As the temperatures wain in the hills of East Tennessee, and the leaves begin their slow chameleon change, I am reminded of a fall night in 1998.  I was a first year student at the University of Tennessee, and our beloved Vols had just won their first game of what was to be a National Championship season.  Some friends and I were hanging out in my Fort Sanders apartment drinking beer and reveling in the victory.  My cousin Tom and some of his friends stopped by on their way out to the bars.  Being only 18, and having not yet acquired a fake ID, my friends and I had to settle for getting shit-faced in my apartment.  Tom (who has always, for all intents and purposes been my big brother) is about 7 years older than me and I always looked up to him growing up, as it was he who took me rolling for the first time, who showed me my first Playboy, and who bought me my first beer.  His friend, Todd, was with him, and he and I seemed(still do) to have very similar senses of humor.  As we sat on the patio of the apartment, we chatted about football, booze, college girls, and various topics familiar with the 18-25 demographic.  At some point in the night after a particularly rousing conversation, the topic of which escapes me, Todd looked over at me and said,  “You know what, dude?  You are the fucking poster child of Southern Decadence.”  This was the greatest compliment that I have ever received.
     It is now several years later and I am still great friends with everyone from that fateful night.  (Well, maybe not everyone.  There were some girls there, but I don’t remember their names.)  I ran into Todd a few months ago and we were discussing the actual definition of Southern Decadence.  After some initial brainstorming and way too many Budweisers, we decided to try and make a list of characteristics that embody the spirit of SoDec.  Well, this list has been in the works for months now and I have realized that it is an impossible task to even try to make a list of SoDec.  Can you make a list of why the sun is good?  Me neither.  So in lieu of trying to describe the phenomena that is Southern Decadence, I have decided to try a more hands on approach.  Since football season started last week, I have decided to use this special time in the South as a sort of canvas if you will.  I have decided to document my experiences this autumn as a bearded, often charming, slightly overweight Tennessee gentleman.  There will be some facts, some fiction and of course, some names will be changed to protect the guilty.  You know who you are.  I hope you enjoy this as much as I plan to.