Orange Hajj

Having been away from Tennessee for three years, Luke decided it was time for his big brother to make the traditional pilgrimage to the football Mecca of Tennessee on Thanksgiving weekend.

Here's the story of our Orange Hajj.




**The Leader, in Orange, The Pilgrim, in White.

For the pilgrim and the leader, the trip to our spiritual homeland began when we landed at The Mandarin House, hands down the best Chinese eatery in the known universe.

Any trip to the Mandarin House is at least a three-plate affair -- a starter plate to sample the various kinds of chicken available (you can't miss with the sesame and lemon chicken), a middle plate to take in beef and the spicier fare (orange beef, some kind of chicken that had been fed nothing but curry for its entire life), and a third plate reserved for fried rice and lo mein.

From there, the pilgrims traveled down the sacred highway, Kingston Pike, to the massive theater complex at Turkey Creek. Tenacious D and the Pick of Destiny. Enough said.

And then, it was game day.



We began our pilgrimage walk down to the stadium to take in the Vol Walk, where the football team hoofs it down to the stadium in jacket and tie, a tradition that harkens back to the days of Gen. Neyland.

The team was simply mobbed. As the band played Rocky Top, thousands pressed closer to shake hands with the team that brought UT football back from the brink and restored the spark to Knoxville.



And then it was time for the band. The leader and I took in the show from the new pedestrian bridge. It was a powerful experience.



Then it was time for the band to join the team at the stadium.



Onward, with the mob of 100,000, to find our seats for the show. The pregame show, that is.





After watching warm ups (and being amazed at how good that Kentucky kicker was), it was time for Big Orange to take the field.



Bad Kickoff Video!



The Leader snagged some great seats, even if The Vols never scored on our end of the stadium.



UT carried the day, snagging a pretty good bowl berth in the process. All in all, this was one of the most fun things I've ever done. I can not thank Luke enough for making it happen.

It felt like I was home again.

1 Response to "Orange Hajj"

  1. Thanks for the play-by-play, Garren.
    I, too, was filled with pride at the sound of the band, and felt as if I were home with you!

    ReplyDelete

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