For over 30 years, I’ve enjoyed the atmosphere and pageantry of college football enough to go to games even if my favorite team wasn’t one of the teams playing, and the best example is the Tennessee vs. Georgia game on Oct. 6, 2001.
To this day, it stands out in my memory as the best regular-season college football game that I’ve ever witnessed in person, for reasons on and off the field of competition. I’ll never forget squeezing into that sold-out Neyland Stadium less than four weeks after our nation was devastated by the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. The packed house was an inspiring symbol of American courage and unity that I dearly miss.
For much-needed escapism from the chaos and carnage that was dominating news and culture in general at the time, I decided to go to that Tennessee vs. Georgia game with a group of college friends who had divided loyalties, and I ended up as the one fan not wearing red and black among UGA fans behind the end zone. A blue Duke Blue Devils hat I wore stuck out like a sore thumb. Even on standard definition TV, several friends back in Birmingham recognized me and called me to say, “I saw you in that ugly Duke hat on TV.”
Before kickoff, the usual “Star Spangled Banner” was replaced by “God Bless America.” In those minutes leading up to the showdown between two SEC East juggernauts, all eyes were focused on the American flag, as we replayed the horrific sights in our minds of the thousands of fellow Americans killed in New York, the Pentagon, and Shanksville, PA. Nobody was talking in terms of Republicans vs. Democrats. We were just glad to be able to gather together to get back to our favorite traditions.
After kickoff, the game remained as competitive as fans and experts predicted, with several lead changes throughout the game. With only 44 seconds left in the fourth quarter, Tennessee appeared to clinch the game when Casey Clausen connected on a swing pass to running back Travis Stephens as blockers cleared his path for a 62-yard touchdown. As Stephens reached the end zone, the stadium was so loud that I couldn’t hear my own voice. Georgia bounced right back and marched down the field. Defying all the odds, the Bulldogs’ freshman quarterback David Greene engineered a scoring drive that ended with a six-yard go-ahead touchdown pass with only six seconds left.
Georgia fans around me were ecstatic, and UT fans fell silent in disbelief. Were it any other year, I genuinely believe there would have been several major fights as we left the stadium, but no matter who we were rooting for, everyone in that stadium was preoccupied with the bigger picture of our nation’s future, and that’s what mattered the most in those days. No punches were thrown as we left our seats. Instead, “Great game” comments and friendly jokes were exchanged. I’ll never forget a Georgia fan next to me who yelled, “Cancel your chess club meeting, Dukie! Tonight, you’re partying with the Dogs!”
I walked back to my friend’s house, who hosted our 50/50 group of UT / UGA fans, and I initially dreaded potential arguments or heated exchanges, but we sat back, enjoyed a meal, and peacefully made our journey back to Birmingham. Throughout that day, the gameday atmosphere and the conduct of the fans served as helpful reminders of how fortunate we were to still have the freedom to gather in such large numbers, even after a historic catastrophe that shut down the entire nation only weeks before.
College football is famous for intense rivalries and harsh trash talk between fanbases, but as I discovered on that autumn day in Knoxville, it can also be incredibly effective at bringing people together, even when they’re rooting for different teams.
There will always be knucklehead fans who root for any team in any sport, and they make much more noise in our current era, where most fan interactions occur online rather than in person. I haven’t attended a college football game in person in a few years, but I know that for most college football fans, there are still more positive interactions with fans of opposing teams than negative ones. When I reflect on days like that, Saturday, and wish we could put aside our petty differences, after the final whistle blows, or after an election ends.
I was able to uncover footage of the Florida vs. LSU game which immediately followed the UT vs. UGA game. Below, you can watch footage of the LSU and Florida’s coaches, players, and fans enthusiastically sing “God Bless America”, after a moment of silence to honor the victims of Sept. 11. I encourage you to watch with the volume up.
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