An obsession typically pervades every aspect of a person’s life, with their devotion evident in all that surrounds them. When that obsession is University of Tennessee football, it’s easy to spend your life engulfed in a sea of orange. Vols-themed gifts end up dominating birthdays and holidays – then walls, cabinets and eventually every open space available. Two area families know this fact all too well, much to their own enjoyment and that of their game-day posses.
For Hixson couple Pee Wee and Carla Kirksey, the Big Orange takeover of their home began with the creation of Pee Wee’s man cave when the pair got together in 2007. Pee Wee had been a UT fan all his life. He grew up in Knoxville, where he was a paperboy with the News Sentinel and would sell lineups at the home games. He attended many home games over the years with his brother, who had season tickets up until a few years ago, and over time amassed quite a collection of memorabilia he’d been storing away. “I had a bunch of stuff stacked back. I never threw anything away,” Pee Wee says.
It was Carla who came up with the idea that ended up bringing his collection into the limelight. A handful of friends typically come to watch Vols games on the TV in the basement, and she suggested painting the bathroom there in an orange-and-white checkerboard pattern similar to the end zone at Neyland Stadium.
It grew from there. They arranged smaller mementos around Pee Wee’s favorite larger pieces, such as a frame containing season tickets and photos from the Vols’ 1998 season, when the team won the national championship. There’s a story behind every ticket, pennant, hat – of which there are hundreds – helmet and knickknack, which fill nearly every open space in the room. Orange tiles form the UT insignia on the floor, and the natural stone surrounding the fireplace has stones cut to resemble Tennessee and Smokey, the team’s coonhound mascot. “I’ve worked hard on this for many years, and my friends enjoy it,” Pee Wee says.
The collection is currently at a standstill, as adding anything would require getting rid of something else. This was made clear when the Kirkseys decided to brighten the subterranean space by painting the dark wood paneling white, and all the memorabilia had to come down. “We made pictures of each section to be sure to get it back where it was,” says Carla, who worries her shot glass collection would be what gets replaced should Pee Wee find another must-have item. If he were to add one piece to his collection, he says it would be an autographed picture of him with the team’s former quarterback Peyton Manning.