I earned a game ball last night....

I had been waiting since 2011 for the Tigers to come back to Knoxville. It had been circled on my calendar since it was announced 3-4 years ago. Monitoring the 10-day forecast - beginning 10 days out - the weather never did look promising. Hoping for the best, I checked the forecast numerous times each day and evening thinking everything would suddenly and magically change for the better. But it only got worse as Saturday evening approached.

By Friday, nastiness was an absolute certainty. The hourly forecast read: 100% chance of rain and 15-25 mph winds during the game. By noon Saturday, the radar showed a red squall line making its way across the state. The SMU-Memphis game was delayed by lightning. No way I was gonna drive 3 hours there and 3 hours back for a shite sandwich. Even worse were the odds that I could talk my wife into going - less than zero.

But, while watching the 11:00 am games, something was eating at me. Was hoping for upsets by Arkie and Virginny, but both contests ultimately ended as expected. Meanwhile, those thoughts of I can't believe they're coming to Tennessee and I'm not gonna see it just wouldn't go away.

At 2:30 pm, 3 1/2 hours before kickoff, it hit me: I've gotta do my part. The last 4 games I've attended, we've lost. I saw us lose to Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl, Ole Miss in '15, The Great Lambeau Disaster of '16, and last year's 10-0 loss to the Gumps. So I snatched a 47-yard line, 27 rows up ticket for $55 on Vividseats.com, grabbed my rain gear, left a note for my wife who was out shopping and had forgotten her cell phone that simply read "Gone to game. Geaux Tigers!" Pulled out of my driveway at 2:55 pm and drove not unlike a maniac in rain and wind eastbound on I-40, dodging and cursing the left-lane blockers most of the way. Found a park, ran as much as I could about a half mile to the stadium, continued running through the concourse past the concessions during the national anthem (at least I wasn't kneeling) and made it to my seat less than 2 minutes before kickoff. Breathing began to normalize shortly after our second three-and-out.

Those people on TV and the internet with all of their technology knew what they're talking about. It started in earnest a couple of minutes before halftime just like they said it would. After Culp's doink, I decided to go for a bite since there had been no time to nourish myself in the past 5-6 hours. Then it really hit, but 50,000 of us were under the stands, out of the sideways wind and rain as long as you weren't standing in or near the breezeway that led back out into the stands. Come to think of it, it was perfect timing.

It was then and there that, based on what I've read on the Rant this season, the most surprising thing occurred. As previously noted, 80% or more of the game's attendees were in the shelter of the concourses. But the instant I arrived at the concession window, which was only about 2.5 seconds after discovering it with my sense of sight, someone asked me what I wanted. Without ample time to examine the menu, as I didn't want to be seen as one who only thinks of himself, I quickly recalled seeing others carrying small boxes, so I confidently requested a fresh individual pizza and a drink in a souvenir cup, upon which the guy asked me what I wanted in it. I also observed another concession worker deliver 3 hot dogs to another patron. Recalling some passionate threads on the Rant, I thought to myself, it was halftime, and seemingly everything on the menu was still plentiful. I further mused, Tennessee is in the Top 15 of the most obese states list, and the visitors are in the Top 5, throw in the weather, and there's no reason for there to be a lackluster night of consumption. This all came to me pretty quickly, as I had only spent about 45 seconds in the concession procurement space. The pizza, which was made by the friend and colleague of last night's game attendee and UT legend Peyton Manning, was OK since I made the wise decision to enjoy it in the shelter of the concourse. Otherwise, the fully-cooked, saucer-shaped pepperoni would have ceased to be filled with grease and replaced with water.

The rain began to subside a bit a few minutes into the second half, and the wind turned cold, but it was bearable since the game was really never in doubt. I stuck it out until Culp missed another field goal with three minutes and something left. While he was lining it up, I had predicted to those around me that he had a 30% chance of making it. After all, the weather was still bad, especially the wind.

Most importantly, the Tigers got the win and improved to 8 wins and 3 losses. I made it back home a little tired and sore around 1 am, but the streak was broken. Do I really deserve a game ball? Probably not, especially since I exited with 3 minutes still left in the game. But, I would like one of those towels the players wear on their hip. Or maybe two in case I lose one.