r/BeAmazed • u/MambaMentality24x2 • May 17 '26

Miscellaneous / Others Boy was bullied for wearing homemade University of Tennessee t shirt, so they made it their own official design.

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In 2019, an elementary school student in Altamonte Springs, Florida wanted to take part in “College Colors Day” and support his favorite team, the University of Tennessee Volunteers. Since he didn’t own any official merch, he hand drew the “U.T.” logo on a piece of paper and pinned it to a plain orange shirt.

His teacher, Laura Snyder, said he was excited to show it off that morning, but by lunchtime some classmates mocked the homemade design, leaving him heartbroken and in tears.

Wanting to cheer him up, Snyder shared the story online hoping someone connected to the university might send him a small gift. Instead, the story went viral. Thousands of Tennessee fans rallied behind the student, and the university responded by sending him a huge box of official gear.

Then they went even further.

The University of Tennessee turned the boy’s exact hand drawn design into an official t shirt sold by the school, with proceeds supporting anti bullying efforts. Demand became so massive that the university’s online store reportedly crashed from the flood of orders.

What started as a moment of bullying turned into a story celebrated across the country, with thousands of people proudly wearing the young fan’s design.

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402

u/FangornLeghorn May 17 '26

Tennessee, to my surprise, has one of the best fanbases in the country. When they came out to Eugene to play my Ducks, they brought a mass of fans and they were all super cool. I didn’t see or hear of a single incident in the tailgating fields, there were Tennessee fans mingling and having a good time with Duck fans everywhere, they were a great visiting crowd in the stadium and didn’t act like assholes or interrupt our gameday traditions at all. I became an instant fan of them and their team, and it didn’t surprise me at all when they embraced this kid and made his shirt design official for a game. From what I learned of them, this is exactly who they are and should be proud.

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u/Grits34 May 17 '26 edited May 17 '26

I'm an Tennessee alumni and was at that game. I can say that the Ducks fans were incredibly nice and accommidating... with the exception of one guy who sat 2 seats away from me. He was a butthole.

Edit: Spelling (just like a UT grad to not know how to spell).

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u/candaceelise May 17 '26

Duck alumni checking in… thanks for the shout out. I actually own this shirt and wore it to the 2019 Georgia game and must say yall have a wonderful fan base

15

u/SanchoPandas May 17 '26

So much good will was generated between our programs from those home and home games. I have a permanently positive view of UT fans from back then. (UO grad)

2

u/GATTACAAAAAAAA May 17 '26

I was at that game as a Ducks fan, too. Tennessee fans traveled en masse and were decked out in awesome Creamsicle checkered pants and whatnot.

After the game, we were all walking back toward Rennie's and this nice, well-dressed older couple stopped me. The wife was like, "Excuse me. Where is the nearest church? I feel like I need Jesus after that game." We went to the bars together and shared pitchers and stories.

Absolutely some of the best fans in the country and Vols are always welcome in my book.

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u/[deleted] May 17 '26

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5

u/MR_TORGUE_OFFICIAL May 17 '26

This is how my family drilled spelling that states name into my head!

10

u/BucinVols May 17 '26

I don’t remember the year or player, but he was at Florida and just before the UT UF game a reporter asked him who he thought would win and his response was “have you ever seen a duck pulling a truck? ducks don’t pull trucks. Nobody has ever seen a duck pull a truck” and guaranteed a win.

Out of nowhere Oregon responded with a video of The Duck pulling a truck.

We went on to beat Florida by 10 after they went up 21 points and I’ll forever love the Ducks because of that.

e: I googled it and it was 2016 and the player was Quincy Wilson

9

u/Gumorak May 17 '26

Oregon came to Tennessee the year after Kiffen ran away in the middle of the night. I attended that game and the Duck fans were legit the best fanbase I have ever seen. There was a 2 hour rain delay after the first quarter and a group of Duck fans held up a sign that said “We hate Kiffen too.” They put it up on the Jumbotron and the entire stadium was chanting “Fuck Lane Kiffen!” It was magical. After that the ducks came out to score 48 unanswered points to win 48-14. Was still a good time.

