Is There Something To Tennessee Basketball Support Questions?
There are a lot of reasons why it might not seem as though there is Tennessee basketball fever at the moment.
“It’s definitely different.”
That was my first thought when I came across GoVols247 writer Wes Rucker’s tweet this week about Tennessee basketball support this season. It’s different, but I don’t think that this inherently a bad thing. I think it’s different for most Tennessee fans, too, if I had to guess. It’s different for a lot of different reasons, reasons that I wanted to parse through a bit in this very piece.
Below is the tweet that sparked all sorts of discussion across Vol Twitter Monday evening.
ESPN Bracketology expert Joe Lunardi just pegged Rick Barnes’ team as a potential No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament in March. The Vols have the No. 1 defense in the country right now, per KenPom. The Vols may have even found their very last piece of the puzzle with Josiah-Jordan James at the four next to Olivier Nkamhoua. The offensive firepower that fans saw in Baton Rouge over the weekend, highlighted by Tyreke Key seemingly finding his offensive stride both on the glass and on the boards, should get Tennessee fans everywhere pumped up about where Barnes’ Volunteers are headed come March.
“We Want Bama” is a welcomed reality, not a cruel joke on Rocky Top these days.
It’s not that simple, though.
I think if you were to ask any Tennessee fan right now about the basketball team, they would assure you that they were indeed excited. They would tell you that they are elated to see what happens come March, but that’s just it — college basketball is a sport that puts all its eggs in the March basket.
Last year, once the SEC Tournament came around, I flipped the script. I remember a lot folks here in Knoxville did, too. Every game once the conference tournaments begin is an emotional rollercoaster for fans. During the regular season, the Thomas Family Group Chat isn’t buzzing about a Tuesday night drubbing of Vanderbilt in early January. Come tournament time, we’re all a bit like Rhaenyra Targaryen, continuously on edge wondering if this is the moment where everything comes crashing down. I am not nervously watching Tennessee regular season basketball, most Tennessee fans, I suspect, aren’t either.
This is both perfectly understandable and fine.
You’ve also got to remember this doesn’t seem to be unique just to Tennessee. This is how the sport is built in a sense. The decision-makers are invested in making sure that you are invested in March Madness. That’s the entree. The college basketball regular season is just a prolonged appetizer. So many of the games are forgotten garlic knots. When the brackets are printed, the fans are elated. The filet mignon has arrived.
Right now, Tennessee has performed at a level where a No. 1 seed is a legitimate possibility. This certainly feels like a team that could make a Final Four. It feels like the best team Rick Barnes has ever had throughout his tenure in Knoxville. If you polled most fans around here from Farragut to Jefferson City, most fans would nod their head in agreement. The results are there.
But it’s January 24.
The college basketball regular season can be a slog.
You know when Tennnessee football plays and you know when Tennessee baseball plays. You sometimes know when Tennessee basketball plays. Conversely, you always know when the NCAA Tournament starts. It’s the nature of the college basketball calendar. If your school does not have a fun, out-of-conference slate of games before conference play starts, it could be early January before most fans are even the least bit familiar with their 15-4 squad. When you market your sport around one month and one event in particular, this is the result more often than not – fans will wait until tournament time for the real buzz and excitement to begin.
I wrote a column a few months ago about my own Tennessee fandom. As a recent graduate school alumnus here at UTK, I have spent a lot of time attending various basketball, football and baseball games on campus over the years. With Tennessee now firmly planting its flag as an Everything School on the athletics side of things, winning a national championship in the not-too-distant future doesn’t seem all that farfetched anymore. For most Tennessee fans, I suspect that winning one in football would be their first choice. I get it. For me, I found that it might be baseball. I know you might not get it and that’s OK, too.
I have attended a whole lot of Tennessee baseball games in my life now, and what it’s been like inside Lindsey Nelson Stadium these last two seasons is unlike anything else I’ve ever experienced as a fan. The energy around Tennessee baseball and Tony Vitello’s program is something better seen than told. So many Tennessee fans like myself spent hours and hours watching guys like Drew Gilbert, Jordan Beck and Luc Lipcius evolve into stars during their extended stay in Knoxville. Most Tennessee fans could tell you all about that Gilbert walk-off grand slam against Wright State at LNS. The loss to Notre Dame in the Super Regionals stung far worse than the Vols’ NCAA Tournament loss to Michigan. Both stunk, don’t get me wrong, but I had given so much more of my time and energy to Tennessee baseball than I had to Tennessee basketball. That’s how the two sports are structured, after all.
This was the case for multiple reasons. For one, there are more games, there are more opportunities for fans to see the Vols play. As I mentioned previously, fans know when the Vols play baseball. They sometimes know when the Vols play basketball. This issue is why MLS adjusted their schedule to have games take place on the exact same two days of the week throughout the regular season. Tennessee football and baseball is appointment viewing and easy to keep up with. Tennessee basketball doesn’t really work that way, until the SEC Tournament begins.
It certainly helps, too, that Tennessee baseball is played outdoors. The weather is better. Tennessee plays in a home-run-friendly stadium. It’s an easy, usually inexpensive way to get some sun. You have more opportunities to see games in-person. Did I mention it’s played outdoors when the weather flips to what most folks’ prefer in the South?
Tennessee basketball is in a fantastic place. I haven’t missed a game, and I don’t plan to this season. This team is exciting, likable and has a real chance at winning it all come March. That’s the thing, though, when it comes to college basketball. It all comes together in March. The buzz, the drama, the intrigue and the appointment viewing. It all comes together in March, even for Tennessee fans.