But actually this is more about how Social Media continues to fascinate me- despite the fact it has been part of our general culture for many years now.
This photo is of Tee Martin. If at all you follow college ball - certainly Tennessee and SEC ball- you are well aware of who he is.
He took over for QB after Peyton had played as much as the NCAA would allow. Tee took the Vols to the first ever BCS National Championship, and the Big Orange took home the trophy.
And lets just say, it has been a very very very long time since 1998. In the past four years, we have fired one coach, been shat upon by another, and then as of last month fired ANOTHER coach. We shan't discuss the records of late, certainly not the conference ones.
So now we have a new guy. A virtually unknown from Cincinnati. I should say -the last coach from that school went on to Notre Dame, and is now counting down the days to playing in this years National Championship - and undeated at that. So this new guy- Butch - has come to town and in a matter of hours - CLEANED HOUSE. (Thank Heaven). He did keep Jay Graham in tact on the coaching staff - another Vol Favorite - I imagine someone advised him to hang on to Mr Graham or risk being burned at the stake.
So what is the point of all this rambling? As soon as Butch was official, less than a week ago, he made mention of hiring Tee. And see, Tee HAD been at Kentucky - which was annoying as they are in the SEC.. but THEN Tee went out to California to work for that coach who shan't be named, but did Shat on Vol Nation.
Here's where social media comes in. First thing this morning Twitter and Facebook were on fire with news that Tee and his whole family were heading to town to meet with Butch. Was it true? who knew. One person would pass on another's update and so on and so on. Then the media outlets started to tweet and FB that Tee was headed here. But really? I mean they bleed Orange just as much as the next Fan, so in this case, I can't say the news outlets are completely objective....
but then, then, - THAT IMAGE ABOVE - that appeared in my feed. And that is definitely Tee. And that is defintitely our cute little 12gate airport.
So I snagged it from my friend who lives in Nashville. She had snagged it from another of our friends who lives in SAN DIEGO. He had it before us! And within seconds of ME snagging it and posting it on FB and Twitter - there were loads of comments and re-shares from my friends. We're talking a span of MAYBE 90 seconds that this all transpired.
Think about that. Yes, to some of you this is 'just football' - but it could have been anything. Think about when Princess Diana was killed - that news broke late at night on a holiday weekend here in the States. And most of us probably remember where we were when that happened. Now fast forward to when Micheal Jackson died. We found out about that within minutes - mere minutes. I remember where I was when I found out about that - on my smart phone - too.
Social Media. I still know some who say it is a fad, or it is just gossip and mean. And certainly, in some cases - it is.
Now think about Hurricane Sandy. One of the biggest and most impactful cities in the WORLD came to a screeching halt. Social Media was an option for communication - whether for letting family members know one another was ok, or for asking for help, or simply sharing information.
So. yes. I'm here giddy about the potential homecoming of a local favorite, and that I am able to keep up with it bc of FB and Twitter. I continue to be fascintated by the whole concept.
(So much so that I actually got around to blog again!)
