On Rocky Top Livechat Transcript

First, signing at the Green Hills Davis-Kidd at 7 tonight. Below is the FanHouse live chat. I've replicated it below, but you can also read it here. I just know some of you are lazy. It starts off choppy because the blogger software was confusing, but then it gets rolling well.

In the beginning just work with the understanding that I may answer a question before it appears or long after it appears. Basically read aggressively.

Clay Travis: Hello to everyone. Happy to be here.
1:03
Clay Travis: Feel like a general, say McClellan, trying to figure out how the battlefield is going. Long way from bookstores right now.
1:03
[Comment From Tim]
Clay, are you pissed that your "On Rocky Top" editor did not correct "pile-on" when it clearly should have read "pylon"?
1:03
Clay Travis: Are we really starting with this question?
1:03
RayHolloman: Ladies, gentlemen. Small handheld animals. Welcome to the chat. Clay's book 'On Rocky Top' is on sale today, so be a good American and be sure to buy at least a dozen.
1:04
Clay Travis: Perhaps it's correct in the book, perhaps not. Let's not "pile-on". There are 120,000 words in the book. Most of them are spelled correctly.
1:05
Clay Travis: Considering I'm from Tennessee all of them are spelled correctly.
1:05
[Comment From Guest]
who is clay travis
1:05
Clay Travis: Good to see my mother-in-law stopped by.
1:05
[Comment From darrell]
easy quesetion but how many wins do u think the vols get in kiffs first season?
1:06
Clay Travis: 8. I think Tennessee goes 7-1 at home, 1-3 on the road. I think there's a real chance of 9 wins. I'm more concerned about next year.
1:07
[Comment From STEVEO]
when are you writing a vandy book???
1:07
[Comment From Shaw]
Hmm. I am not sure why your Tennessee pedigree gives you means you're a good speller.
1:08
Clay Travis: The Vandy book will not come anytime soon. Not unless they win a national championship. Then I will write a Vandy book and I will have planned it all along.
1:09
Clay Travis: Hmm, not sure why your non-Tennessee pedigree makes you think you can write a sentence that makes sense.
1:09
[Comment From Dave]
I know your book just dropped a couple hours ago, but do you have any idea what your next book-length project will be?
1:09
[Comment From Gary]
What's a Vandy? Never heard of it...
1:09
[Comment From Shaw]
God, it's so embarrassing that I made an error in my post about your spelling.
1:10
Clay Travis: No idea on the next book. I want to write a funny book about the Civil War. Seriously. And not the Oregon-Oregon State game.

Sort is Life is Beautiful meets bearded men who didn't bathe.
1:10
[Comment From Guest]
do you think the vols can ever beat the gators again?
1:11
Clay Travis: No, Tennessee will lose the next 800 games in the series.

