Tennessee (SEC ) 2021

Team:      Tennessee Volunteers

Year:       2021

Game:     Ole Miss 31 Tennessee 26

Rating:    9
Cost Index:  Mid

Stadium: Neyland Stadium

If you want to make it part of a larger trip:  Nashville, Lexington
Don't Miss:   Rockytop

Avoid:  Getting hit by a golf ball or water bottle

Attendees:  Bones, Polychronopolus 

Overview:   I've been to Tennessee a few times, it's one of my favorite places. Knoxville is a neat little city that hasn't managed to get overrun like so many other places. Nashville being the most prominent.  I also am on their preferred ticket list so I get early access to great tickets.  When I saw that Lane Kiffin was making his return I thought this would be a great game to experience. 

Pre-game:  My brother and I ended up camping at our usual spot up in Norris Dam state park.  The night before the game we had a few beers at Clinch River brewing.  This was a 6PM kick off so we got in there earlier and decided to head to the south side to jump around a few breweries.  Printshop, Hi-Wire & Alliance.  We got some pizza from a spot called South Coast.  

Game Experience:  Tennessee is always pretty good. Considering how bad the team has been over the past 10-15 years they are still very well supported and the crowd is loud and the traditions (Rocky Top) are pretty cool.  We had great seats about 3 rows in back of the Ole Miss bench.  Game was decent, Ole Miss seemed on the verge of pulling away most of the game but Tennessee fought hard and kept it competitive right to the end. 

The crowd didn't really get on Kiffin as hard as I would have thought.  I know the end of the game got a lot of bad press. It was a little weird being there. I was near the bench and saw the water bottles and batteries being thrown.   I never felt like danger was immanent but when it didn't stop we ended up moving back a few rows.  

Post Game:  The game took four and a half hours.  We just went home after a long walk back to the car. 

Stadium: Neyland is always great but they don't know how to mange the crowd there, especially trying to get into the stadium.  They could use some operational improvements in that area. 

Summary:  Great spot, I really like Knoxville as a city.  I would visit even without a football game. 

Game Summary:  https://www.espn.com/college-football/recap/_/gameId/401282110