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VOL. 35 | NO. 37 | Friday, September 16, 2011

Franklin has a chance to reward VU faithful

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We have seen this sort of enthusiasm before.

Watson Brown had it in wide-eyed form. So did Gerry Dinardo in his disdain for all things orange. In his own, low-key way, Bobby Johnson started that way as well.

All Vanderbilt football coaches begin believing they can be the one to finally lift the Commodore football program out of the ditch and into respectability in the Southeastern Conference.

Now comes James Franklin, who arrived saying and doing all the right things thus far and even has a 2-0 record to show for it.

In recent years, Vanderbilt’s athletics program has become respectable and even good in other major sports. The baseball team made the College World Series. The basketball team is at the point in which the recent one-and-dones in the NCAA Tournament are no longer acceptable for Commodore fans.

Which brings us to the true troopers in this whole Vanderbilt endeavor – Commodore fans.

In most of SEC country – save for Kentucky and Vanderbilt – football is the bell cow, the program all other sports are supposed to follow for fans and funding.

At Vanderbilt, however, that has meant dragging up the rear for better part of a half century, with seasons playing out like Gilligan’s Island episodes -- no matter how promising, you know how they’ll eventually end.

What about the diehard Vanderbilt fans who have stuck with the program through thin and thinner? Why keep coming back only to be heartbroken again?

Even the Chicago Cubs, who are working on their second century of futility, give their fans an occasional tease with a division title or wild-card berth. Not so for the Commodores, who every couple of decades or so reward the fan base with a middlin’ bowl game sandwiched around a half-dozen three-win seasons.

Yet, there are those who cling to the tiniest shred of hope that Franklin – or someone – will finally be the one. They explain their allegiance to and heartache from the black and gold.

“My father played for them in the late 40s, so I grew up being a Vanderbilt fan,” says Buzz Jacoway, who has been a VU fan for 50 of his 60 years. “I pull for them every game, but obviously for a long time, it was very hard to do that. I’ve had times when I had extra tickets and couldn’t give them away to people.”

Wilford Fuqua, 68, a former Commodore player, says it is partly his obligation not to give up on the program and to support the current players as best he can. He also enjoys the tailgating and social aspect that has become a tradition at games.

“I was a captain back in the old days, and I feel some obligation to support these boys like folks supported us,” Fuqua says. “I want to keep up the tradition of supporting Vanderbilt, even in the losing times.”

Some of the diehards like what they are seeing thus far. Jimmy Morrissey, 81, notices something different about the new coach.

“When we scored the touchdown by little No. 18 (Jerron Seymour) and all of them started to run on to the field to celebrate, he and the coaches made them stay on the sideline,” Morrissey says. “That was the highlight of the game as far as I’m concerned. “He’s running the team, which I like. … I’m tickled to death. This guy is no nonsense and he’s not looking to make excuses.”

In the press conference announcing his hiring, Franklin used the term “all in,” perhaps not realizing that anyone left on the Commodore football bandwagon had been “all in” for as long as they would care to remember.

The old-time Vandy fans don’t know if Franklin is the answer, but so far they like what they’ve seen.

“That’s yet to be seen. But he’s off on the right foot,” Fuqua says. “If you’re playing golf, you can’t par all the holes unless you par the first one. He needs the support of the administration, which he indicates he has. You look at this season and where you can get wins, and you see where it can be a positive season.”

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