So, we’ve got a new special that we decided to unveil.  It’s the (sort of) animated adventures of Urbie Masters and Sunshine Griffin!  It is our take on a Cali dude coming to a new school with a previously established pecking order.  Hopefully you’ll enjoy the series.  We’ll try to have a new one on Wednesdays.  So check it out…

And without further ado, we bring you:

Strip #1 of The ADVENTURES of Urbie Masters and Sunshine Griffin!

(Click for full image)

Tennessee warmed up in orange jerseys, then for a bit of a boost along with it being halloween, went into the locker room, changed, and ran out onto the field in black jerseys.  The U and T sections of the crowd immediately reacted to this by all having simultaneous hissy fits.  It was the most nose they’ve made at the stadium since the last time they told the youngsters to sit down.  Interestingly, the “whipper snappers” are now banned from all donor sections.

Judging from the reaction to rumors before the game of possibly having black jerseys, Tennessee how has about 500,000 less fans, so if you’re looking to get in on this bandwagon.  Come on board.

Online forums such as VolNation were understandably somewhat split, with some folks only screaming tradition tradition tradition, whilst others thought it was cool, with a 20+ page thread accompanying the subject.  Nevermind the old folks who are screaming that next we will be replacing the Power T with a butthole (and also nevermind the fact that the current Power T was designed by Doug Dickey back in the 60s), there are younger folks too screaming foul, or even reluctantly liking the design… but wanting this to be a one time thing.

One comment I particularly enjoyed was the following:

To all of you that dislike the black jersey…that was the loudest I have seen a crowd at the start of a game ever…the stadium wasn’t even full…the team was the most energized I have seen them at the beginning of game in years…a new era of Volunteer Football in upon us…embrace it…this is definitely more effective ‘hope and change’ than those that have promised “hope and change”…pun intended.

Now, I’m not an expert on puns…  But.  Hey reader, you really enjoy reading terrible writing.  Pun intended!  Zing!

Anyway, this isn’t the important part of this post.. Here’s the important part.  We here at fulmer’s belly.  Freaking CALLED IT!

Check out the original post here.

Now, let’s get to my favorite rendition (and one that I’m personally quite proud of, even though it could have been a little better, but you know, it’s sort of half assed).  The black uniform with the alternate black helmet with black britches:  (click the pic for a bigger version)

Woo! Feel the juke!

There you have it.  I think they look pretty fantastic (except with just the black pants), and you know, variety is the spice of life.  It’s time to start our own traditions, instead of just living in the shadows of Doug Dickey’s creative traditionalism.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the Power T, and most of the things he’s enacted, but let’s not pretend that his innovations are the same thing as “tradition” and “history” in the real sense of the words.  The real tradition of Tennessee football is putting a competitive team on the field, and practicing the 7 Maxims of Football.  Other than that, it’s all child’s play.

Now, the black pants and the fancy helmets didn’t pan out (Georgia kind of took that idea and ran with it… which i personally thought looked kind of cool.. maybe next time, they could paint the helmets yellow, and the background of the G green… which would look sharp… but i digress), but the jerseys man.. were spot on.  Black shirt, orange numbers, white border, orange neck thingy part.  Damn I’m good.

Oh yeah, and Tennessee won.  yay?

Welp, it’s over.  Recruiting battles with Alabama? Florida? SC? Anyone?  Nope.  Tennessee’s got em.  Why?

Lane Kiffin has made it into a Lil Wayne song.  (Around 1:10-1:13 area)

And with that, I bid the other schools adieu.

I’m not one to oft admit jealousy of anything.  Except say, someone who has a smoking hot girlfriend, someone who has a lot of money, good looks, fame, a smoking hot wife, athletic ability of any kind, intelligence, a smoking hot mistress, employment, musical talent, humor, a nicer computer than me, a nice car, a car, a smoking hot wife AND a smoking hot girlfriend…

But I will admit that I am jealous of one thing in particular.  Other teams who have cool battle cries if you will, whenever they kick off a ball.  You hear it all the time.  Most fans in the SEC, when gearing up for a kickoff, will start with their “OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOH” chant, but as the time comes to actually kick the ball, other fans have things that they chant in unison.  Like Georgia has their (something incomprehensible) followed by a Woof Woof Woof, Bama has their… something, it’s hard to understand what they’re saying without my English to Alabama dictionary.

I propose here, that Tennessee fans should not be left out of one more instance of fun chanting something in unison together with thousands of other fans like brainwashed sheep cool people.  Ready?

The team lines up.  The shakers circling overhead.  The anticipation grows.  The kicker raises his arm, then starts trotting towards the upright ball.  The crowd gets a little louder “ooooOOOOO” and the ball is KICKED!

V-O-L-S, Go Vols Go!

Let’s make it happen people.  If you go to the game, do it on the first kickoff, and if you do it with gusto, and not like the pansy that you normally are at the office all week when people take a bigger portion of cake so that you’re left with only crumbs, or a shitty middle piece with no side icing, several people are bound to notice, and do it with you the second time.  If more than one person can do it at the same time from different sections, by the time the 3rd home game rolls around, I should be able to audibly hear the chant on TV.

And it’ll all be thanks to me.  The awesomest loneliest blogger in the universe.  Please?

