Orange you glad UT wore white?
by tommy.deas
Some football fan bases put much more stock into what their team wears than others.
Having been around University of Alabama football — a program that prides itself on sticking with traditional uniforms that vary little from year to year — for a few decades now , I can’t say that I understand why it matters to LSU fans if the Tigers wear white jerseys at home, why Notre Dame supporters swoon when the Irish break out their green jerseys, or what it matters if Auburn ever dons orange jerseys again.
To a portion of Tennessee’s fan base, last week’s hubbub over Alabama’s rejection of the Volunteers’ request to wear their orange jerseys on the road at Bryant-Denny Stadium was a big deal. Why? Who can figure?
It probably had as much to do with the fact that Tennessee’s hated (in most UT circles) rival didn’t acquiesce to the whim of a young coach who said he wanted to do it as “a tribute” to the rivalry for fans on both sides — when in fact Lane Kiffin was more likely looking for any kind of motivational edge he could find — as it did over the actual issue of what color the Vols wore.
But Tennessee is one of those programs where fans seem to put more stock into the nuances of jerseys, helmets and football pants than others. For some reason, the idea of black jerseys (yes, it has been discussed since Kiffin arrived) or how many white stripes there are on the orange pants (an item of some interest in UT circles) and the possibility of other variations gets UT fans excited.
Don’t, for a minute, think the possibility of Alabama in crimson and Tennessee in orange for a future football game is dead. A well-placed source hinted to me last week that the Vols may ask Alabama to wear crimson next season in Knoxville — not as an olive branch to induce UA to return the favor in Tuscaloosa in 2011, but because some in Tennessee’s athletic administration want it happen.
Alabama Director of Athletics Mal Moore, in a statement released to the press last week after U rejected Tennessee’s orange offer, said Alabama will wear its road whites at Neyland Stadium next season. It will be interesting to see if the Vols will try to change his mind.
For you younger spotrs writer guys; the idea of both UA and UT wearing home colors in a football game is actually a good thing, whether Tennessee thought of it or not.
When I was a kid in the 60’s, it was a common practice for both Bama and Tennessee to play their annual game in crimson and orange jerseys. Kiffin may have a bit of knucklehead in him, but he got it right when suggesting that home/home jersey wearing would be a tribute to the history of the UA/UT game.
I hope the talk doesn’t die down and we’ll eventually see the game again in “throwback” colors. Hopefully UCLA/USC will do the same thing.
Bamafanman
by CJ
Tommy – Bama’s the king of tradition and this is right down that alley. Why did we say no? Because it wasn’t our idea? I don’t understand! This is not new – it’s how the game used to be played and Mal Moore remembers that first hand. I liked the way UCLA-USC did it last year, it added to the color of the game… and that’s coming from a Bama grad!
Bruce ‘76
by B Kidder
The Tennessee hubbub over jersey color reminds me of the time long ago when Al Gore as vice president was going to lead an efficiency charge in the federal governement. His proposal was to reduce administrative expenses by combining states into larger jurisdictions and thus eliminate redundant state governments. His first proposal was to combine Alabama and Tennessee. This made perfect sense because Alabama had always wanted the Grand Ole Opry and Tennessee had always wanted a football team.
Roll Tide from St. Louis
by Michael Gewin
I am an old traditionalist and the SEC has taken away some of the storied traditions related to the Tide vs Vols. I am in favor of Bama Crimson vs Tennessee Orange as it was until the late 60s both in T Town and Knoxville. I did not like the timing of the Tennessee request though. That should have been decided long ago and a signed agreement for at least two years should’ve been done. If they had done it that way there would have been no hubbub over it last week. But also, the SEC needs to put UT-UA back on the 3rd Saturday in October. They are the ones who messed with tradition and tradition in football as many other things in the south is sacred. They haven’t moved Ga-Fla away from Jacksonville and moved it to early September? They didn’t move Ga-Aub to early Oct? They don’t play the Egg Bowl on Labor Day weekend? I believe, that for the most part, Tide-Vols is a rivalry with tremendous respect for each other’s programs and fans. The two programs are arguably over history the two most storied in the SEC. Restore them back to the 3rd Saturday and let them wear their colors proudly. Give us back the traditions that the SEC office has taken away.
by Randy
In past history all schools wore their colors to games with their rivals. With the duplication of colors on some teams it was determined that a white jersey would be worn by one of the teams. When TV came along it was black and white and the fans could not tell the teams apart. That started a need for white jerseys and a stupid tradition was started. Now even it a team with burnt orange were to play the vols or auburn wore orange jerseys with blue trim the fans could still tell the diffenence with color TV. Bama is just being stubborn about the whoe thing. What Bama fan wouldn’t like to see their crimson colors in most ballgames? After all they are the crimson tide not the white tide.
by Phil Wright
Alabama needs to wear white whenever they go to Knoxville. If they don’t it’ll be Kiffin’s way of pretending that it really was a “tribute” and that he is the bigger man for “letting” them wear crimson.
by Jim Alsey
Just one comment from an old-timer who can remember games from before the “visiting white” rule. I always thought the Tennessee game was one of the most visually striking, beautiful games of the year. Bama’s crimson and Tennessee in their orange shirts, playing on the green grass of Legion Field. Heck, it even looked good when we went up to Neyland.
by Sid Hill