The Big Lead

Tennessee fans troll Ohio State fans by playing Rocky Top at Columbus-area jukeboxes before Playoff matchup

By Sam Westmoreland

The Pride of the Southland pep band plays Rocky Top before a NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game between Tennessee and Purdue held at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday, March 31, 2024.
The Pride of the Southland pep band plays Rocky Top before a NCAA Tournament Elite Eight game between Tennessee and Purdue held at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday, March 31, 2024. / Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
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The Tennessee Volunteers have one of the most iconic fight songs in all of college sports, and they've found new and exciting ways to share it with opposing fans ahead of their first College Football Playoff appearance.

Fans of the Vols and fans of other schools who just enjoy making Ohio State fans' lives just a little bit more miserable (Hi Michigan fans!) have joined forces to remotely take over Columbus-area bars and restaurants, using their TouchTones digital jukeboxes to play Rocky Top over and over and over again.

It began overnight, when someone took to social media to note that someone at a Waffle House in Grove City, Ohio played Rocky Top three times in 20 minutes. Staff reported the song played an additional nine times after that, including at points when they were the only ones in the restaurant.

For the unitiated, TouchTones jukeboxes are unique, in that you can control the music remotely, from an app on your phone. Typically, you need to be fairly close to the location where you're playing the music, but it's not a requirement, and those sorts of restrictions are fairly easily circumvented.

The first post led to someone pointing out that Tennessee fans had started inundating Columbus-area bars with requests for Rocky Top to be played. From there, the movement spread like wildfire, and soon, bars and restaurants across the city had the iconic tune blaring from their sound systems.

Soon, Rocky Top became the most played song at at least one Columbus-area Buffalo Wild Wings. Even the venerable Library Bar, long a staple of the Ohio State campus and the strongest of Buckeye strongholds fell to the song's undeniable power.

It won't be long until Buckeyes fans have the catchiest fight song in sports lodged firmly in their heads, the iconic intro thrumming through their brains as they try to get work done, or the beautiful chorus of "Rocky Top, you'll always beeeeeee/ Home sweet home to meee/ Good ole Rocky Top *woo!* Rocky Top Tennessee!" exploding in their mind just before they drift off to sleep.

But don't worry, Ohio State fans. This is a safe space. Vols fans can't hurt you here. You can relax, and breathe eas-JUST KIDDING!

In all seriousness, this is a delightful bit of trolling from a fan base who is thrilled to be back at the pinnacle of college football.

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