Of course they can. Things look darkest before the sun. Remember 1998? How unexpected was that win.
1:11
[Comment From Clint in Memphis]
Clay, I just finished reading the excerpt from your book. How hard was it for you to remain professional while Fulmer is essentially crying right in front of you?
1:13
Clay Travis: Well, I think you have to have empathy when you talk to anyone. Obviously, it's tough for him to talk about. I respect that.
1:13
[Comment From Matt]
Fulmer working as a talking head this year....good/bad move for him? Do you see him getting back on the sidelines as a coach anytime soon?
1:13
[Comment From Tim]
Following up on Clint's question: ...and did Coach Fulmer really wipe away his tears with Krispy Kreme napkins?
1:14
[Comment From Orange Chuck]
Do you think Kiffin even considered any other jobs and if so, who do you think gets the job if he turned it down?
1:14
[Comment From I am working, really.....]
Well, the excerpt worked. I went straight to Amazon and ordered. Excited to see who Hamilton went with.
1:15
[Comment From Gary]
bought a copy this morning at Barnes and Noble in Bhm, they had already sold a few. Glad to see it down here but wonder who smuggled it in to Alabama. So far, the read has been excellent.
1:15
Clay Travis: Yes, I will rock a goatee for the remainder of the season. Zero doubt. Call me on it.
1:15
Clay Travis: I think Fulmer working for CBS College Sports will be good for him. He's going to be excellent at it. It keeps his name out there. Good all around.
1:16
Clay Travis: I think empathy is more important than any other trait when it comes to writing about anything serious. Truly.
1:16
[Comment From Tim]
C'lay, if the Vols beat Florida, will you shave your beard into a goatee?
1:16
Clay Travis: At some point I'm wringing the neck of the livechat people at coveritlive. How do my comments always end up out of order.
1:16
Clay Travis: Getting on Rocky Top in Alabama and Florida probably required covert ops skills. With a z so skillzzz
1:16
[Comment From Greg]
Since I haven't read the book yet...How was it taking the hug whooping from the Gamecocks in Columbia?
1:17
Clay Travis: So it was life reconsideration time.
1:18
Clay Travis: Anytime you lose to the Gamecocks you have to reconsider your life.
1:18
Clay Travis: Well, anytime you lose to South Carolina in any sport you find yourself reconsidering your life.
1:19
[Comment From Brian P]
Clay, do you subscribe to the theory: BBGID? Bigger beard gets it done?
1:19
Clay Travis: Yes, I do.
1:19
Clay Travis: Backwards again. (Shakes fist at heavens)
1:20
Clay Travis: That's true the women have very svelte arms. They're extraordinary there. I think they stay in such good shape because they have to pick up the men after they lay prostrate in the road and beg for cars to run over them, Program style, week after week.
1:20
[Comment From Orange Chuck]
If Kiffin and Spurrier got in a fight, who would win and why? haha
1:21
Clay Travis: Kiffin. Spurrier is 86.
1:21
Clay Travis: That's why if Robert E. Lee had gone Lafayette McClaws on us, he would have won the war.
1:21
[Comment From Greg]
Very little arm fat in Columbia, though.
1:21
Clay Travis: Also, Spurrier would think it was still 1992.
1:21
[Comment From Clint in Memphis]
Since Arian Foster was Captain Philosophy for the team, did you lean on him for any larger amount of info than you would have with any other player?
1:22
Clay Travis: Arian is smart, very smart. And so is his family, I think they made the book infinitely stronger than it would have been without them.
1:23
[Comment From Chef]
Does your book cover all of spring practice with Kiffin ?? I noticed the 2nd excerpt was the 1st day of spring practice this year.
1:24
Clay Travis: He also speaks pterodactyl. Which is invaluable when dealing with someone like me who speaks Stegasaurus.
1:25
Clay Travis: Not all of spring practice, but it ends with the Spring Game. The change of an era at Tennessee.
1:25
[Comment From Bob the Cow]
With the current arms race going on, do you see parity hitting the SEC (like the NFL) till we get a bunch of 10-2 teams who are out of the national championship race?
1:26
Clay Travis: Now the flip side to that is LSU has shown that if things break right you can go 6-2 in the SEC and still win a national championship. Of course Auburn is the other argument. They can go 8-0 and end up getting screwed like they did in 2004.
1:26
[Comment From Chef]
Does Lane tone it down a lot next offseason ?? Was he just trying to get attention right away ??
1:27
Clay Travis: Great question from Bob. I think we're awfully close to that now. Not this year, Florida is head and shoulders above the rest of the league, but I think parity has grown and grown.
1:27
Clay Travis: I think Kiffin's argument that he was trying to just get attention wasn't true. All of his errors weren't calculated. Now I think they redounded, for the most part, to UT's benefit, but what that shows me is that Tennessee is a lot different place to coach college football than Los Angeles. The media market is much smaller, but people actually pay attention to the details. I think that surprised Kiffin.
1:27
[Comment From Chef]
Would Fulmer have resigned if told to resign or be fired last fall ??
1:27
Clay Travis: No
1:28
[Comment From Guest]
if the vols loose to the old ball coach again this year who are they gonna fire ?
1:28
RayHolloman: A question we missed earlier from FanHouse chat legend Orange Chuck: [Comment From Orange Chuck]
Do you think Kiffin even considered any other jobs and if so, who do you think gets the job if he turned it down?
1:29
Clay Travis: That's a great question on if Kiffin considered other jobs. I believe that Kiffin could have been head coach at Washington, Syracuse, or Clemson.

