Tennessee Vols: Josh Heupel makes strong statement about the atmosphere at Neyland Stadium
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel ran into one of his first big tests with UT fans this week and he passed it with flying colors. The big story this week from the Vols' 31-26 loss to Ole Miss has been the 18-minute delay in the fourth quarter that was caused by fans throwing trash […]
Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel ran into one of his first big tests with UT fans this week and he passed it with flying colors.
The big story this week from the Vols' 31-26 loss to Ole Miss has been the 18-minute delay in the fourth quarter that was caused by fans throwing trash on the field to protest the poor officiating that took place in the game.
Heupel, along with everyone else associated with Tennessee, has made it clear that fans throwing trash on the field isn't acceptable.
That's a statement Heupel has to make — because it is really dumb to throw stuff on the field. At one point the fans could've caused the Vols to forfeit the game, even though they still had a chance to win the game.
Heupel, however, hasn't harped on what went down in the game's final moments — unlike nearly every national college football writer.
Instead, Heupel's praised the atmosphere at Neyland that was absolutely amazing for 59 minutes of the game. He's choosing to make that amazing atmosphere the story of the game — not the decision by a small group of likely intoxicated fans that were upset with some terrible calls that went against the Volunteers.
"To see our student body rush down and fill the bottom part of the section and the remainder of our crowd to be amped up for the final minute of play, that’s the takeaway," said Heupel on Monday when asked about the atmosphere at Neyland on Saturday night. "I know for some people the story is about what happened, but our administration has obviously made it clear that that’s not the stance in what we want from the Volunteer spirit. You know that I feel the same way. That’s a very small number."
"The passion and energy from our fanbase…I’ve been in a lot of competitive arenas as a player and as a coach. There was nothing better that I’ve ever been in than what happened on Saturday night.”
Heupel has played and coached in national championship games. He's been to nearly every major stadium in college football as a player or a coach — Oklahoma, Texas A&M, LSU (at night), Georgia, Notre Dame, Florida State (when College GameDay was in town at Tallahassee for a matchup between No. 1 Oklahoma and No. 5 Florida State in 2011).
All of those great environments and Heupel feels like Saturday night was the best atmosphere he's ever seen.
And if you think that's just lip service, maybe you should watch Heupel say those words instead of reading what he said. Because I think it's pretty obvious he truly means what he's saying.
Heupel is fully embracing Tennessee fans — the good, the bad, and the crazy.
Featured image via Andrew Ferguson/Tennessee Athletics
