Vanderbilt Football has Reached New Levels of Sadness

Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports

In the long history of the conference, Vanderbilt football has primarily served as the SEC’s punchline. Outside of a few years with James Franklin, they’ve provided hilarious hi-jinx on the field year after year after year. With a new coach in town, the Commodores are trying to change course, but they can’t seem to do it without putting some egg on their faces first.

This offseason former Commodore Clark Lea left his post as the Notre Dame defensive coordinator to return to Nashville as Vanderbilt’s head coach. His first order of business: inject some life into the stagnant fanbase. It’s something we’ve seen plenty of times before.

When Mark Stoops first arrived on UK’s campus, #PackCommonwealth spread like wildfire across Kentucky, drawing more than 50,000 fans to the 2013 spring game. That fall the team followed the mantra “Attack Every Day,” acknowledging the hard work ahead on the long road to turning the program around, while emphasizing the fierce culture Stoops was out to establish. Vanderbilt took a much different approach to bring back fans.

Nashville is a popular destination for tourists around the South. When their team comes to town, fans flock to Midtown to fill Vanderbilt Stadium. LSU infamously drank the stadium out of beer in 2019.

Clark Lea is sick of it. Vanderbilt’s call to fans this offseason is #TakeBackOurStadium.

This is an invite to all Vanderbilt Football fans! Join our staff for an evening and see firsthand what our operation is all about!

🔗: https://t.co/sDZMol4p11#VandyUnited #TakeBackOurStadium pic.twitter.com/InuETWgEeP

— Clark Lea (@Coach_Lea) May 27, 2021

That message is just the tip of the iceberg. Enjoy this raucous pep talk from the quarterbacks coach.

The count down is on & we are 💯 days away from a new era of @VandyFootball…It’s ⏰ we ALL #TakeBackOurStadium! #AnchorDown⚓️ pic.twitter.com/R58AKEDXQM

— Joey Lynch (@coachjoeylynch) May 27, 2021

The offensive coordinator went so far as to actually describe Vanderbilt Stadium as “a beautiful stadium.”

100 days until kickoff!!#TakeBackOurStadium pic.twitter.com/BVmbICPf6S

— David Raih (@CoachRaih) May 27, 2021

Obviously, coaches want their fans in the stands. Instead of simply asking for Commodores to flood Vanderbilt Stadium, they have to ask them to show up just to stop the invasion of opposing fans. This is what folks like to call a “self own.”

The worst words you can ever hear from a parent are, “I’m not mad, I’m just disappointed.” Similarly, the joke that is Vanderbilt football is no longer funny. It’s just sad.