I think UT would have gone with Calhoun from Air Force as their second choice.
1:29
Clay Travis: As for losing to the ole ball coach again and who they'll fire, I think it will be Smoky.
1:29
[Comment From Mike D]
That could be the thing that gets us a CF playoff. SEC schools beat up each other, no national championship, so they opt out of the BCS and host their own invitational tournament
1:30
Clay Travis: I think that's a good argument. I like the idea of SEC cession. Of course that didn't go very well in 1861 so who knows.
1:30
[Comment From Brian P]
Was there anything in the book you considered keeping out or anything you did keep out?
1:30
[Comment From Orange Chuck]
Wow and I thought I was only a legend in my dogs mind when I hold a treat up to him haha
1:31
Clay Travis: Yeah, there's 340 pages and probably 80 or 100 hit the cutting room floor. A lot of that was funny stuff, some of it was locker room cursing, basically when you write a book this long the editing process is grueling.
1:31
Clay Travis: But I don't believe I left anything out that fundamentally alters the story.
1:31
[Comment From Orange Chuck]
If Tennessee only wins 3-4 games, will they hang Lane Kiffin on the spot or just curse his name until next season?
1:32
[Comment From Chef]
10-2 or 11-1 like the Big 12 South. 3 team ties.
1:32
Clay Travis: They will hang him on the spot. And probably burn him too. Not in effigy.
1:32
[Comment From uga]
what's layla kiffin up to these days?
1:32
Clay Travis: Perhaps they will bury him beneath the recently relocated rock on campus
1:32
Clay Travis: Layla's still got us all on our knees.
1:32
[Comment From Chef]
Lane wanted press for recruiting season and next year's recruits.
1:33
Clay Travis: That's a convenient argument. I don't doubt he wanted some, I don't think he wanted all that he got.
1:33
[Comment From Chef]
Yes L.A. is way different in CFB than Knoxville. They actually pay attention on the front page and not get buried on page 5 or 6.
1:33
[Comment From Chef]
Who do think wins the SEC West this year ?? 3 good teams. I think LSU does it over Bama, Ole Miss and a stronger Arkansas.
1:34
Clay Travis: Nobody pays attention to the front page anymore anywhere. And even if they did, that's great for LA, maybe they can solve the California budget crisis. But we're talking about footbaw
1:34
Clay Travis: The w was intentional
1:35
Clay Travis: I think Bama, Ole Miss, LSU, Arkansas, Auburn, State is the final order of finish
1:35
[Comment From Tim]
Has your fandom changed as a result of writing the book?
1:36
Clay Travis: Great question, I don't think so. It's a more fully-realized fandom, in that I know the details surrounding a team better than I did before. But will I want Tennessee to win any less?

No.

Now I may feel more sympathetic for the players than I have in the past. I know how hard they work and how much losing can eat them up.
1:36
Clay Travis: What I talk about a lot in the book is the difference between doing and feeling.
1:37
Clay Travis: Things we do, we don't get impacted by as much, our jobs, for example. But things we feel, like football, strikes us much closer to the gut. Football is just something the players do. Football is something the fan feels. That's a huge difference.
1:37
[Comment From Brent H]
With your new connection to the football program, will you watch the games differently this year, in a new persepctive? (a theme you touch on a lot in the first few chapters)
1:38
Clay Travis: Similar to the last question, yes and no. I have an awful lot more respect now for the guys on the periphery, the student managers, the trainers, the equipment guys, the driver of the big rig, the police officers, guys you never notice otherwise.
1:38
Clay Travis: Those guys didn't change. And I liked them all.
1:38
[Comment From Brian P]
After DD and this book, you've probably been to a big game in every stadium, how would you rank the toughest places to play in the SEC?
1:39
Clay Travis: 1. LSU (at night)
2. Florida (at night)
3. Tennessee (at night)