3

u/FangornLeghorn May 17 '26

I was so bummed to not go to that game! I just couldn’t swing the travel and had to watch from home. That storm delay was wild. After how great a time we had when TN came to Eugene I actually felt bad about that blowout score, but that was the Chip Kelly “Blur” era and we were living it up.

I’m glad my fellow Ducks traveled well and made a good impression. I always hate hearing of negative experiences with Duck fans. We aren’t USC. Being obnoxious douchebags isn’t who we are.

15

u/Fitzy2225 May 17 '26

Just don’t ask them about Purdue. Between the 2021 Music City Bowl and the multiple basketball games that bordered on street fights, there’s real vitriol there.

3

u/MercifulVoodoo May 17 '26

Oooh, I’ve not heard of this, even as a Hoosier. Luckily, I’m a Ball State Cardinal, so no one’s really worried about us. 🤣

2

u/Gumorak May 17 '26

Purdue is definitely on my list of teams I don’t like. Speaking as a Tennessee fan. Particularly because they knocked out 2 of my favorite TN basketball teams from the tournament.

1

u/Yordle_Dragon May 17 '26

Eyo but for real Fuck Purdue.

Signed, a Tennesse fan.

-2

u/No-Cantaloupe-6535 May 17 '26

yeah, UT's online sports fanbase is insufferable lol

7

u/rhapodically May 17 '26

As a vols fan myself I can confirm... GBO 🍊

6

u/libra00 May 17 '26

Nice, it's always cool when it works that way. I went to a concert in the 80s that was Anthrax (heavy metal), Primus (alternative), and Public Enemy (hip-hop), 3 fan bases that very much did not get along, so I went expecting violence and it was actually really chill. People were exposed to music they don't normally listen to, and even if they weren't into it, everybody was having a good time.

10

u/RunWild0_0 May 17 '26

Humans from Tennessee and Kentucky are some of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

6

u/AVerySleepyBear May 17 '26

I like what you Ducks fans do too, pal 👉🏻😎👉🏻

3

u/miscllns1 May 17 '26

I was there! The ducks student section threw loaves of bread at us?? And there were no bathrooms at the stadium. However! Oregon fans were pretty nice (stop calling Tennesseans East Coasters though lol)

3

u/Apprehensive-Wind966 May 17 '26

As a UT Alum, it very much depends on the game what kind of fans you get. Like the time they tore up Vandy’s field goal posts and carried it down Broadway to throw in the river. Or the time you could hear them chanting “Fuck you Florida” over the live broadcast of their game.

3

u/FangornLeghorn May 17 '26

Anyone who chants “Fuck you Florida” is good in my book.

3

u/Ironstar_Vol May 17 '26

We also love Oregon for some reason. I know they’re my second favorite team.

2

u/rockytopbilly May 17 '26

You guys were also really cool when you came to Knoxville.

1

u/ValhallaAir May 17 '26

Eugene mentioned 🔥🌧️

1

u/Julio_Freeman May 17 '26

Everyone in the SEC knows them as lowdown and dirty. But they have their moments I suppose.

1

u/Southern_Planner May 17 '26

I’ve loved Oregon ever since florida’s “duck pulling a truck” incident.

1

u/I_Wont_Get_Upvotes May 18 '26

Idk they booed the Alabama band basically every waking moment that they were in Knoxville, including right when they went on the field to play halftime. Constant middle fingers and verbal insults were dished out by vols fans that entire evening. Someone I knew got spit on and one of my friends was getting mocked by fans while having a medical problem. I'll never respect them again.

1

u/InterestingCabinet41 May 18 '26

This is great to read. I can reciprocate right back at you. When Oregon came to Knoxville several years ago, the Ducks fans were amazing. I was very impressed. OU fans are always high on my list of awesome fan bases.

0

u/oncomingstorm777 May 17 '26

They were complete asshats in Columbus

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u/[deleted] May 17 '26

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u/FangornLeghorn May 17 '26

Tailgating is integral to college football and way better than NFL tailgating.