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Butch Jones Institutes New Game “Tradition” At Open Practice

By Randy Sharber

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Butch Jones is getting it done in the recruiting battles across the country as the University of Tennessee head football coach.

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He is also a tireless promoter of theTennessee brand, and a guy that understands and grasps the great tradition of Tennessee. But he also likes to add a little himself.

Butch Jones brought the Tennessee team and fans “Third Down For What” last season. It was an attempt to bring the crowd into the game in crucial third down situations during the game for the defense. Jones piped in Lil Jon’s Turn Down For What with “third” inserted instead of “turn”.

More importantly it became a focus point for the Tennessee defense on just how important it is to get off of the field on third down. Butch Jones is part football coach and part psychologist it seems.

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I thought “third down for what” might just go away. It wouldn’t bother me if it did. I’m still an old school Vol. The Tennessee crowd is loud enough on third down in meaningful games, but again, I know this is psychology as well.

But it was played again yesterday, and looks like it just might take. The younger fans love it. I saw one lady in her fifties come out of her chair when they played it for the first time yesterday and she looked like she had been waiting for that since December of last year. She was straight out of Knoxville.

So now Butch the promoter wants the Tennessee fans to help out the offense. He took microphone in hand and said that after Tennessee offensive first downs this season he wants the South Side sitting fans to say “Rocky” and right after the North Side to say “Top”…. and then three claps by all. I rolled my eyes. But the fans took to it instantly. As pharoah once said, “so let it be written, so let it be done”. So let Coach Butch Jones say what he wants, so let it be done in the stadium.

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I was thinking yesterday what if Dooley had asked this of the fans in his last season. If he had taken the microphone and said “hey, this side say Rocky and that side say Top and then everyone clap your hands three times when we get a first down”, there would have been multiple deaths in the stadium for people choking on their popcorn or hotdogs upon ingesting and hearing this command simultaneously.

Fans would have laughed him off of the field, and the heimlich maneuver would have been performed more times than I can imagine within Neyland.

However, the Tennessee faithful appreciate what Coach Jones is doing to resurrect this proud Tennessee Football tradition after it had fallen on its’ darkest days. They want to support the man and the players responsible for this resurgence in any way they are asked…as long as there is progress being made and winning is on the horizon.

Right now if Butch Jones said put your finger in your mouth and make a popping sound every time Tennessee makes a tackle there would be T-shirts out the next week with Smokey putting a paw in his mouth, and the words :The Big Orange Pop” emblazoned underneath. He is that popular.

So Tennessee fans will embrace the new “Rocky Top” chant. The older fans will think it is a little goofy, and underneath them. But again if he keeps bringing the likes of Khalil McKenzie, Jalen Hurd, Alvin Kamara, Kyle Phillips, Shy Tuttle and Derek Barnett, we will do what he asks. We are Volunteers anyway you know.

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