With the 20-year anniversary of “Bottlegate” just weeks away, Haslam got a reminder from his alma mater that he wanted no part of, despite not purchasing the Browns until 2012.
All the signs were pointing to something like this could happen. Lane Kiffin was returning to Knoxville, where he coached in 2009. One year would normally be thought of as unjust, but Kiffin stepped down amongst several NCAA violations regarding recruits. He called out then-Florida Gator head coach Urban Meyer--who has his own current controversies--for contacting a recruit while touring the Tennessee campus, a violation itself.
Kiffin also told Alshon Jeffrey that if he chose to attend South Carolina--which he eventually did--he would be “pumping gas for the rest of his life.” Jeffrey would go on to play nine seasons in the NFL between the Chicago Bears and Philadelphia Eagles, winning Super Bowl 42 with the Eagles over Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.
Kiffin’s departure caused minor vandalism outside of Neyland Stadium, to where the police had to block the exits.
Last night, Kiffin and his 13th-ranked Mississippi Rebels were booed mercilessly by any one of the 102,455 fans wearing orange.
The crowd noise would be the least of his worries going into the final minutes of the game.
With the Volunteers leading 31-26, the Rebels had Tennessee facing a fourth-and-24 on their own 36. The Rebels gave up 23 yards, to which video replay confirmed the spot, giving Mississippi the ball back on downs with 54 seconds remaining.
Fans littered the field with bottles, cups, cans. Kiffin was struck with a yellow golf ball, like what you would find at a driving range. How that even became an idea to sneak into the stadium, much less thrown onto the field makes you wish fan limits from 2020 would have carried over.
We know some Tennessee sports fans are obnoxious, but Neyland made a typical night at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville look tame. The NHL’s Predators have fans routinely chant “Hey...you suck” at the opposing goaltender after a goal is scored. They throw catfish on the ice as a direct rip off of the Detroit Red Wings.
Kiffin moved his players and staff to the center of the field to avoid further debris, in addition to asking for the game to be called at this point. Mississippi ended up going three-and-out after play resumed, but Tennessee was only able to advance as far as the Rebel 21 when time expired.
On that December day in 2001, Browns fans littered the field with bottles, cans and cups after the officiating reviewed and reversed a call from two plays before, which is not allowed under NFL rules. The call--which came with 48 seconds left--cost the Browns possession and the game. The officials claimed their on-field buzzer from the replay booth malfunctioned, but mechanical failure cannot alter the outcome of a replay. The Browns were in contention for a playoff spot, whereas Tennessee was just trying to get back into the top 25.
Mississippi is now 5-1, with that lone loss being a thrashing against then-top-ranked Alabama.
As if playing “Rocky Top” after every first down or score could not be more annoying, then Volunteer fans go and do this. The SEC has fined schools upwards of $250,000 this season if their fans rush the field after the game. I can only imagine that number could be a drop in the bucket for what they have in store for Tennessee later this week.
The Rebels and Kiffin were again showered with garbage as they left the field through the tunnel. Kiffin had a large box of popcorn dumped on him. My question is unless the popcorn was stale, how was the tub still almost full by the end of the game?
-JC24