Seeing a theme? Night games are tough. But I think those are the three toughest venues in the SEC. Now, to be fair, players have a lot more to do with the outcome than the venues, but I think those three are the most intimidating.
1:39
[Comment From Orange Chuck]
If Greg Paulus chose Tennessee, do you think he would have a shot at starting QB?
1:39
Clay Travis: Yes
1:39
Clay Travis: So would UGA
1:39
[Comment From tom]
which book have you liked working on the most?
1:40
Clay Travis: Good question. Dixieland was more of a fun romp through the SEC. This book was darker, and I think more serious. So they were different. I loved writing them both, but On Rocky Top was tougher.
1:40
[Comment From Mike McCown]
Can Ole Miss finally get over the hump in the West?
1:41
Clay Travis: Yes, thanks to the schedule and the quarterback play. But I think they lose out to Alabama. It's a big leap for them to make. And I'm interested in whether the talent will dry up once O's studs start to fail out or matriculate.
1:41
[Comment From Steve]
As a Georgia fan, can I still enjoy this book or will I be cussing UT throughout?
1:42
Clay Travis: Good question. I think you'll enjoy it. We lose an awful lot.

More seriously, I wanted to write a book that transcended the team I was writing about. In other words, if you're a fan of football, you'd enjoy the book. I hope I've succeeded, but you'll have to let me know.
1:43
[Comment From JM]
Clay what time are you going to be at Otter's tonight?
1:43
Clay Travis: That was the goal. And it's a tough goal. So is treading the line between access and fandom. When does the fan take over and tell you what running through the T feels like and when does the writer step back and tell you what a pre-game speech actually says. That was a real challenge.
1:44
Clay Travis: We're having a launch party in East Nashville tonight from 7-9. I'll be there at 6. Books and beer. A good combo. Also the radio show. Should be fun.
1:44
Clay Travis: The only book party I've ever seen (I've never been to one) was Carrie Bradshaw's on SEX and the City. Mine will not be like that.
1:44
Clay Travis: Sex was unintentinally capitalized there but I guess you can see what's on my mind.
1:45
[Comment From JM]
worst and best, SEC Game day experiences?
1:45
Clay Travis: Best LSU
Worst Vandy
Next to worst Miss. State.

But they're all good. And Vandy's new stadium is really looking nice. It's actually a fun place to watch a game because you can actually see the field well from everywhere.
1:45
[Comment From Mike]
Who's a better reporter? Kige Ramsey or Erin Andrews?
1:46
Clay Travis: Well, Erin looks better with her shirt off.

But Kige is more entertaining. So I'll vote Kige.
1:46
[Comment From Beth W.]
Will you be doing any book signings out west...say...LA area?
1:46
Clay Travis: No, my book contract forbids me from traveling west of the Mississippi. So, no. But I'm headed out to Pac-10 country next year for a couple of games. I can't wait.
1:46
[Comment From Orange Chuck]
Do you think books like this and blogs help get a fan base more encouraged about programs or do you think programs like Tennessee really don't need any help?
1:47
Clay Travis: I'm hitting Memphis, Chattanooga, Nashville Knoxville, Birmingham, Oxford (not the one in England), Orlando, and Atlanta for events. So far anyway.
1:47
[Comment From Brian P]
Which stadium had the best visitor locker rooms?
1:48
Clay Travis: The Rose Bowl is extraordinary. No contest. Flat screen televisions everywhere. Supposedly they look like that on both sides because the NFL requires it. Honestly, some of the SEC visitor locker rooms look like high school football locker rooms.
1:48
[Comment From Guest]
After speaking with Phil, do you think he will continue to hold a grudge till next AD and coach, ie Johnny or do you think in a few years after his next coaching gig he will forgive and forget?
1:49
Clay Travis: Fulmer will not be like Majors and stay away for 16 years. He just won't. He's upset and hurt, but he's still a Tennessee guy at heart. And I think he'll eventually reconnect with the school. But it will take time.
1:49
[Comment From Rod]
Do you think Kiffin has any idea what he's in for during his first season in the SEC? Not talking about the reaction from fans in particular to him, but rather the week-in, week-out grind of coaching in the SEC? Bobby Petrino said last year he was not prepared for that aspect of coaching in the SEC.
1:50
Clay Travis: That surprises me about Petrino, because the SEC is most like the NFL. Every week in the NFL is a grind. So I don't think Kiffin will be surprised, no. I think it's more likely that someone would be surprised coming from a smaller school or conference. For instance, I think UT OC Dave Clawson was surprised.
1:50
[Comment From Dan H.]
Has Peyton Manning weighed in on any of the controversy surrounding Coach Fulmer's dismissal or Kiffin's gaffs at the start of his "tenure?"
1:51
Clay Travis: I think Manning, if I'm not mistaken, said that Fulmer would always be his coach. But like Fulmer he's a Tennessee guy too. So I think he'll stay above the fray and end up supporting whoever is there.
1:52
[Comment From brettpharve]
clay -- if phil fulmer and lane kiffin were all alone in a room, what do you think phil would say ?
1:53
Clay Travis: Well, Fulmer has been pretty clear that he doesn't know Kiffin personally. So I don't think he blames Kiffin for anything, Kiffin is just a guy who got a job. Somebody else would have if Kiffin hadn't.

