The biggest star of Tennessee's double-overtime victory over Georgia Tech Monday night may not have been a player it all. It was a trash can.
And if that's not amazing enough, this might shock you. That trash can is NOT a new thing.
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The big gray trash can, carried with much enthusiasm by a staffer on the Tennessee sidelines and hoisted overhead in jubilation at times, has a checkerboard border and Team 121 on the side. It's apparently a motivational tool--- if a defensive player gets a turnover, they run over and dunk the ball in the trash can.
Viewers got a glimpse of the trash can via ESPN's cameras, and Twitter exploded.
— Barrett Sallee (@BarrettSallee) September 5, 2017
Do with that what you will. pic.twitter.com/6nhPJ1rIKo
"What? It's a trash CAN, not a trash CAN'T"--Butch Jones, probably
— Matt Brown (@MattSBN) September 5, 2017
trash can wins pic.twitter.com/25vrOGJzpk
— @GrantRamey (@GrantRamey) September 5, 2017
Not everyone was a fan. In fact, most people weren't a fan. The commentary was pretty brutal.
When Miami gets a TO, a gold chain is hung around the player's neck.
Tennessee out here with a trash can.
Why can't we have nice things? pic.twitter.com/ajgkuNbqgJ
— Joshua French (@joshuafrench) September 5, 2017Tennessee has more money than God and they have a guy carrying around a trash can as a gimmick prop during the game.
— Cory Gunkel (@CoryGunkel) September 5, 2017
It didn't take long Monday night for someone to give the trash can its own Twitter account. It now has more than 2,700 followers and a couple of copy cat accounts.
I'm going to get carried out on players' shoulders aren't I?
— Trash Can (@TrashCanTeam121) September 5, 2017
Somebody just threw a hot dog wrapper inside of me. I enjoyed the touchdown too, but c'mon guys.
— Trash Can (@TrashCanTeam121) September 5, 2017
But do you know the strangest thing out of all of this? The trash can isn't new! It actually made its debut in the latter part of last season. We've got video of it from the Tennessee Tech game. Guess no one noticed, with the way Tennessee's season was turning out by then.
After all of the negative attention, who knows if it will be back on the sidelines at Neyland Stadium on Saturday.
If it's up to the players, it may be. They don't really seem to mind it.
"(It's) just some swag, just a different swagger to it," cornerback Rashaan Gaulden told govols247 after the game. "Being able to have a nice dunk and all the kind of moves that we can do to dunk it in the trash can and show us being ourselves and having fun out here."
