Football is now virtually assured................
As I said a few months ago, it's a matter of when, not if. That is now essentially assured. The back-to-back columns Trey wrote this weekend, along with Brian Smith's most recent "scathing" column, along with the unanimous resolution in the Tennessee legislature, along with the mayors' support, along with the principled committment of Rusty Crowe (and others), along with a slow but surely rising tide of discontent with the abscense of football, have now combined to achieve a "tipping point". This is my opinion, of course, but it is informed, and it is the result of reading a lot of tea leaves over the years.
Even if wayne andrews were named the new president, he couldn't stand in the way. (Although he probably would still not be a friend.) The TBR, even though they of course will make no pronouncement indicating such, will take the athletic administrative attitude of applicants into account because of the pervasive legislative climate, and because the local legislators, press, and officials will make them weigh and consider it. It can no longer be escaped from, or trivialized. Of very key import here is the changing of the attitude at the AM Authority, where non-Hodge sportswriters have become more emboldened, in part because Brian Smith did it and didn't get canned, and in part because they finally realized that mullins and white were ultimately more bark than bite in terms of implicit fear of retribution for negative stories. Although Trey's Sunday column was mostly quotes from attendees at the BFFF, it was written and allowed to speak as if it were an editorial. The tide has finally, but surely and relentlessly begun to come in, and there is no turning back for whoever is the new president. Even stanton, although he couches his words carefully, has thrown in the towel.
The renewed contract for andrews would not keep him from returning if that's what he wanted to do and that's what "the powers that be" wanted to have happen. I have no recent insight into andrews' intentions (and proud of it, I guess), and he will be given serious consideration if he throws his hat in the ring, but the time is now past when his whispering into paulie's ear for those years will not come back to haunt him at least to some extent.
Mark my words, whoever the new president is, he/she will be tasked with re-instituting football, at least in some form or fashion, and my money is on it coming back as Div. 1-AA, although that is too nebulous to call with any certainty right now.
Although there is MUCH work to be done, 'victory' is now within grasp, and I think by this time next year, or shortly thereafter, the in-house groundwork will be beginning to take shape, whether or not a formal announcement has been made. Congratulations, Jerry (Doc) - and all the others who have worked so diligently for this. Special thanks to Rusty. Enough stakeholders have now spoken out, and even more will be doing so as time goes on. Again, this is only my opinion, but I believe in retrospect, this time frame will prove to have been the tipping point, with stanton's resignation announcement partly causing, and partly being caused *by*, this confluence of factors. (How's that for a Zen-like statement?)
So sayeth thedoctor all the above. Good work all of you.
And with that, thedoctor shall probably shrink back into the shadows......
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