A Tennessee Home

A Tennessee Home A look into how college football is weaved into the lives of a married couple in Tennessee.

This is Laura and Eddie Caylor, a married couple who celebrated their 28th anniversary on September 16th, 2017. For this special occasion, they did what they do every weekend in the fall - watched Tennessee Football. Football is a shared passion of theirs, along with cooking great food, and inviting good friends over to enjoy life with.

THE FOOD

"It's a process, and sometimes it takes all day, but I think we've figured out how to make good food for people. That's my favorite thing, to see someone enjoy something that we made. Eddie takes care of the meat and I make all the fixings. We make a pretty good team in the kitchen." -Laura

Starting on Friday night, Laura and Eddie began to prepare Saturday's meal by seasoning a brisket.

Eddie fires up the smoker that will cook Saturday's brisket for 12 hours overnight.

On Saturday morning, Laura prepares her famous Chex Mix so that guests will have food to munch on during the football game.

The final spread of delicious pork brisket and a 7 layer salad made by Laura.

THE FRIENDS AND FAMILY

Laura and Eddie reminisce about memories of watching football games together on their beloved back porch and in other places.

"I think my favorite memory on this porch was watching the Georgia game last year when we won on that Hail Mary. We almost broke the porch off from so many people jumping up and down." - Laura

Friends join the fun and are greeted by the Caylor's dog, Macy.

"This is the fourth time our anniversary has fallen on the Tennessee Florida game, and I wouldn't want to spend it any other way. In 2001 we spent our anniversary in a hotel room in Sonoma Valley, California watching the football game. In 1991 we were in Destin, Florida with friends and came in from the beach to watch the game. We both love UT football, and it's something that we enjoy watching with our friends and family. Whether it's here on this porch, or somewhere else, it's a big part of our lives" - Eddie

THE FOOTball

When the game starts, things get serious. Laura changed her shirt (and made herself a drink) at halftime because the Vols did bad in the first half. Eddie would flip his hat backwards when we were on defense and wear it forwards when we were on offense because he thought it would bring us good luck. They've passed these quirks on to their children, because I went inside to watch the last quarter of the game thinking it would somehow help us win (it didn't.)

Everyone is decked out in orange, even Macy the dog. When we would yell about something happening during the game, Macy barks right along with us. She even sits in front of the TV and watches the game. When I say everyone in this family is crazy about UT football, I mean everyone.

A Tennessee home indeed

Before you even walk in the front door, you know you're walking into Volunteer territory. The Caylor home is decorated with so many things that show their love for the University of Tennessee.

Although the Vols lost that weekend, we still enjoyed ourselves. Football is what brings people together. No matter who the team is, there were gatherings like ours in homes around the South that weekend. My parents laughed and told so many wonderful stories that revolved around watching football games. Whether they were in Neyland Stadium, on our back porch, or somewhere else in the country, they made it a point to sit down together and watch their favorite team through the years.

28 years of marriage celebrated by watching a football game, and they wouldn't have it any other way. For Laura and Eddie, having family, friends, food and football makes for a blessed life indeed.

Appreciate