Tennessee Athletics Director Phillip Fulmer was part of the pre-game festivities at the SEC Championship Game on Saturday. And he didn’t exactly get a warm welcome.
Fulmer was introduced on the large video screen encircling Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia before the start of the SEC Championship Game, and he received a chorus of boos from all the Alabama and Georgia fans gathered in the stadium.
And Fulmer soaked it in with a priceless reaction:
SEC legend Phil Fulmer smiles as he’s booed pregame. pic.twitter.com/MU4rxKE6MF
— Michael Casagrande (@ByCasagrande) December 1, 2018
Tide and Bulldog fans have plenty of reason to dislike Fulmer. When he was head coach of Tennessee, the Vols went a combined 21-11-1 against Alabama and Georgia. Fulmer was 10-5-1 against the Tide and went 11-6 against the Bulldogs. Tennessee owned an eight-game winning streak over Georgia at one point under Fulmer, and the Vols defeated Alabama seven consecutive times at one point while Fulmer was at the helm.
Since firing Fulmer, the Vols haven’t had nearly as much success against those two schools, however.
Tennessee has a 12-game losing streak to Alabama right now, and 10 of those losses have come after Fulmer was fired in 2008. The Vols have managed to go just 3-7 against Georgia since Fulmer was let go.
Both the Tide and Bulldogs may be in better positions in football than Tennessee right now, but both fanbases clearly remember how much pain Fulmer inflicted on their teams. There’s not a lot that Alabama and Georgia fans can agree on, but their disdain for Fulmer is certainly one.
And judging by his reaction, Fulmer wouldn’t have it any other way.
