Former Alabama QB has an absurd take on Tony Vitello's celebration after Vols won the national championship
Some people just can't seem to take it very well when their rival wins a championship. That seems to be the case with the Tennessee Volunteers and ESPN broadcaster and former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy. The former QB took to the airwaves on Tuesday morning on his radio show with Cole Cubelic, and […]
Some people just can't seem to take it very well when their rival wins a championship. That seems to be the case with the Tennessee Volunteers and ESPN broadcaster and former Alabama Crimson Tide quarterback Greg McElroy.
The former QB took to the airwaves on Tuesday morning on his radio show with Cole Cubelic, and the topic of the Vols' 6-5 victory over Texas A&M on Monday night came up. McElroy took Vols head coach Tony Vitello to task over his so-called antics after Tennessee claimed its first national championship in school history.
"I just wish he doesn't have the antics that he does," McElroy said. "He's like a WWE character. It's embarrassing. Seriously. I mean, to be an adult, I'd be appalled, I really would. I know he wins, and he's great, and the kids love him, and he wins and all that stuff, but as the leader of my organization, I would have to have a little talking to him. I just would. It's unbelievable.
"Like I said, it's a tough team to root for. His antics after the game last night were embarrassing, seriously. Have some class. You just won a national championship. Have some class."
McElroy compared the situation to if Auburn's Hugh Freeze (stifle your laughter) and Nick Saban were to behave with the alleged lack of class that McElroy believes Vitello showed on Monday night.
"Could you imagine…if Hugh Freeze did that after a game, imagine the reaction? Do you think Bruce Pearl would ever do that? (Yes, responded the co-host.) I can tell you Nick Saban would never do it."
Are you kidding me, Greg? Drawing Hugh Freeze into a conversation about class? The man who humiliated himself with recruiting violations the length of a CVS receipt? And Saban wasn't exactly a beacon of politeness, courtesy, and class himself. Ask members of the media trying to interview him at times about that.
And what exactly made you so uncomfortable about Vitello's actions during this final series? Was it him sharing a long embrace with his father on the field right after, along with the rest of his family? Was it the explosion of pure joy with the players he loves on the field after the biggest moment of his professional life? Was it him going into the stands and showing the love to the fans that came to Omaha to support the program? Bonding with his own fanbase? Or was it during the press conference after Game Two when he talked about how much he loved Aaron Combs with a breaking voice?
What exactly was so horrible that he did recently that turned you from a supposedly objective analyst to a get-off-my-lawn grumpy pundit with what appears to be an axe to grind?
This seems like nothing more than sour grapes about Tennessee winning a national championship with a coach who McElroy simply doesn't personally like. Vitello is brash, but he is also completely unashamed in the outpouring of his emotions and love for the Tennessee baseball program and his players. If you can't respect that, then you've got a problem with yourself.
Perhaps you should loosen your tie and try letting go a little bit more sometime, Mac.
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