There is a heated debate among fans between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Texas Longhorns, which is unrelated to football.
The debate is about which university is the real “UT.” Both schools go by UT, but when the SEC released its preseason all-conference teams, Tennessee was referred to as “UT” and Texas as simply “Tex.”
That outraged some Longhorns fans while bringing a smile to a few Tennessee fans’ faces. ESPN’s Paul Finebaum decided to chime in on the debate. He believes the real “UT” resides in Knoxville, Tennessee.
“Without Tennessee and Davy Crockett, there wouldn’t be a Texas right now,” Finebaum joked. “So even though I’m prejudiced being a graduate of Tennessee, there’s no contender; it’s UT Knoxville. That’s where the action is.”
Finebaum is referencing the Battle of the Alamo in 1836 when the “Volunteers” played a crucial role in making the Longhorns possible. Crockett and 30,000 volunteers from Tennessee helped secure victory in the Mexican-American War after Texas was admitted as the 28th state in 1845. This number of volunteers is more than 10 times the amount President James K. Polk requested from his home state.
In football, the debate becomes intriguing when we look at the comparison between Texas and Tennessee. Texas has won two out of three games against Tennessee and also holds a better all-time overall record, more conference championships, more bowl games, more wins, more consensus All-Americans, more Heisman Trophy winners, more NFL Draft picks, more first-round NFL Draft picks, more weeks in the AP poll and more weeks ranked No. 1 in the AP poll. Tennessee has more national championships and a better bowl record.
So, it looks like this debate won’t end anytime soon.
