One of my bosses recently suggested I write a column about why Tennessee, not Texas, is the real “UT.”
I immediately drafted an email that went something like this: “This is my column, not yours. And I choose my own topics. Is that clear?”
After deleting that email, I wrote another message: “Thanks for the idea. When do you need the column?”
I sent this email.
Then, as I do for every column, I began extensive research. It only took a few Google clicks to realize that the topic of UT vs. UT had been addressed before.
Fellow columnist Blake Toppmeyer, host of our extremely popular podcast SEC Football Unfiltered, wrote a column on this topic just two months ago. His column was thoroughly researched and well-written, but it ended somewhat inconclusively.
I don’t write ties. And more importantly, I don’t think my boss wanted me to.
So I had to choose a UT, which wasn’t as easy as you might think. Although I was born in Louisiana, I’ve lived in Tennessee for a long time now (since 1987). I also lived and worked in Texas for several years and visit there often. I’m a fan of Tennessee and Texas.
In fact, no other state can compete with Texas, which has it all: mountains, coast, desert, and four of the eleven most populous cities in the country. But this isn’t about states. It’s about universities.
Unfortunately, after several minutes of brainstorming on UT vs. UT (I never like to think too much about a column topic), I gave Tennessee a slight lead. But a slight lead is not good enough.
When I need a strong – if perhaps irrational – opinion, I ask my wife, Melinda, for advice. In 24 years of marriage, however, she has never once said these words: “I have no opinion on that.”
And so I asked, “Since Texas and Tennessee answer to ‘UT,’ who should maintain that identification now that they’re both in the SEC?”
She expressed her disbelief, hesitated for a second and said, “We are the SEC. UT is the SEC. They are coming in. We are already here. They can’t just force their way in.”
“I’ve been a nurse for 20 years. I don’t want a new nurse telling me how to put in an IV. Nobody wants that.”
I played the devil’s advocate.
“But Texas is a much bigger school. Texas was a great catch for the SEC. It’s a big deal. And it’s good at almost everything.”
“I don’t care,” she said. “It doesn’t matter. You’re lucky to be in the SEC. You have to play by our rules.”
“Nobody in the SEC will call them UT. Not Georgia. Not Alabama. Nobody. And they’re not even in the South. They’re in the Southwest. And Missouri is not in the South. They don’t belong in the Southeastern Conference.”
I sensed that she was about to change the subject and advise all new residents of Knoxville from California to follow our rules as well.
I was on my way back to my office when she called from the kitchen, “We helped them at the Alamo.”
That struck a nerve.
I was a huge Davy Crockett fan long before I moved to Tennessee. As a child, I had a coonskin hat and a toy musket. I even named the musket “Old Betsy,” just like Davy’s favorite weapon.
I later learned that Davy owned more than one rifle. There was a “Pretty Betsy” and an “Old Betsy.” He took neither of them with him to Texas, which in hindsight could be seen as a bad omen.
His heroism reminded me: Texas owes Tennessee.
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Tennesseans volunteered to fight at the Alamo. That is a fact. We can only guess whether Texans would have come to Tennessee’s aid if Kentuckians had attacked from the north.
Bottom line: Texas can be the Longhorns. It can raise its hands in the “Hook ’em Horns salute.” It can sing “The Eyes of Texas.” It can be bigger and better. But it can’t be UT.
If that’s a dealbreaker, I’m sure the Big 12 would love to have it back.
John Adams is senior columnist. Reach him at 865-342-6284 or [email protected]. Follow him at: twitter.com/johnadamskns.
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