University of Tennessee football coach Butch Jones answers questions from media at the University of Tennessee Football Media Day Thursday, July 31, 2014, in Knoxville, Tenn.
Vanderbilt football coach Derek Mason.KNOXVILLE — In this day and age of social media and immediate communication, it’s no surprise how fast news can travel, particularly if it’s just going about 135 miles along Interstate 40.
At his weekly news conference early Tuesday afternoon, first-year Vanderbilt coach Derek Mason began referring to Tennessee as “the team out East” ahead of the Volunteers’ visit to Nashville on Saturday.
“There is no love lost between these two teams, and that’s really where we sit,” Mason said. “This football team feels like they’ve got something to prove. I’m sure the team out East feels like they’ve got something to prove, looking at trying to get bowl-eligible. There’s a lot at stake, and we’re going to play the game that way.”
“They’re a good football team,” he’d later add, “but they’re the team out East. We’re Vanderbilt. They’re the team out East.”
About three hours later, Tennessee coach Butch Jones barked at “the team from East” as the Vols practiced.