Open Letter to Vanderbilt fans
If you are a fan of Vanderbilt athletics it has been a challenging last year around West End.
First the resignation and death of former athletic director David Williams. University Chancellor Nick Zeppos hired Malcolm Turner to replace Williams.
Turner almost immediately fired head basketball coach Bryce Drew after a disastrous season on the courts, replacing him with Jerry Stackhouse. Zeppos then announced his retirement where Susan R. Wente was named interim chancellor.
Vanderbilt's football team then limped to a 3-9 record where fans called for head coach Derek Mason to be fired. Turner refused and stood behind Mason.
Now today, Turner has resigned and the athletic department seems to be a dumpster fired that could take months to extinguish.
These things, not that it had not been going on before, have made the Commodores the brunt of jokes across the social media world and on sports talk radio.
I'm not one to want to intentionally create a feud with anyone on social media, and I'm rather selective in what I post and how I respond to people in that world. That's not to say that I won't engage either fans or other media members in debate should I feel it necessary or needed, but this is not one of those times and not a hill I felt the need to climb.
So today, in the aftermath of all that was blowing up around Vanderbilt, I commented to a tweet from a Vanderbilt fan. It turned into a bit more than I thought when I started typing.
I made the comment in response to "Stop listening to the opinions of random people who are fans of UT and others that simply want to make fun of VU at any opportunity. Best decision you can make."
I was greeted by a tweet from The Midday 180, local Nashville sports talk radio show who unknown to me at that moment because I wasn't listening had former Vanderbilt quarterback Jordan Rodgers on their show at that exact moment.
I responded to their comment with only the intent of defusing any potential media feud because I'm not looking to engage in such banter with others in the media over trivial things.
That's where the inspiration for what I'm now writing came from.
Look, I am part of the media, and it's my job to write and have opinions on the sports I cover, which is Vanderbilt athletics. I'm also aware of fans and how they defend their favorite teams and how they take shots at other competing teams or schools. It's the SEC and that is just part of the landscape of being in the toughest conference in the country where fandom is rabid.
However, if I can give fans of Vanderbilt athletics one small bit of advice at this trying time in their school's athletic history.
Stop paying attention to what random people on social media have to say about Vanderbilt athletics.
I'm not saying don't listen to sports talk radio, or that anyone on the Midday 180 or any other show in town don't know what they are talking about, or that they are wrong. I'm saying stop listening to fans who call their show, or any others with negative comments about the Commodores.
I mostly stopped listening to sports talk, both locally and nationally a while ago, not because I'm against the forum or anyone in it, but because of the goofiness, stupidity and just downright garbage that some fans spew when they are allowed their 45 seconds of fame.
Do as you will, but for the sake of your sanity, avoiding these types of comments will make your life much more enjoyable.
Follow Greg on Twitter @GregAriasSports and @SIVanderbilt or on Facebook at Vanderbilt Commodores-Maven
