I'm a Cleveland fan living down in Tennessee (by virtue of my dad and his family who all hail from Cleveland). Now I'm aware of the Browns history, the moving of the team to Baltimore and all that that move entailed. I'm just curious how the Browns community, in and outside of Cleveland, feels about the Browns post-1999. On fan sites all over the internet I keep seeing readers refer to the Browns as" Browns in name only" or referred to derisively as the "new" Browns. Even though the city sued to keep the team's history, colors, championships, names etc. tied to Cleveland its seems some people still are having a hard time embracing the team as what it was before 1995. Maybe I'm just focusing too much on a vocal minority, but I was wondering if anyone else has noticed these sentiments, specifically in the city of Cleveland. I understand the resentment fans must harbor against the Modell organization, but in the history books he only took a collection of players from Cleveland, not the team. Legally its like the team just took a three year hiatus (right? Correct me if I'm wrong). Maybe people are resentful because those players weened in Cleveland went on to win the superbowl in 2000 for the Ravens. Still that shouldn't negatively affect peoples' perceptions of the Browns today, should it? Then again maybe there is the nostalgia factor of Paul Brown, the Jim Brown era, and the Kardicac Kids being blown up with the old Muni and replaced with a shiny new stadium with an emphasis on box club seating, the Dawg Pound having corporate sponsors and the blue collar fans largely being over charged to the point where the soul of the crowd has been sold to the highest bidder...but I digress...

Thoughts? Opinions?

Like I said I live in Tennessee, and having only noticed these sentiments via the internet, I'm not claiming to have my finger on the pulse on the average Cleveland fans. I'd just like to see what everyone else has to say...

Hey guys. Cleveland fan here living down in Tennessee. I caught the last bit of you all's win over the Hawks tonight. Good game. I was just curious what the deal was with that loud section of fans the TV cameras kept panning to, the group who were standing and chanting...they were awesome! I hate how quiet most nba arenas are. Its great to see a college atmosphere at the pro level. That Ole Chant in the final minute of the game was fantastic. Keep up the good work. Do yall just have really passionate fans, is that just some organized fan section, or is it a group of college kids (perhaps given discounted tickets to encourage attendance)? Just curious, I thought it was great, and i hope the idea catches on. Anything to encourage fan participation during pro games is always good in my book. Let me know what yall know. Thanks and good luck in game 4.

I for one could not be more excited at Tennessee's post season opportunity. I think this game will be one of the bowl season's premier match-ups. Lane Kiffin and the Vols have a chance to make a HUGE statement at the end of the year should we upset you Hokies. Its going to be a great environment comprised of two passionate fanbases in a sold out GA dome on New Years Eve. I got my tickets today, and I simply can't wait. While we may never get to play a game at Bristol Motor Speedway considering my preseason expectations for my Vols this year, I couldn't be happier with this outcome.

I will always choose Tennessee (homer that I am) but realistically I know we face a very tough challenge in VT. Special teams has been a serious weakness for our team this year (a couple kickoff returns allowed and TWO blocked field goals against Alabama in a game we lost 12-10) which makes me very nervous going up against BeamerBall. Plus your freshman running back (his name escapes me) is an absolute stud. However, we have our own baller in the backfield in Senior Montario Hardesty.

Re-reading this it sounds like a commercial or something, sorry about that. I'm just a UT football fan looking forward to this game. Despite the close proximity of our campuses I believe the last time we played was 1994 and that was in the Gator Bowl. This is a matchup fans of both schools have been clamoring for for a long time and we finally got it. But I digress, what say you Hokie fans?

See you in Atlanta, GO VOLS!

