The day Vandy's program changed

I wrote the following post the week after the 2011 Vandy game. You know the game I'm talking about. The one where the media took Todd Grantham to task for yelling at Jamie Franklin. The one where Grantham was made to be a bad guy because he had the temerity to tell Franklin that if he had a problem with one of Grantham's players, he should talk to Grantham, not the kid. But Franklin was the hot young coach, and Grantham was the dirty choke signer, so we had a meme.

For whatever reason, I decided not to post it then. During the off season, I was digging through some drafts and found this. In light of the heat CTG is taking (and rightfully so) this week, I felt it might be a good time to bring it out, especially if CBS decides to play up the kerfuffle from two years ago:

Well, the Senator handles this far better than I, but one thing that is sticking in my craw is the conversion of Vandy from school that is respected to a school demanding respect.  In the SEC, as in most of college football, there are programs you respect.  You might do so for any number of reasons, not the least of which is how they conduct their business on the field.  Until Saturday night, Vandy was one of those programs. Then there are programs that loudly demands respect, usually because of an inferiority complex.

Vandy might not have the best historical won-loss record, but when you played them, they always played with heart, passion and want to. Until this past week.  This week, they played like a team that is demanding respect by doing whatever they had to to win, including cheap shots.  Their coach backed that up with his antics after the game.

Congrats, Coach Franklin.  Now, I view Vandy like I do Tennessee, but without the history of excellence.  Respect is earned, not demanded.  Standing up and saying we won't take it anymore just means you want the fight and are willing to cash it all in to get it.  I had a great deal of respect for you and your program (I tweeted as much before the game).  Now, I honestly and sincerely hope Vandy loses to Army this week.

Whatever the outcome, remember, Clay Travis loves him some Vandy. That should tell you all you need to know.

TD

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