Sailgating with The Volunteer Navy
Posted by Stephanie Michelli on September 28, 2022
When I say FOOTBALL, you say SEASON!
FOOTBALL!
SEASON!
FOOTBALL!
SEASON!
Whooey what a sport! Where else can you get eye-popping action and athletic prowess plus drama (looking at you, annual coach’s musical chairs), and now, heaven help us, NIL? What could possibly make football season better? Nothing, you say definitively. Well, settle down now. Allow me to submit - drumroll, please - boating to the game as an option.
Can we agree football may be improved at least marginally by the prospect of sailgating until kick-off? Boating and football is the perfect combination. One makes your heartrate spike; the other is a chill pill. You’re bound to find a steady blood pressure in between.
There are an elite few universities at which boating right up to the stadium is an option. Three, in fact. They’re spread out across the country, each offering a boating experience as unique as its school. One of these gems sits at the gateway to the Smoky Mountains in Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s true. The Tennessee River is a direct pipeline to SEC football. It had me at hello.
You may be aware, football in the south is rich with tradition, from Mississippi State’s cowbells to Auburn’s War Eagle to A&M’s 12th man. The University of Tennessee in Knoxville has The Volunteer Navy, a tradition possible only because of its proximity to the Tennessee River.
University of Tennessee Styled Rio Ray Riviera Sunglasses (just for fun)
Legend has it in the early 1960s, UT broadcaster George Mooney got tired of fighting highway traffic on gameday and took to the Tennessee River to avoid it. Those in the know say he drove his runabout right up to the stadium and tied off on a tree, thereby skirting traffic and birthing a tradition in one fell swoop.
Vols fans, knowing a good idea when it smacked them in the face, followed Mr. Mooney’s lead and began boating to games, probably wondering why they didn’t think of it first. Later they organized into The Volunteer Navy, a club of sea-faring fans in which membership is not required and only two rules apply: be kind and be careful. On any given Saturday, boaters congregate by the hundreds, ditching the highway and taking the waterway to the University of Tennessee’s pride and joy, Neyland Stadium.
There are suggested guidelines to docking so many boats, communicated through The Volunteer Navy’s official site (TheVolNavy.com) and its Facebook page. The general idea is big boats dock first, and smaller ones tie up to them. Everything from yachts to paddleboards are welcome, and by the way, it doesn’t matter what jersey you’re wearing. Alabama fans can and do cruise all the way from Tuscaloosa to Neyland Stadium; it’s a three- to five-day trip, depending on the weather and the boat. There’s never much trouble down there on the river; just a whole lot of fun.
Fans love to dock and rock, on their own boat or someone else’s, or at Calhoun’s On the River, a Knoxville landmark. Sailgaters often get so carried away they miss the game, and frankly don’t seem too upset about it. If they get a win, it’s all good. If they don’t, it’s still kinda good. They got to be on the river anyway.
When I say FOOTBALL, you say SEASON!
FOOTBALL!
SEASON!
FOOTBALL!
SEASON!