This was to be my first trip to see the Vols play in Tuscaloosa, I was incredibly excited. My friend and I left my house in Knoxville at around 6am. We arrived in Tuscaloosa a little before 11am. The trip itself was entertaining; making eye contact with people obviously going to the game, seeing what their reactions were. When you are on the road heading into enemy territory and you see a fellow Vol fan you get an immediate sense of camaraderie. Anyway, we arrived in T-town and the first parking lot we saw was just $10 to park, it was a deal I’ve never seen in Knoxville and we subsequently jumped on it. Turned out to be a great decision, that lot was just and straight shot 10 minute walk down Bear Bryant Ave. to the stadium. We started heading that way not exactly knowing where we were going. We walked past the stadium a few blocks. I was amazed at the number of street venders selling Bama merchandise. It was like 4-5 blocks worth of tents set up with T-shirts, paintings, etc. We decided to make our way back around the opposite side of the stadium from where we were. That is when we found the quad.The quad is amazing. I am incredibly jealous of it. Space is at such a premium on UTK's campus there really isn’t a place like that where it is just tents, food, and drinks. Plus it is a giant field, as opposed to the parking lots we have in Knoxville, covered with huge old trees. It was very nice and so were the people. I was prepared for more “ribbing” than Bama fans gave us. Probably the worst was three guys yelling their version of Rocky Top and pointing at us (F**k you Rocky Top, go to hell Tennessee). All in good fun. After touring the quad we headed to the strip. We first went to the Houndstooth to grab some beers and catch up on the football action around the country. We hung around there drinking for a bit before deciding to walk around more and take in the Bama campus. This was around 12:15. We saw a crowd gathering near the stadium and went to investigate. We saw the sign for the Walk of Champions and decided to stick around. We camped out on a small incline behind the three statues near a group of UT fans, they provided the funniest moment of the trip. Basically right as we arrived three Tuscaloosa County short school buses pulled up the entrance of the walk. Laughing ensued. They guys behind us were yelling, “Alright! Here comes Bama! Got 'em on the short buses, makes sense! Funny. Eventually AC/DC's Thunderstruck started playing and the players arrived (in nice Coach buses). After that was over we headed back to the strip. Went back to Houndstooth for more beer and the BBQ nachos everyone recommended. Awesome bar food, but good god I could feel my arteries clogging as I ate them. Afterwards my buddy and I split up and I headed over to Egans. Big ups to chinesedentist for making a guy in orange feel welcome. Egans was great, loved the ambiance and the fact that they were playing the Clash definitely bumped it up in my book. After downing a couple more beers I met back up with my friend and headed to the stadium to take our seats. We were up in section 420 and da*n it seems like it takes forever to get up those spiral ramps. Anyway, I won't recount the game, we all know what happened there. Afterwards, I was heartbroken, depressed, and in shock. These emotions were exacerbated by the knowledge that I was going to have to waste my gas sitting in exiting gameday traffic. To my surprise once we got to our car the whole process was very smooth and painless. We were on the interstate in minutes, great organization from my experience. Overall it was a great trip and another classic UT-UA football. I was down but I was able to leave the stadium with my chin up because I knew my Vols played their guts out. Save for possibly the most wild end game emotional rollercoaster and devastating loss I have ever witnessed my trip to Tuscaloosa was incredible. Thank you to all of you who commented on my earlier post for all your ideas and recommendations. Looks like this great rivalry is alive again. See you next year. Some random observations: The UA campus is beautiful. I love the old architecture, use of brick, everything is well maintained. I really liked all the plantation style houses as well. I liked that your strip wasn't full of fast food restaurants like ours is. Watching a football game live without a jumbotron to watch replays on is frustrating. UA football really likes blasting music over the speakers. I thought it actually took the crowd out of it (save for Sweet Home AL and Dixieland Delight-f.y.i. they left out the lyric about a Tennessee Saturday night). During the Bama walk Thunderstruck dominated everything, the crowded was really subdued. During the Vol Walk people start chants, sing Rocky Top and cheer the whole time as the team walks to the stadium. Furthermore, in the stadium, wow, let the band play. All the music was Zombie Nation, U2, some rap I don't know, Lady Gaga (seriously?!?!), etc. The music seemed to drown out the crowd and your own band. This is not a declaration of one atmosphere being better than the other, just an observation. Although obviously Tennessee's is better, but I am quite biased. The Alabama fans were great. Yes some yelled in my face and threw up the one-fingered salute, but that is to be expected. Every fanbase has those types. Overall, everyone was cordial, friendly and knowledgeable. After the game when I was at the lowest of lows every Bama fan who said anything to me congratulated me on a great game, told me we had a hell of a team, etc. On our walk back to the car only one guy rubbed the loss into my face. That's a good ratio. All in all, a great trip. Thanks again. Go Vols!

