Benedict Leonardite (10/15/03) --

It was one of those moments in a guy’s life where he had to seriously reexamine the situation. There was my most favorite team in any sport, out on the field in a game that had major conference title implications. Not only were they on the field, they were on their home field. The stakes were very high for this game.

And the Tennessee Volunteers were getting crushed.

Georgia, who like the Vols, was sporting one loss, came in and was decimating the boys in orange. And in some sick, perverse way, I actually found some enjoyment in that fact.

Blasphemy! Right? Well, maybe so. But look at it from this perspective. No matter what your favorite team is, you are essentially cheering for the uniform. This is how guys like Roger Clemens can show up in pinstripes and be a hero in New York, after being an ace at rival Boston. Fans are willing to overlook whoever it is that actually dons the threads, especially if that group of men is taking them to victory. Nowhere is this concept truer than in college athletics. With athletes only seeing playing time at MOST four years, the turnover rate of players that you are pulling for is inordinately high.

Thus, this leads to my issue during Saturday’s game. We can all admit that our ties to the uniform are greater than that to the players nearly all of the time. But does there ever come a time when the players themselves can get to be so repulsive that they actually OVERCOME your reverence to the team? In the case of last year’s and some of this year’s Volunteers, this has unfortunately been the case.

Am I qualified to host Family Feud? "I don't think so, Tim!"

Nobody is going to question my love for this team. Anybody who knows me knows that I am a Volunteer mark all the way. But as a decent human being, last year’s team had some real idiots that I really couldn’t stand. The perfect example of this was Kelly Washington. Never has there been a more boastful, more arrogant, or more Terrell Owens-like player to don the Volunteer orange, at least since I have been a fan. This guy’s boasts and ramblings brought out very bitter and strong feelings reminiscent of J.R. Rider, as I just wished he would go away.

The Tennessee teams of the mid-to-late nineties were characterized by decent individuals. As later found out in an unbelievably under-publicized academic scandal (the likes of which would be comparable to the Minnesota basketball fiasco), they weren’t the best scholars, but this is beside the point here. This was a group of hard-nosed football players who, while at Tennessee, also helped to build a clean-imaged program.

This was especially true at quarterback. Peyton Manning, clearly, was the consummate Volunteer at this time. His image and leadership qualities were second to none, and they were only reinforced by his decision to stay at UT for his senior season. While one can very fairly label him as one of the more overrated quarterbacks of the time (and as a pretty big dork), he still represented the program well.

Tee Martin, too, was a good representative of the program. After coming from a VERY rough upbringing, he earned his way into the Tennessee program. Then, after sitting in Manning’s shadow, he stepped in to shoulder the huge expectations of the borderline-insane Tennessee fan base. What he did was coolly lead the Vols through a hairy and difficult 13-game season and help them capture the 1998 national title. (With a little help from Clint Stoerner and his famous, "Old give 'em the ball trick" of course.)

Now what do we have at quarterback? A California pretty-boy who claimed that he could defeat the Southeastern Conference champions with “one arm tied behind (his) back.”

Can you believe this guy?

Georgia is a good program. I have nothing but respect for the Bulldogs as a worthy adversary. Which makes me all the more hostile when my quarterback, who is leading a barely over .500 team, makes idiotic boasts when he’s hurt. I could just as well go off and say that I would beat Georgia with one leg. I had as a good a chance as Clausen to back that comment up last year as neither of us were going to see playing time in that game.

"Cheer against me and I'll take a swing at you."

That whole team was basically the same way. A bunch of cocky, talented, fools who figured they’d step out onto the field and walk away with wins. Instead, they got their comeuppance handed to them time and again. In a twisted way, I was pleased.

Which is why I was satisfied, to an extent, this past Saturday, when Casey was whipped into submission by the Dawgs. True, I very much like this cast of characters a lot better than last year’s, but Clausen is still the signal caller. And because of that, he had to pay the piper. And I’m pretty sure his account is dry after writing that check.

Yes, call me a traitor all you want. But in the sports world, justice still needs to be served. If that has to come at the expense of your team once in awhile, so be it. I’m not excited about that, but I’ll deal with it. And I think it’s about time more people start to admit and accept this reality.

49ers fans that hate Terrell Owens, Vikings fans that can’t stand Moss, and fans of any team that Juan Gonzalez has played for, admit your hypocrisy now. It may not feel right as a sports fan at first, but seeing these jerks get smacked around can actually make you feel good.

And you’ll be a better person because of it.

The Leonardite