Danger Is My Business

The weather's supposed to warm up this weekend, so I can go and do this again. "This" would be walking and taking photos of my fellow walkers. No, I'm not in a penal colony, don't let the barbed wire fool you. I'm at Lakeshore Park on the 2 mile trail - look, only 1.5 more miles to go! A small golf driving range is on the other side of the barbed wire fence, to which I can infer that golf must be a dangerous sport.

We Really Mean It

This little sign along Neyland Drive by the stadium still has me laughing. I guess there must be some football fans who think the parking rules are suspended during the game.

It's an away game today at Auburn University, and Virginia at Birmingham Daily Photo can dodge the traffic while I'm running errands unfettered by game day. (and happy 100th post, V, you absolutely rock!)

In the Navy

In the Navy, you can sail the seven seas. Or so the Village People proclaimed in their 1970s hit song. But in the Vol Navy, you can sail right up the Tennessee River and dock near the stadium.

The flotilla of orange and white rests peacefully at anchor in the early morning before the game, framed by the arch of the Henley Street bridge. 

And so as not to deprive you of all that orange-and-whiteness, here's a close-up of some UT football fans and their boats:
I'm telling you, this stuff just boggles my mind.

Addendum: a gracious thank you to Leedra, who gave me a blog award. I'd pass it on to five other blogs that I enjoy, except that there are many more than five!

Go Vols

It's football time in Tennessee. That means the University of Tennessee Volunteers have started their season.

What do you mean, you don't know what port-a-potties have to do with football? You're obviously not from around here. That bright orange with the white T are the university colors. And the enthusiasm for showing those colors is called Volmania. You'll see orange and white on everything from clothing to cars to ... well, port-a- potties like these.

East Tennesseans are passionate UT football fans, and football is big business. Well, those forty thousand people crammed into Neyland Stadium have to eat. And buy more orange and white souvenirs. Did you know that that particular shade of bright orange is trademarked by the University, and you must be licensed by them to sell anything colored with that orange? 

I'll admit, I'm not a football fan, and I often roll my eyes when I know I'll have to plan my comings and goings around game day traffic. On the other hand, it's fun to watch the absolute Spectacle of it all.

So, good luck Vols and Vol fans. All I ask of you is to let me through to get my grocery shopping done.

Omnium

Have you ever heard of an omnium? I hadn't until today. It's a bike race with multiple competitions, and the scores for each race are not cumulative; each race and score is independent of the others. Downtown Knoxville hosted an omnium this afternoon. These cyclists are racing down Union Avenue, and are just leaning into the turn onto Gay Street.  

Play Ball

If it's spring, it must be the start of baseball season. Here's a Little League game at one of the ballfields at Lakeshore Park in West Knoxville. This is also one of my favorite viewspots on the Lakeshore Greenway, the two mile (3.2 kilometer) path that encircles the park, with the green of the trees and the blue of the river, and the Great Smoky Mountains meeting the clouds in the distance.