Hey guys. I got my tickets to the UT-UA game a couple weeks ago and have been meaning to write a post about this. It is about a 5 hour drive down from Knoxville. What time should I plan on getting to Tuscaloosa in order to get a decent parking spot close to the stadium? Also I have never been to Tuscaloosa for a game before, is there any restaurant / bar / event that is a pre-game must, or something worth checking out? I guess any general comments, recommendations or suggestions you may have about gameday in T-town would be much appreciated. Thanks. Oh, and I look forward to watching yalls match up with S.Carolina considering that yall are our next two opponents. Should be a good one. I can't wait for Oct. 24! See ya in Bama land. Go Vols!

-Jim

What are the chances that ESPN College Gameday comes to Knoxville for the TN-Aub game next week? I literally have not done any research on this but the story lines seem pretty compelling to me. Two first year coaches in the SEC, one with an exciting new offense, one with a dominating defense coached by one of the game's all time greats. One coach has flown under the radar the other has been dubbed the new "mouth of the south." Gameday hasn't been to Knoxville in a while, at least that I can remember off the top of my head, the last time maybe being the 2004 UT-Aub match-up. Plus UT-Aub have played an interesting recent series of games. Pretty sure the last time UT beat them was 1997 with Peyton in the SECC game, they beat us twice in 2004, once  in Knoxville the other in the SECC and in that 14-12 stinker down on the plains last year. Plus it is a 7:45 kickoff so you know the atmosphere is going to be great. Assuming both teams win this weekend (knock on wood, UT pllleeease don't take Ohio lightly, they led tOSU 14-12 heading into the 4th quarter last year) this could be an interesting match up considering the impact this game could have on the seasons of each respective team. All that said I haven't checked the schedule to see if there are any "bigger" games set for that day. Thoughts? Opinions?

I was in section E on Saturday. From where I was sitting the stadium looked full save for the seating along the upper rim underneath the jumbotron that are usually reserved for the visitors. I was just wondering from anyone with a different perspective how the student section looked (upper and lower levels): full, minor gaps, or obvious holes? The attendance was announced as only 98,XXX, but I attribute that to the early start, the economy and people maybe holding off on buying tickets in order to see what this Kiffin fellow is all about. Either way I expect next Saturday to be a rockin' full house. Go Vols!

Ya, Bryce Brown is being investigated by the NCAA. And ya, Gerald Jones may be out 4-6 weeks. But this right here is some Cronkite stuff people. Back in April we debated what songs ought to be pumped into Neyland Stadium to help energize the crowd (Neyland Music). Now it is time to voice our opinions and be heard. As per Tiffany Carpenter via twitter (uttiffany), Director of Public Relations for UT Athletics, the athletic department is open to music suggestions to play in Neyland this coming season: "Looking for good (and clean) songs to play in Neyland this fall. Any suggestions?" This a post on her profile from Aug. 20. So lets let ourselves be heard. Hop on twitter and send her your DJ requests. "Tennessee Jed" encouraged. :)

So my roommate and I recently bought tickets to the Colts-Titans game set for Oct. 11. We are incredibly existed and want to make this the best possible football weekend as we don't often have the opportunity to see Titan's games in person. Please en part unto us your general gameday knowledge. I have a few specific questions but if you don't mind just let us know of any advice or suggestions we may need.

As far as my questions: are people allowed to pay to park in the vast parking lot that surrounds LP Field on a game to game basis or does it require some sort of season parking pass that we probably wouldn't have? If we can't park around the stadium where else do you recommend parking that might have an existing tailgating atmosphere? Are there certain restaurants or more importantly bars that are a gameday must? That's really all I can think of at the moment. I'll probably ask more questions later as the game approaches. Thanks and keep up the good work on the site. Go Titans!

Hey guys, I'm a Tribe fan who lives in Knoxville, TN. I was born and raised down here and am a big UT Vols fan. However through my father, who was born and raised in Cleveland before moving down south, I am a diehard fan of Cleveland professional athletics (my Titans and Braves fan friends often question my sanity). Anyway, my family is heading back to Cleveland next week for a family reunion and I was hoping yall could help me by filling me in on the best way (how, numbers, websites, will-call, ticket offices) to get inexpensive Indians' tickets. The specific game I was thinking of attending is next Friday's (July 31) 7:05 match up against Detriot. Please fill me in with any useful information, gameday advice, or general knowledge I may need to make this an enjoyable trip for me and my pops. Thank you.

-Jim