction that infected Tennessee for so long can actually be traced back to a single moment, right when the Vols were at their highest: The Fiesta Bowl to end the 199 season. A year after winning the national title, UT was back where they won it for a consolation game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers.
Nebraska didn’t just beat Tennessee fairly easily for the second time in three years. Their fan base significantly outnumbered Vol fans, who were clearly unhappy about having to go back to Arizona and not being in the national championship game.
Two years later, the worst case of apathy set in. After an exciting win over the Florida Gators put Tennessee in position to play the Miami Hurricanes for the national championship, the Vols forgot about their SEC Championship matchup with the LSU Tigers.
Yes, Tennessee fans and players were just looking to get past the SEC Title rather than be excited about the prospect of playing it. That cost the Vols, and they blew a 17-7 lead to Nick Saban and his backup quarterback. Truth be told, the program never recovered, and the downward spiral continued into the 2000s after that.
If apathy could derail a program that was on top and had won a national title, what do you think it could do to a program still fighting to stay on the rise and reach the elite of the elites? It’s not like Tennessee hasn’t had some significant success over the past three years.
Had it not been for a bad matchup, Tennessee likely advances in the CFP. With a first-year starter at quarterback, the Vols should be proud about making the CFP. Perspective is getting lost on a fan base more quickly than it did on the one that had much more success in the 1990s.
Simply put, Tennessee fans need to be careful. Apathy can infect the players, and it eventually infects the program. Everything starts with taking your success for granted and not making sure you remain excited to accomplish more and determined to stay ahead of the curve.
