KNOXVILLE, Tenn — The Tennessee Volunteers beat the Iowa Hawkeyes 35-0 during the Citrus Bowl game on Monday, much to the delight of Vol fans.
However, not every fan made the trek to Orlando to watch. Many fans went to bars, restaurants, or even stayed in the comfort of their own homes to cheer on the team.
Whether at home or in a bar, Vols fans cheered on the team as they took on Iowa during the Citrus Bowl.
"We get to see our freshman quarterback for the first time, for our full games, so that's gonna be entertaining," said Charlie Morgan, who said he's been a Big Orange fan since 1967. "And plus, Iowa's got really good defense. So he's really gonna get his mustard cut on the first game."
Morgan said he often goes to bowl games, but this year he wanted to spend it at home, so he hosted a watch party for family.
"I like to watch the ball game, get involved in it," said Morgan. "And sometimes it gets too rowdy at a bar sometimes. But here, I go upstairs and watch another game plus, I'll feed steaks at halftime and it makes it pretty neat."
He said he's only missed on Vols home game since his freshman year at UT in 1967.
"It's just a part of my nature," said Morgan. "I do it all the time. I'll go football season, the basketball season, the baseball season, and I don't hardly miss a game."
Others said they like a bar setting for games.
"My friend Brandon, he came up from Chattanooga," said Dren Rollins, who said he's been a Vols superfan for more than 40 years. "We decided to talk about what we said we want to go and we just kind of looked around, this looks like a neat little kind of off-the-beaten-path, hole-in-the-wall type place that we usually gravitate towards."
Rollins said he also runs a live stream weekly where he speaks on Vol sports. He said he wants players to keep the Volunteer spirit when they play.
"It's like what it says on the sign walking out the locker room," said Rollins. "'I will give my all for Tennessee today,' and just make sure you do that every day. That's all we ever asked."