I had my first encounter with a UT baseball fan...who problably didn't give a damn about UT baseball 90 days ago. I don't have a problem with UT reaching the CWS, although I'm not looking forward to all the orange sitting in the stands next weekend. However, I do have a problem with UT fans acting like they are experts on college baseball, in particular Vandy baseball.
I step up to the bar to watch a couple of minutes of the NC St - ARK game while waiting for our table. The UT fan looks back at me, thinking I need to order a drink. I tell him I'm just watching for a couple of minutes. He assumes I'm a UT fan (I'm not wearing Vandy gear), and starts telling me that we really need State to win so we do have to face ARK in the Finals. I shake my head and tell him, "Yeah, I don't care at all about Vols. I'm a Vandy fan and ARK is in our bracket."
Then, he tells me that Vandy won't win it this year. Vandy has a couple of good pitchers, but they don't have the bats. All I say is "We'll see." and leave the bar.
I get that they are excited but:
- This dude probably didn't know a single UT player's name three months ago because he didn't care about UT baseball
- Vandy scored 19 runs in three games against the Vols, and won the series. That's almost seven runs per game. Why does he think Vandy doesn't have the bats.
- Vandy lead the league in batting average, slugging pct, stolen bases, & triples. Vandy is 2nd in on-base % and doubles. Vandy is in the top 4 for the rest of the offensive categories.
- Since he probably didn't care about college baseball until a few weeks ago, I doubt he knows anything about TD Ameritrade Ballpark. It's not likely the UT offense will be blasting home runs like they do in Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
- I think East Carolina is a much better team than some realize. If the Pirates had faced USF, UVA, DBU, Ole Miss, LSU, or Texas Tech, then they would be celebrating their first CWS appearance. If this guy was basing his opinion on how we played against ECU, he is seriously underestimating ECU. They are much better than LSU, and would have given the Vols a tough time in a Super Regional. I still believe UT would have won, but ECU would have played the Vols very close and might have forced a Game #3.
Hopefully, the Vawls are gone after two games. I really don't want to hear their fans run their mouths for two weeks.
I step up to the bar to watch a couple of minutes of the NC St - ARK game while waiting for our table. The UT fan looks back at me, thinking I need to order a drink. I tell him I'm just watching for a couple of minutes. He assumes I'm a UT fan (I'm not wearing Vandy gear), and starts telling me that we really need State to win so we do have to face ARK in the Finals. I shake my head and tell him, "Yeah, I don't care at all about Vols. I'm a Vandy fan and ARK is in our bracket."
Then, he tells me that Vandy won't win it this year. Vandy has a couple of good pitchers, but they don't have the bats. All I say is "We'll see." and leave the bar.
I get that they are excited but:
- This dude probably didn't know a single UT player's name three months ago because he didn't care about UT baseball
- Vandy scored 19 runs in three games against the Vols, and won the series. That's almost seven runs per game. Why does he think Vandy doesn't have the bats.
- Vandy lead the league in batting average, slugging pct, stolen bases, & triples. Vandy is 2nd in on-base % and doubles. Vandy is in the top 4 for the rest of the offensive categories.
- Since he probably didn't care about college baseball until a few weeks ago, I doubt he knows anything about TD Ameritrade Ballpark. It's not likely the UT offense will be blasting home runs like they do in Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
- I think East Carolina is a much better team than some realize. If the Pirates had faced USF, UVA, DBU, Ole Miss, LSU, or Texas Tech, then they would be celebrating their first CWS appearance. If this guy was basing his opinion on how we played against ECU, he is seriously underestimating ECU. They are much better than LSU, and would have given the Vols a tough time in a Super Regional. I still believe UT would have won, but ECU would have played the Vols very close and might have forced a Game #3.
Hopefully, the Vawls are gone after two games. I really don't want to hear their fans run their mouths for two weeks.
