http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2016/4/9/11397220/acronym-map-u...
Using Reddit, so take it with a grain of salt, they used a poll for acronyms of schools to see which one was associated with which school. It's a good offseason read at least.
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This article lost its credibility as soon as I saw that UT is considered Texas in Virginia. Nice try SBnation.
Why? I'm from Virginia and when I see "UT" I think Texas not Tenn.
Virginia Tech and Tenn. are two of the biggest/oldest rivals in cfb. I find it hard to believe that people from Virginia would think of Texas before Tenn. But I'm guessing the poll took place in northern Virginia, which is essentially a different state.
Biggest rivals? They have played how many times? When people talk about Tennessee they say or type "Tenn" or "Tennessee".
Edit: 8 times in over 100 years what a rivalry.
http://www.winsipedia.com/games/tennessee/vs/virginia-tech
I have never heard anyone say Tenn. I would say Vols is the most common abbreviated name I have heard.
We are? We've played 8 times, ever, and only 2 of those since 1937. When I hear UT I think Texas. Probably because that's from ESPN; I can't recall them ever referring to Tennessee as UT, but they do it for Texas ubiquitously.
A rivalry isn't based on frequency of competition, although that can create rivalries. I don't consider ECU a rival, more like a thorn, or a cancer. They usually start as a regional/territorial thing and I know many die-hard VT and UT fans that absolutely despise each other. Why do you think the battle at Bristol is being played up so much?
That is the endgame yes, but why did they chose VT and UT? I'm sure Alabama fans would love the opportunity to sellout the largest football game of all time. And you know they would sell out faster than VT (if we even do sellout).
Because it's a natural fit for a track between the two schools. It's trying to force a rivalry, one that geographically would make sense but is not one as of this time.
Thank you for proving my point as to why the rivalry began in first place. We obviously won't agree as to the magnitude of any current rivalry since the only way to quantify it is a poll similar to the OP, but I have my opinions and you have yours.
Just because it WOULD be a natural rivalry does not make it one now. Playing a team 8 times in 119 years does not a rivalry make. VMI is more of a modern rival than Tenn.
You have to look at the bigger picture beyond football. The rivalry is more than just wins/losses. Yes, football is the best way to channel fan passion but it does not define the rivalry. Good luck convincing a die-hard fan that grew up around the rivalry that it doesn't exist.
What rivalry? What competition are VT and Tenn in against each other?
You are literally the only person I've encountered who believes VT-Tenn is a rivalry
I'm with you. As someone who was born and raised in the NRV and lived in Knoxville for a year, I can confirm the hate. While it might not be considered a rivalry in the traditional sense, the lines are drawn and the hate is there.
It appears I'm in the minority but thank you for proving that the lines do exist. I guess I just evaluate the hate as a higher priority in defining a rivalry than the frequency with which the football programs compete.
I bet if they had split it up by zip code instead of by state you'd see a high concentration of UT = Tennessee in SWVA, and then very little elsewhere in the state.
Tennessee just hasn't been nationally relevant since Peyton Manning's era, and the population living outside the region populated with arrogant Tennessee fans just aren't going to be thinking about them all that much. Meanwhile Texas has won a national title within the last decade and is just a much more widely known school with a much larger fan base (Longhorn Network for example) that is spread out all over the place.
Also there is no VT - Tenn rivalry. There is great potential for one, but it doesn't exist, and won't unless we play on a regular basis for 20 years.
what rivalry? I have never have and never will consider Tennessee a rivalry nor have I heard any other Hokie say this. I think you may be alone or with few on this one...
What??!? THERE IS NO "BIGGER PICTURE" BEYOND FOOTBALL!!!!
That faint buzzing sound you hear is the sound of your credibility dying a horrific death.
I'm not trying to pile on. Just want to say that if Lame Kiffin were still coach many Tech fans would probably vehemently truly hate UT and look for revenge at every possibility. Since they were fortunate enough to shed him, no animosity whatsoever towards them. I do want to beat their ass come September though, because from what I hear about their fans we will never be allowed to live it down.