But certainly there's a generational divide there. I think Fulmer would encourage him to be quieter in public, more careful with what he says. Kiffin has already gotten more headlines in ten months for off-field statements than Fulmer got in 16 years.

Good question.
1:53
[Comment From Steve]
Do you know what really happened between Kiffen and Al Davis?
1:54
Clay Travis: I don't know if Al Davis knows what really happened between he and Lane Kiffin. So I don't, no.
1:54
[Comment From Kathy]
Fulmer will always be the coach at Tennessee...I am ashamed of my university
1:55
Clay Travis: I think there's some of that, the UT fan base was divided, there's no doubt. Like I said, Fulmer, to me, represents the final man standing from the time when the SEC was still a regional game, played by and coached by Southerners.

Last man born in the state he coached, last man to graduate from his school. That used to be common.
1:55
[Comment From Brian P]
Hypothetical: If you were covering the Vols with this coaching staff, in the locker room pregame, Coach O is giving a speech and rips off his shirt, all the players follow, do you rip your shirt off as well?
1:55
Clay Travis: Great question.

I think so, yeah, I take the shirt off.
1:55
[Comment From Kathy]
If UT had any sense they would make Fulmer AD
1:55
[Comment From Kirk]
Based on what you saw last year on and off the field, what is your opinion on who has the better chance of leading TN under Kiffin, Crompton or Stephens
1:57
Clay Travis: I'm a Cromptonite. I think Crompton is better than Stephens. And I also think that both guys got way too much blame for the offense last year. They weren't very good but everyone was awful.

And that was a proven offense! 9 of 11 starters returning. They went from averaging 35 points a game to 17.

It's amazing how they regressed.

Several players told me if Cutcliffe doesn't leave for Duke and they run the same offense as they ran in 2007, UT wins 9 or 10 games minimum in 2008.
1:57
[Comment From Andy]
How long do you think Monte will coach?
1:57
Clay Travis: Three or four more years. I think he wants to leave his son on firm coaching ground. I think four years in Knoxville with him as DC would do it.
1:58
[Comment From Beth W.]
Al Davis doesn't know what day it is! lol
1:58
[Comment From Andy]
When looking at this coaching staff, one name stands out: Frank Wilson. Why is this guy employed?
1:58
Clay Travis: I'm not an expert on this year's coaching staff. I will say that in Bruce Feldman's great book, Meat Market, Frank Wilson came across as a very talented recruiter who connected well with kids O wanted. So that seems like a pretty good idea why.
1:59
[Comment From Eric]
DId you ever stop being "star-struck" around Fulmer and all the athletes? After a while, did they all just seem like normal guys, or were you always a little in awe of hanging around with these people you revered?
2:00
Clay Travis: Good question.

I'm not really a "star" guy. Maybe that first half before the Rose Bowl was kind of overwhelming as a fan. And I wrote about that.

But after that point, all of these guys are just people. I'm trying to think of someone I'd truly be star struck around now.
2:00
Clay Travis: And it would probably have to be a hot chick, Sienna Miller, Megan Fox, even then, I'm not sure.

But that is a great question.

