NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — All across the country, there are Vanderbilt fans thrilled with the massive upset this weekend over top-ranked Alabama.
But it should come as no surprise the most excited fans we found were students on Vanderbilt's campus.
Inside the Vanderbilt Bookstore on West End, the history books can be found up the escalator, but right now all the talk is anchored down in the history they just lived.
"I think I’ve never been prouder to be a Commodore," said Kirsten Lane, a freshman at Vanderbilt who grew up in Centerville.
"Something about beating Alabama, it’s just magical," said Costas North, a Vanderbilt senior.
"I think we came back and listened to Dixieland Delight for four hours," said Charlie Karet, another Vanderbilt student.
Vandy student Oliver Hingst even has some of the hallowed ground to prove he was there.
"I have turf in my shoes right now I haven’t cleaned it out," Hingst said, as he pulled out remnants of the turf out of his sneaker and showed us. "I’m just going to put it back in there honestly."
When the clock hit zero, and the massive upset was officially sealed, this trio of friends stormed the field.
"Everybody that was there, was on the field," remembered Karet.
According to Karet, he was the first to hop up to bring the goalpost down.
"And I ask the police officer who’s standing there, 'What’s going to happen if I try to take these field goalposts down?' He said, 'I put you in handcuffs and I take you to jail,'" recalled Karet. "So I turn around, take like five steps, I see two of my boys coming toward me, and I’m like, 'Where are you guys going?' We’re going to take down the field goal. And I’m like, damn right we’re going to take the field goal."
North, Hingst and Karet didn't just help take the field goal down to the ground. They were among the vanguard of Vanderbilt faithful to walk several miles down West End and Broadway to throw the goal posts into the Cumberland.
"You just see this hoard of Vandy students, rocking down Broadway, nothing can stop us," said North.
"It’s probably going to end up shaking out like — 1) Wedding day, 2) firstborn, and then this. And maybe not in that order to be honest with you man. This might be the peak," said Hingst with a laugh.
Sure, these boys will continue to celebrate. But they're also already starting to turn the page on this history and daydream about how future books might read.
"To really get rid of that stigma, we just have to keep winning," said North.
"If you can go out there and actually show this is a real thing that’s going to continue to build on, that’s so different," said Karet.
If you're looking to purchase Vanderbilt merchandise — both the Vanderbilt Bookstore and Dick's Sporting Goods in West Nashville have ample supply.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Chris.Davis@NewsChannel5.com.
Fostering Hope provides Christmas for kids in foster care. I'm delighted to see Fostering Hope expand this year to expand their reach to now include kids in Foster care in metro AND foster kids in East TN hard hit by Helene.
-Bree Smith