If you great up within 100 miles of Bristol, you see it as a rivalry. Outside of that, people generally don't care on either side.
Because Bruton wants to make a boatload of money on a spectacle. VT vs. Tennessee is a sensible regional matchup that probably should be played more often, but honestly I don't know many people that ever think of the Vols as a rival. Beating them in the CFA Bowl a few years ago was fun, less so because it was Tennessee and more so because it was an SEC team and we were beating the prevailing narrative of SEC dominance. And because most people hate Lane Kiffin.
Big and historical rivalries have to be derived from frequency. That is not the sole factor, but both teams have to really look forward to the matchup and therefore the stakes have to always be fresh in both teams' and fanbases' minds. That's why VT vs. ECU sucks; they hate us and we think they're a nuisance. So we play them frequently but we're not rivals. VT vs. WVU would be a rivalry, along with Pitt, Miami, and UVA. Of course that's largely derived from current or past conference affiliations, but there are very few non-conference, long-standing rivalries out there, aside from ones like UF-FSU, GT-UGA, etc.
If this game gets scheduled regularly, it will gin up to a rivalry in no time.
Right now, Virginia is the primary rivalry, but I see Miami as a rival as well.
these maps are interesting, but they are binary. The poll probably still is random it's just that there are in fact more people in NoVa, if not more area. Same thing in the electoral college.
No.
Had I voted, I would have said Texas as well. And I grew up in the 757.
Uh oh, tasking about hatred for the vols..
Where's Hokie girl...she's always sure to chime in. Lol
Keep scrolling. She came out of hiding for this one.
Virginia is a big state and a bulk of the population is a long way from Tennessee. I know very few people who would consider Tennessee instead of Texas as UT.
The lack of associating "Tech" with Virginia Tech is partly because we have done such a good promoting the VT brand.
Good point, don't hear anyone saying TT.
They polled reddit.
So the sample group is "sports fans who use reddit this week".
Whats a reddit?
I find your knowledge of the internet to be
Seriously, it's a good website that has a community for just about anything. Yes...anything.
Tech results made sense to me, we don't tout ourselves as "tech" often. Was slightly surprised at Texas Tech's popularity tho
I've always found it interesting here in Austin that many people refer to VT simply as "Virginia" in conversations. Even when they see me decked out in Hokie gear they will say "Oh, you are a Virginia fan" about half of the time. It's annoying to me for the most part as I have to do a lot of correcting and explaining the difference, but on the other hand, pretty cool that they associate "Virginia" with the Hokies as opposed to the 'Hoos.
Just tell them that calling us Virginia fans would be like calling them Aggies.
I have to get on my dad a lot, because he'll say Florida instead of FSU. I may not like FSU, but it's still a respect thing, because I don't want anyone mistaking us for the tools of Charlottesville.
I'm all for UT being considered University of Texas. Let's just forget that that the University of Tennessee is a real thing.
Hey! You're back. Just in time to hate on Tennessee. For us Bristolians, it's a rivalry between fans. For the actual schools, it's quite odd that we haven't played very often.
Texas Tech? Really? The schools that won these polls (except maybe Washington vs Wisconsin) generally have the higher national profile, so I'm surprised that Texas Tech won. I appreciate Rhode Island for having our backs though.
I think a lot of this has to do with ESPN and their affiliates calling us "Vahh Tech" which annoys me a lot. Never hear any of them call GT "Gahh Tech"
Add that to the list of why ESPN announcers suck.
Because "Georgia" is easier to say than "Virginia", duh
I always thought it was because they did not know if should be pronounced with a hard or soft "G".
I live relatively close to Atlanta in upstate SC, and I've heard "Jah Tech" but usually people just say GT or mostly, Georgia Tech. The people I know from Georgia usually refer to them as "Tech."