Feel free to repost this on other blogs, take credit yourself (although we all know it’s Fulmer’s Belly that got it started), but let’s see if the world of the internet is really that strong, and can create a real change, and a new tradition for all of us to be proud of when 30 years down the road, everyone is doing it.  You can say you were one of the first to start it!  Sweet!.

Well, that was a closer game than most people expected.  Interestingly, Crompton was basically the one saving grace of the offense today.  He put us in a position to win, and that’s all you can ask from your starting QB.  He played like a champ.

The defense had another awesome outing, and if it weren’t for two nearly 50 yard field goals, Tennessee very possibly could have won the game.  Monte Kiffin’s D did their part in not allowing a single touchdown.

The kick return teams were serviceable against possibly Alabama’s weakest unit, and the Kickoff teams seemed adequate for the most part.

Am I missing anything?

I don’t think I am.  If you can think of any unit I might have missed… let me know.

I mean, perhaps it was fate.  Some dude named Lincoln, is bound to have bad luck in the South (too soon?).  OK, that was a cheap joke, but it was too good to not share.

Seriously though, I’m getting more and more excited about the team.  Even after a close loss that stings a lot, consider that Tennessee has played two teams ranked #1 this year, lost one by 10, then the next one by 2.  It feels like this could very well be the last of the close losses.  Let’s hope that’s the case.

Alabama played a good, tough game, and they should be commended for doing what they needed to to grind out a win in a rivalry game.  Now, allow me to go wash myself.

It is nearly here.  The Third Saturday Fourth Saturday in October.  As an aside, am I the only one who finds it odd that October has FIVE Saturdays?  I mean, give me a break overachiever.  October 2009 is like my friend who complains that there’s not enough hours in the day to do all the work he needs to do.  Work?  Work sucks.  Sleep, now there’s a worthwhile endeavor.

Anyway, it’s Bama week, and well, they’re ranked #1.  Sort of.  The Coaches think they’re the best, whilst the AP thinks they’re the second best.  Either that or it’s the other way around.  I didn’t really look into it that hard.  Interestingly, Lane Kiffin isn’t really taking these opportunities to poke the bear as it were, possibly because he knows that Nick Saban is actually the human name for one Mr. Satan.  Not the dragonball character (if you know what I’m talking about, you’re partially cool, but all geek).  And he doesn’t want to lose his eternal soul for making fun of the dark prince.

Alabama to this point, hasn’t really faced too much tough competition (unless you consider a first weekend beating of Virginia Tech… of the A.C.C.!!!! to be a credible win) to this point.  This, interestingly, could be the Crimson Tide’s first real test.  As another aside, wtf kind of name is crimson tide?  I mean, is it sort of like the clothes washing detergent but a different hue?  Or does it refer to when ladies have their “monthly visitor” where they refer to “riding the crimson wave?”  Either way, it kind of creeps me out.  Because on one hand, you’ll end up with red laundry.  And on the other… Actually, both ways you end up with red laundry.

Will Tennessee beat Alabama?  I’ll tell you after Saturday, because I can usually make more informed decisions after I’ve seen the outcomes to games.  Will Tennessee make a game of it?  Well, Alabama denied Tennessee’s request to wear their orange jerseys, and seeing as how the only time Tennessee has won this year has been in the Orange Jersey/White Pant combo, I’ll have to guess…. I don’t know.

Seriously, am I the only one to have noticed that?

Western Kentucky – Orange Jersey, White Pants – WIN
UCLA – Orange Jersey, White Pants – LOSS
Florida – White Jersey, Orange Pants – LOSS
Ohio – Orange Jersey, White Pants – WIN
Auburn – Orange Jersey, Orange Pants – LOSS
Georgia – Orange Jersey, White Pants – WIN

So as you can see, the Orange Jersey/White Pants combo doesn’t always equate to a win, but orange pants, loss every time.  That’s kind of sad though, because personally, I love the orange pants, but even going back to the Fulmer days, the orange pants (UCLA, SECCG vs. LSU) were losers.

Maybe we could get some Orange Jerseys, Orange Helmets, Orange Pants, Orange Shoes, Orange Socks, Orange Gloves, Orange Chinstraps, Orange Mouthguards, Orange Jock Straps, Orange Pads, Orange Pubes kind of thing going, and see if that helps.

I am Jon, and I approve this message.

Apparently Coach Calipari, the new head coach of the Kentucky Wildcats (for how long? probably a couple years until the dark cloud catches up to him now, where he’ll promptly uproot, and move on, leaving his former employer to bear the brunt of his misgivings), hates the color orange.

What is the root of all this hatred?  Is it because he genuinely dislikes Tennessee and Bruce Pearl?  Or is it something deeper? Did he lose his dad to a carrot truck overturning on the freeway?  Was he was molested by an orange?  Or a man waring an Orange suit?  Is it because he used to be an aspiring songwriter, but realized that nothing rhymes with orange?  Is it because he loved the entertaining and fun for the entire family board game Trivial Pursuit, but was always stymied by the Sports and Leisure pie piece?

We may never know.

What we do know however, is that Cal was kind of a douche at Memphis, and it seems his new position at Kentucky has only helped nurture that douchbaggery into a new level of douchy douchness.  Either that, or Bruce Pearl is under his skin.  Whatever the reason, he hates orange.

What are some other reasons he might hate it?  Give us your best.