Landon Israel is a 9-year-old football fan in Tennessee. Like most fans in Tennessee, Landon is tired of seeing the Volunteers lose. But unlike those from his dad’s and granddad’s generation, he has known nothing but loss after loss from him favorite team.
So, Landon decided to enter the transfer portal. The fan transfer portal.
He sent a letter to his four finalists – LSU, Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee to ask if they would recruit him as a fan. He quickly got back a response from Ed Orgeron, Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin. But nothing from Tennessee.
A personal phone call from Kiffin ultimately persuaded Landon to side with the Rebels. This is a cute, funny story as reported by The Athletic. But it’s also telling. We know Tennessee hasn’t been doing the big stuff right for a long time. Now we know they aren’t doing the small stuff well, either.
You can’t blame a 9-year-old for wanting to cheer for a team that wins at least every once in a while. Maybe that will be the case for his new favorite team.
For Threaded Fasteners, I’m Randy Kennedy with Nuts and Bolts of the Game