Nothing like a little college football throwback.
Remember the year 2009? For some, it might not feel like that year was that long ago. For others (the younger crowd), 2009 was ages ago. If you remember 2009, and can rattle off important things that were happening during that year… you just might be at “Unc status.”
In 2009, Jay Leno gave up The Tonight Show and it was handed over to Conan O’Brien (until Leno took it back in 2010). The average gallon of gas cost around $2.35, the Balloon Boy hoax captured the attention of the nation, the swine flu pandemic occurred, and Captain Sully Sullenberger landed a plane in the Hudson River.
It was a busy year, to say the least.
And it was also the first year that featured the University of Tennessee’s “Dark Mode” jerseys. In case you’ve been left in the dark about them (too corny?), the Vols have worn their special, black jerseys just six times since 2009. When Lane Kiffin was head coach at the University of Tennessee (that was his only year as head coach there), he revived the look on Halloween night in a game against a ranked South Carolina team.
That’s where this blast from the past comes in. The beautiful voice of Brad Nessler (who is now at CBS) welcomed in fans to the Hallow’s Eve matchup, and did his best to articulate the vibe of the stadium when Vol fans found out that Tennessee had switched from their orange jerseys into black jerseys in between warming up on the field and coming out for the game.
ESPN needs to bring back this College Football Primetime promo ASAP:
@gobigorangevols♬ original sound – Go VOLS
Feels like that was just yesterday, eh?
The Tennessee Volunteers would go on to beat the No. 22 ranked South Carolina Gamecocks 31 to 13. It was Lane Kiffin’s first ranked win while he was at Tennessee, and it sparked a movement for the Volunteers to wear their black jerseys… over a decade after that.
Yeah, the Vols brought out their “Dark Mode” jerseys, molly whopped a ranked team, and then put them away for over 10 years. They returned in 2021 under head coach Josh Heupel, and they’ve since been deployed five times across the last four seasons.
And it’s important to note that the Volunteers typically win when they bust out the “Dark Mode” jerseys. They boast a record of 5-1 in their all-black jerseys. Their only loss wearing them came in 2021, when they lost to No. 1 ranked Georgia.
The good news is that Tennessee will be wearing their black uniforms on November 1 when Oklahoma comes to Neyland Stadium for an SEC clash under the lights. The bad news? Well, if you are an Oklahoma fan… the “Dark Mode” jerseys usually mean trouble for opposing teams.
All signs are pointing towards it being a spooky and scary matchup for the Oklahoma Sooners… you don’t want to play Tennessee when they go “Dark Mode.” It was great to take a trip down memory lane to see them sport the black jerseys in 2009, and it’ll be even better to see them under the nights in this weekend’s SEC night game between the Vols and the Sooners.
Check out the hype video for this weekend:
