Top Five Reasons for Vols Fans to Hate the Alabama Crimson Tide

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Jan 31, 2015; Knoxville, TN, USA; Former Tennessee Volunteers head football coach Phillip Fulmer during the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and Auburn Tigers at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

1. Alabama Still Blames Phil Fulmer for Everything

“If Fulmer had not snitched back in 2000, we probably would have had the depth to beat Ole Miss a few weeks ago.”

Don’t be surprised if that ran through the minds some people at Alabama games.

Three national championships and an eight-game winning streak over the Vols later, they can’t let it go! They have tried multiple times to get Tennessee in response, and they also tried to create a false equivalency between what they got put on probation for and what Fulmer was investigated for right before.

So let’s rehash that.

In 1999, the Vols were investigated for academic fraud. The severity of that was never confirmed, nor was any evidence of what happened. If you want to say Fulmer cut a deal with the NCAA to get them off his back in exchange for turning in Alabama, fine. But nobody can say exactly what Tennessee was facing.

Don’t blame Fulmer for catching Logan Young in the act of funneling Albert Means to Alabama. Wouldn’t you turn in a program using an unfair advantage to take players from you?

Meanwhile, everybody in Tuscaloosa will ignore the fact that Steve Spurrier, Houston Nutt, and David Cutcliffe all raised issues with Young as well. Did they say anything about Fulmer? No.

But, 15 years later, because of this false equivalency that Fulmer might have been cheating and then turned in Alabama for cheating, the Tide base will not let it go.

There were threats twice to subpoena Fulmer surrounding the case if he set foot in Alabama, forcing him to miss SEC Media Days in 2004.

And the issue does not go away.

Guys, let it go. You are a far better program than Tennessee right now. Stop being so salty about the fact that you got caught cheating and paid a price for it.

Clearly, it did not affect you long-term.

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