When the clock struck zero on Wednesday night in Columbia to lock in the Vols’ first SEC regular season title since 2008, Tennessee’s players didn’t run around the court in chaos or go into the crowd to celebrate with fans.
It was a confident, low-key celebration before getting into the handshake line and heading off the court and into the locker room in Colonial Life Arena. With the game being played in South Carolina’s building, there wasn’t any confetti raining down and the nets weren’t cut down. Tennessee took their celebration into the locker room as the fans applauded the team on the way out.
As Tennessee was walking off the court, a few of the players including Josiah-Jordan James, Zakai Zeigler, and Dalton Knecht pointed toward their ring finger as they celebrated their newly crowned SEC championship. It wasn’t a disrespectful or pompous move, but one that the team used to signal their joy in the moment for accomplishing the first of their many goals leading into and through the postseason.
The Tennessee Volunteers head back to the locker room crowned as the 2023-2024 SEC regular-season champions pic.twitter.com/DiZJ1e75Je
— Rocky Top Insider (@rockytopinsider) March 7, 2024
More from RTI: Make No Bones About It, Tennessee Basketball Has Greater Goals Than SEC Championship
That didn’t sit well with CBS Sports and Sirius XM radio host Andrew Perloff, though. Perloff voiced his disagreement with Dalton Knecht using the ring finger celebration late in the game on social media, which has received an exorbitant number of reactions from Tennessee fans and SEC fans around the nation.
“Winning a regular-season SEC title gets the ring celebration? Dalton Knecht is incredible but gotta have bigger tournament goals,” Perloff wrote.
At the time of this publication, 18 hours after the post was sent, Perloff’s tweet has more than 1.2 million views, more than 800 replies, and only 172 likes.
Perloff then followed up the tweet on Thursday afternoon.
“Last week I picked Tennessee to root for in March and Knecht as the most exciting player in the sport,” Perloff posted to socials. “Loved watching them. Wanted them to win it all. Now I’m out b/c Vols fans are just too mean.”
Last week I picked Tennessee to root for in March and Knecht as the most exciting player in the sport. Loved watching them. Wanted them to win it all. Now I’m out b/c Vols fans are just too mean.
— Andrew Perloff (@andrewperloff) March 7, 2024
Getting rattled by Tennessee’s ring finger celebration is a bit much. It’s not even about Tennessee or Dalton Knecht, either. Anyone who is in Tennessee’s position as a conference-winning team has a full understanding that the regular season is not the end of the road but, in reality, is the start of the postseason race.
Just ask Knecht himself.
According to RTI’s Ryan Schumpert, Knecht mentioned still needing to win the SEC tournament and the “big one” five (5!) separate times during his postgame press conference. Social media is about the instant take, though.
Knecht’s first question in his postgame press conference was about how it felt to be an SEC Champion:
“It feels great,” Knecht said. “I mean, coming here, new team and stuff, we all know it was hard work and we got the job done. But you know, at the same time, job’s not done. We’ve still got the SEC [tournament] and the big one [NCAA tournament].”
It was an unnecessary take as a whole. Who said that Knecht didn’t have bigger goals? Is there an allotment of one celebration per season?
Tennessee set multiple goals at the beginning of the season. One of those goals was certainly to win the SEC regular season. Then comes the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. But in a grueling five-month season in which Tennessee has had several marquee games and earned the SEC crown with three straight Top 15 wins, there’s room to celebrate in the moment. That goes for Tennessee or any team in that position.
Tennessee had multiple goals this season and is looking to cross them off one at a time. Next stop, SEC Tournament in Nashville.
20 Responses
Don’t need bandwagon fans! Pitiful someone judging a young man for a non pompous celebration! Based on the comment these kids can’t show any emotion or celebration until the ultimate prize! This is ridiculous! Who are we to judge that he doesn’t have his sights on that higher prize? Let the kids have fun. Just because you have no sports talent m, don’t come down on the ones that do and that do it in a classy well mannered way!!
I totally agree with Brian. Watched it all and I think they all celebrated with respect. These kids have worked their butts off. What does he expect? Maybe they should put towels over their heads and walk off the court. Everyone celebrates championships and they were very classy in the way they did. GBO.
Yea. Makes me glad that I changed majors way back in 1974 from the College of Communications where I planned on becoming a sports writer to the College of Education where I became an English teacher and high school coach so I could use my God- given talents to encourage and work positively with young people instead of running around posting stupid and needlessly “critical life altering analysis” of a few hard-working young men simply celebrating – and pretty calmly and respectable I might add – the culmination of reaching one of the goals they have been working on. Come on, Andrew, hopefully you can do better than this. Get a life!
I also agree with Brian. Its terribe that these young men cant celebrate a on a win they work so hard for. I bet if South Carolina
Would have ..
He sounds like a baby to me. Everyone is too soft these days. He sounds like an idiot !
Who gives a damn about Andrew Perloff’s skewed opinion and how mean UT fans are. What a wiener and crybaby…get a job where you actually have these conversations face to face, grow a pair you keyboard Barbie.
They could have ripped off the net and rushed the court injured the Carolina player’s would THAT have been More appropriate Mr manners? Damnit they JUST won the SEC title!! Get a grip
Really so our Fans are too mean? Every fanbase is exactly the same especially in the SEC. It doesn’t matter to anyone who you root for in the NCAA tournament because your opinion is meaningless. Great post though, I hope it got you all of the clicks you were looking for.
Pathetic.
His names id really “Karen”!
You know it doesn’t matter what Tennessee does someone is going to not like it! CBS I don’t remember you pulling for Tennessee all season!!!
How many Champions has he won in sports championships has Perloff won in his arhletic background. He has never experienced that jubilation of emotions because he never played sports. These are kids. Let them be kids. If you’ve never experienced it, don’t judge it. Tennessee is a class act just like all the schools in the SEC and schools around the country. Stop trying to find something to bitch about. Be happy for these kids and all the college athletes because they got to experience something you never did. Be a man, not a critic.
Let them celebrate! Hell it doesn’t matter because they chock in March like always anyways.
I think this guy could be Gary Daniels on brother surely he can find something else to cry about I bet if it was South Carolina player celebrating he wouldn’t have said anything congratulations to these young men GBO
This guy should shut up
DALTON WAS CELEBRATING .He was happy get over it basher . ARENT WE IN TENNESSEE ALLOWED TO CELEBRATE??
I totally agree with everything everyone has said they were very classy how they celebrated because they have one of the greatest coaches in College Basketball!!!! What is wrong with this guy Andrew!!!
That dumb ass journalist would not have even wrote an article had South Carolina won and celebrated, he’s a whiny bitch!
Rick Barnes is Amazing. However , Vols Fans are the Worst in the SEC. Every time we fo to Neyland or TB , they’re throwing things , spitting on players , cursing everyone and stealing their opponents belongings. Been to Bama, LSU , Kentucky , SC , and Florida and NEVER even closely seen Fans as bad as Vols fans. They University should step up and Stop the nonsense. Calipari and UK did. Now everyone is respectful!!
I would be unhappy if they didn’t celebrate.That is how you see how much he (and all the other players) care about Tennessee. JJJ and Vescovi have had severely diminished roles this year and they were still celebrating. These kids love their team and school. Don’t punish them for achieving life goals that you couldn’t.
The thing of it is that it wasn’t a tournament championship. It was the regular season champion which is extremely hard to do, especially in the SEC. They accomplished a goal. Let them celebrate however they want. Congrats young men and GBO!
all I know is no one rushed the court lol to soon my bad oh and maybe he was just holding his finger up cause that’s what he is after