I don't think you can write a book if you're star-struck. I'll put it that way.
2:01
Clay Travis: I was more in awe of the events, running through the T, the Vol Walk, those things that transend people, than I was the people.
2:01
[Comment From Nate]
How different would the book have been had Fulmer not been fired?
2:02
Clay Travis: Good question, much different. His firing made the book, I think, a window into the SEC moving from a regional to a national game. It was a subtext I didn't expect, but as i researched things it became clearer and clearer to me that this wasn't just a one=year thing, this was a real turning point in SEC football.
2:02
[Comment From Kirk]
Were you a virgin before marriage?
2:03
Clay Travis: I answered this the other day.

No.

And I said then, what I'll write now, believe it or not women were willing to sleep with me.
2:03
[Comment From Frank The Tank]
UT is known as a traditional power. Given the removal of the V-O-L-S sign on the new jumbotron, the moving of the Rock, recent jersey changes (the wide-panel design in 2005 still haunts me), do you believe that UT is slowly moving away from their "traditions"?
2:04
Clay Travis: I don't know about that, great question.

I think, and this is true everywhere, that the business side of affairs continues to encroach on college athletics everywhere. To the extent that business and tradition collide, I think sometimes business wins.

But that's everywhere. Look at the imbroglio over Michigan adding luxury boxes.
2:04
[Comment From Eric]
Were you in awe of Layla?
2:04
Clay Travis: Yes. But she didn't arrive on the scene until the book was almost finished.
2:04
[Comment From Kathy]
Fulmer taught more than football, he taught boys to be men. When did we loose sight of that being important
2:05
Clay Travis: I think most fans would be happy if their players were boys so long as they beat their rivals.
2:05
Clay Travis: Same thing with arrests and whatnot, I think fans talk a big game, but I think our actions reflect that all most of us care about is wins and losses.
2:05
[Comment From Beth W.]
I wonder why Kiffin didn't pick up more of Pete Carroll's style of coaching? I've had a beer with Peyton when he was at UT at the TapRoom!. He's a good guy.
2:06
Clay Travis: Generational. The Carroll's babysat Lane when he was a kid. Just because you have a different public persona doesn't mean you can't be pretty similar to someone else in your work life.
2:06
[Comment From Brian P]
Do the Titans do anywhere as good this year as they did last year?
2:07
Clay Travis: Yeah, they're going to be very good. Scary on offense. Seriously, scary.
2:07
[Comment From Frank The Tank]
Are there are current or recently-departed players that you think will some day make good coaches? I know Tee Martin in doing his thing at New Mexico.
2:08
[Comment From Orange Chuck]
If Tennessee won every game in the SEC except one every year and that one was South Carolina, how long before people curse his name?
2:08
Clay Travis: I know Manning is the fantasy. We'll see. Most of the guys are still young. It's hard to project.

Coaching is a very hard life. It's a rare player bird that wants to dive in.
2:09
Clay Travis: I like Josh McNeil, the center. Smart guy, witty.
2:09
[Comment From Eric]
If you could pick one player from last year to just hang out with, who would it be? And why?
2:09
[Comment From Kirk]
Did UT give you free range to write what you wanted or did Bud Ford or the Univ have to sign off along the way?
2:09
Clay Travis: Free range on the book.
2:10
Clay Travis: Spurrier's?

They already curse his name. Come on, we're in Tennessee.

Or Kiffin?

People could deal with losing to Carolina because they probably don't win the East. It's losing to your rival and not advancing to Atlanta that's the issue.
2:10
Clay Travis: Okay, guys, I've gotta bounce, I really appreciate the questions. Hope you've enjoyed it.

It's a good story, thanks to all the people who helped me out along the way. The book is immeasurably stronger for your help.
2:12
RayHolloman: Thanks to everyone for stopping in. Clay's book is on sale now and can be purchased at Amazon here. It's a great read, already praised as one of the best sports books of the generation. And we're told it might be a household remedy for shingles.

Labels: clay travis live chat

Posted by Clay Travis at 10:19 AM
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1 Comments:

 Michael said...

I know one funny Civil War book that has already been written: Sam Watkins' memoir "Co. Aytch". It's incredibly depressing at the same time considering he was 1 out of only 7 men of the 120 men who originally enlisted in his company to survive the war. Great read.

August 19, 2009 3:42 PM  

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