Dec 3, 2011; Atlanta, GA, USA; A detailed view of an SEC logo on a yard marker during the first half of the 2011 SEC championship game between the LSU Tigers and the Georgia Bulldogs at the Georgia Dome. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
The AP Top 25 was released today, but a quirkier side story emerged after Go Vols Xtra tweeted “Roll Tide!”.
Roll Tide! Alabama No. 1 in AP preseason poll http://t.co/iZYkjhe1vE
— GoVolsXtra (@GoVolsXtra) August 17, 2013
Go Vols Xtra, which is part of the Knoxville News Sentinel, ran the AP story with the already titled headline. The same headline was seen in newspapers across the country.
Evan Woodbery, who covers the Tennessee Volunteers football team for the Knoxville News Sentinel, cleared up some of the confusion over the seemingly “Pro-Alabama” headline.
FWIW, the "Roll Tide!" in the headline was written and distributed by AP. It has since been changed by us. Direct complaints to AP.
— Evan Woodbery (@evanwoodbery) August 17, 2013
Reaction from the passionate Volunteer fan base was swift, and angry.
@GoVolsXtra what a joke!? You just lost a customer! You are a Vols website! Uncalled for!
— Coach White (@CoachWhiteTPHS) August 17, 2013
@GoVolsXtra Roll Tide?!? What kind of establishment is this?!?
— Adam Clark™ (@kadamclark) August 17, 2013
There are hundreds of other tweets that we can’t share on the site, but a quick Twitter search of “GoVolsXtra” will bring up plenty.
At the end of the day this just goes to show how passionate Tennessee (and SEC) fans are about college football. With the season getting underway in just two-weeks, this is good preseason training to get fans fired up.
UPDATE: 3:20 pm est
Sorry Vol fans. We used the national AP headline on "Top 25" story without thinking. We apologize.
— GoVolsXtra (@GoVolsXtra) August 17, 2013
Go Vols Xtra tweeted out an apology, which wasn’t enough to satisfy some Vol fans.
Football in the south — there’s nothing like it.