Hey, Who Took The Sugar Out of the Tennessee Vols' Kool-Aid?

brandon neal by Correspondent Written on September 15, 2009
KNOXVILLE, TN - SEPTEMBER 12: Lane Kiffin, head coach of the Tennessee Volunteers yells from the sideline agianst the UCLA Bruins on September 12, 2009 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee. The Bruins beat the Volunteers 19-15. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images)

Attention all Vols. The honey moon is officially over.

Now, as a Gator fan, I'll be the first to admit I hate Lane Kiffen. Well, maybe I shouldn't say I hate him, as I don't hate anybody. Let's just say, I don't like the person he seems to be.

I don't hate Tennessee. I love the SEC and all the teams that represent the SEC.

It all started with his first press conference. He was talking about embracing tradition of UT football. It started off like you would expect. You know, the kind of stuff you normally would say.

Then he throws a poke at UF, which by the way, I watched that press conference, it seemed very innocent. In fact, I even said on Gatorcountry that the Gators fans who were up in arms over that statement were blowing it out of proportion. 

Not that it hasn't been talked about enough. Lord knows it's going to be getting crammed down our throats up until the game. But I'll tell the story one more time.

Not long after taking the job at Tennessee, Lane started showing his true colors. Now, unless you were living under a rock, you  know about the "Urban Meyer had to cheat and still lost the recruit" comment he made.

Lane was talking at some breakfast with boosters, here he then goes on to accuse Urban Meyer of cheating. This rubs me the wrong way for multiple reasons. First and foremost, when you incorrectly call somebody out, it's offensive. For some people, being called a cheater is the same as being called a liar.

Lane was then when forced to say sorry. However, his apology was an obvious joke and if anything, it made him even more hated by the way he did it. Basically, he said "Sorry if I offended anybody at UF. It wasn't my intention."

So he insults the Gator Nation by calling their leader a cheater, and then lies to them.  I say this because if you call somebody a cheater, you're either trying to insult that person, or you're just stupid.

I'll go with the second option.

Now had he said, "Look, I'm sorry for what I said. I was trying to pump up my fans. But I guess I need to learn the rule book before I start accusing people of cheating. Now I look kind of stupid," I would have been able to forgive and forget.

Then, not long afterward, he goes on to insult the dot on the map town of Pahokee, saying they were in the Stone Age and he was worried if they knew how to operate a fax machine.

And again his apology is insulting. His excuse is that he didn't know cameras were rolling. That's his apology. That's like saying "Yeah, just relax, man. I didn't know you would ever hear what I had to say. So it's okay."

Again, it's just his brash personality that rubs many the wrong way. Given his head coaching record, you would expect him to be a little humble or something, but no. He acts as if he is the next big thing.

Lane is kind of like that rich punk kid that got everything he ever wanted handed to him and never had to work at anything. He's the guy that just knows he is better than everybody because of his daddy.

Fast forward to September 5th.

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written on September 15, 2009 Opinion

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