I really don't think anything was more disappointing than having my entire Christmas present wrapped into a trip to the 1998 Orange Bowl. I sort of believe there is a good piece of my Peyton Manning hatred stemming from this game. I'm not saying I place all the blame on Peyton, the defense obviously failed miserably, but I gotta think this game play's a part in it. Other events would be the Hobnail Boot game, The Casey Clausen rain game against UF and my first Washington Redskins game. They lost to friggin Seattle.
The '01 UGA game was the biggest emotional swing I've ever experienced from sports. Actually, it might be the biggest I've experienced in my entire life. If I hadn't been so young I might have had a heart attack. The '01 SEC Championship might have been the biggest overall disappointment, however.
Glad I wasn't present for that one. Mercifully, I "watched" that one on ESPN Gametracker. I was, unfortunately, in the stadium for the 2005 losses to Vandy and South Carolina. I was angry/drunk/starting-to-get-hungover enough to yell at the band shut up when they played Tennessee Waltz after the game. Felt like we didn't deserve it.
I was actually in the drunk tank for that one. I went to the Vandy game, but that whole season was a hazy blur of remorse and regret.
The 04 Auburn game slapped me back to reality pretty hard. The entire 05 season, with the exception of the LSU game, was terrible. It was rough seeing Jason Allen's leg laying off to the side of him after Leonard Pope ran him over. 05 Vandy was probably the worst. 08 Wyoming was kind of expected.
I was fully expecting what happened by Auburn. Notre Dame was much worse for me that year. We had no excuse losing that game.
I was a drunk freshman expecting Tennessee to crush everyone else after the UF game. I blamed noodle armed Rick Clausen for Notre Dame, when in reality, Justin Tuck dominated Tennessee's OL singlehandedly.
The 2000s were such a horror show VFB blocked out the Maryland Peach Bowl, 2007 SECG, and Wyoming game we attended together apparently. The worst experience I ever had was the dual gut punch of 2008 Alabama game followed by the South Carolina game in Columbia a week later. That South Carolina game was such a total disaster I pray the footage from that debacle has long since been destroyed.
And if you believe Clay Travis, that SC game was Phil's final chance to prove he should be retained. That was the best effort he could muster to win one game to save his job. And people still somehow think he should have been back in 2009. I will say I had actually heard the decision was made after the Bama game, but the South Carolina game was the impetus for announcing it midsession rather than after the UK game.
Both those back to back Peach Bowl games sucked for numerous reasons. They didn't have the gut punch of the rain game or how awful we looked against Nebraska though and as KPT brought up that 2001 UGA game brought such a rollercoaster of emotions in just seconds. I didn't go into the '07 SECCG expecting much so to see them almost perform the miracle wasnt' so bad (plus I was still in joy of almost acing that simulated par 3 if you recall in the FanZone). As for Wyoming, by that late in the season I just wanted it all to be over with and I was too busy laughing to really be upset.
I still hate Maryland because of that Peach Bowl. The Clemson one seemed like no one cared on the sidelines. I wasn't at either of those though. I'm glad I wasn't at the rain game against UF because I probably would have tried to jump the fence and smack Clausen (which, best case scenario would have ended with me in handcuffs, worst case a lineman gets me before security and I'm beaten half to death before the handcuffs come out).
I would actually rate the Clemson loss as worse than the Maryland because you're right JG. It was blatantly apparent in the Georgia Dome that no one cared and both Jo and I easily concluded that Witten made up his mind during the game that he was going pro. Can't blame him, but it wasn't easy to watch. A couple of days later one of his best friends from High School (who was on Milligan's bball team) told me that they talked that very night and Witten was leaving. as for the rain game, a good friend of mine got married that day and I still feel like an a-hole that I didn't attend her wedding. Don't really believe in karma, but that day was the closest I ever came to believing in it.
Yes and I think he made every tackle on every running play as well. He whipped Munoz all day long and then would slide over to DT some too.
I can't say I blame Witten for making his mind up then. The 2008 UF game is the same for me. A good friend of mine was getting married but the gas shortage and UF coming to Neyland made me stay in Knoxville. Crompton got trucked by Janoris Jenkins I believe.
