The 21st Coach at Tennessee

Due to the fact that I have been so tied up lately with annoyingly distracting things such as trials, work, and earning a living, I forgot to mention one key point that must be remembered about new Tennessee Volunteers head football coach Lane Kiffin:  He’s the 21st head coach for the Volunteers…

That’s right, lucky number …

Now I am not by nature a superstitious person … except when it comes to college sports.  Yeah, I’m one of those types that has certain routines which cannot be broken without risking disaster.  I have, at various times, had lucky shirts, shorts, ticket stubs, socks, and so forth.  I could even tell you the win/loss “record” of most of those items.  My father had a lucky outfit which he wore to every game from 1994-the early 2000s.  In 2005 he retired after he decided the “mojo” was gone.  At present, all of my luck, magic, gri-gri, or whatever you call it is focused on my lucky gameday towel, which I keep tucked into my belt at all times on football Saturdays.

Anyway, I just realized that Coach Kiffin—perhaps—has a date with destiny, due to the fact that he is the 21st coach of the Vols, which is a good omen.  You see, we here at Gate 21 are sort of partial to the number 21, for reasons which are—I presume—fairly obvious.  It is our lucky number.  Thus, maybe—just maybe—this is sign from the Fates of Football, a beacon telling all of Orange Nation that Coach Kiffin will usher in a new era of success for the Big Orange unlike any that Tennessee fans have ever known.

Of course it could also mean that—just like Gate 21—he will be a perpetual bore, wasting amazing amounts of time, considerable sums of money, promising much, but delivering little.

Yeah, I’m going with choice number one too…

Either way, this (unbelievably and irrationally razor-thin) connection between Coach Kiffin and the Gate is forever cemented in my mind.  Oh yeah, I’m feeling the vibe … Lucky Number 21, our luck-fueled general on the field leading the orange-clad warriors to victory.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I feel another addition to the Gate 21 Lexicon (uhh … that’s my “list ‘o words”) and another moniker or nickname being bestowed.  Now, along with Bruce and the Barbarians, the Great Punkin, Smiling Mike, the Tommy Bowl, the Big Dickey, Bruce Almighty, and other exercises in the creative abuse of the English language, I give you Lucky Number 21:

“The Blackjack General”

I figured that name sums up the role Coach Kiffin has assumed at Tennessee: a gambler at heart, a guy who will face a stacked deck from the start, and a guy who may have to do a little bluffing along the way.  It acknowledges his past with the Raiders and Bea Arthur Al Davis (e.g. everything they wear is, uhh… black), while focusing on the next task at hand.  It acknowledges that traditions of Tennessee and General Neyland, while making it clear it is a new day.  Furthermore, in all those old cowboy movies, the Blackjack dealer always wore a visor.  More than anything, it embraces good luck in the form of “21”.

The Blackjack General, Lane Kiffin, Gate 21, and some moron with a blog named “Lawvol”—yeah, I like it.  Cause that’s how we roll…

Clearly, I’ve lost my mind.  I have really got to stop sleeping next to the microwave…

– Go Figure …

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