Vols legend Peyton Manning weighs in on the Rocky Top 'Woo' debate
For years, Tennessee Vols fans have debated whether or not there should be a "woo" at the end of the chorus in Rocky Top. If you go to a football game at Neyland Stadium, you'll hear the "woo" echoing through the stands at the end of every chorus, leading you to believe that it's not […]
For years, Tennessee Vols fans have debated whether or not there should be a "woo" at the end of the chorus in Rocky Top.
If you go to a football game at Neyland Stadium, you'll hear the "woo" echoing through the stands at the end of every chorus, leading you to believe that it's not much of debate.
But there are plenty of Vols fans, many of them staunch traditionalists, who feel like the "woo" has no place in Rocky Top.
Earlier this offseason, Tennessee starting quarterback Joe Milton was revealed to be pro-woo.
Vols legend Peyton Manning, however, doesn't include the "woo" when he's singing along to Rocky Top. But it's not because he's against it.
Manning explained his take during a recent appearance on Everything Orange, a new podcast series from Tennessee.
"I don't really, the more that I think about it," said Manning when asked if he lets out a woo during Rocky Top. "A lot of times, fortunately, I've been asked to sing Rocky Top in public, on stage occasionally. I think Lee Brice and I sang it in Nashville at a honky tonk several years ago. And I feel like the main chorus, the Rocky Top, I'm using that to be sure that I know the words coming up in the next verse, right? There's nothing worse than being asked to sing on stage with a musician and not know the words. And especially that song of all things."
"So the main verse, that's kind of my filler," added Manning. "I know that. So I usually don't woo because I'm getting ready for corn. I'm getting ready for, you know, once when I was…you know that starter line of the next verse. And so I don't woo. But nothing against people that do woo, I'm all for it. However you want to do it."
So there you have it. The Sheriff doesn't woo, but he doesn't mind if you do. For Peyton, as always, it's all about perfection. He's not about to mess up a line of the song because he wasted half a second shouting woo instead of preparing for the next verse.
Featured image via Delores Delvin / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK
