Updated

Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 27

Trump Draws Mostly Cheers at 102,000-Seat Neyland Stadium as Some Supporters Voice Doubts

Updated

Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 27

Trump Draws Mostly Cheers at 102,000-Seat Neyland Stadium as Some Supporters Voice Doubts

Q: How did a presidential visit threaten to unexpectedly derail on-field communications during one of college football's biggest matchups?

It threatened to derail communications because Secret Service protocols can temporarily shut down stadium radio channels whenever the president enters, exits or even changes locations inside the venue, cutting off coach-to-coach and coach-to-player headset links without warning. Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said that in games attended by the president, “it just gets cut out,” meaning the audio system used to relay plays to the quarterback and coordinate from the sideline could suddenly go silent. That raised the possibility that a routine presidential movement during the Texas-Tennessee matchup at Neyland Stadium could interrupt play-calling at critical moments. The concern was not theoretical. Sarkisian pointed to prior examples, and Indiana coach Curt Cignetti later confirmed that during last season’s College Football Playoff title game, communications briefly dropped for a few plays in the fourth quarter when Trump left the stadium. Cignetti said the outage was short and did not affect the final Miami drive, but it showed the risk was real. For the Neyland game, both teams worked with the Secret Service to clear radio frequencies and prepare backups, including hand signals and other non-headset methods. Reports from the game indicated those precautions worked: communications did not appear to suffer any major disruption, even though the possibility had been a significant pregame concern.

3 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Sep 27

Knoxville’s Neyland Stadium gave President Donald Trump a largely warm reception, a contrast with the boos he faced at other major sporting events earlier this year.
Parking lots around the 102,000-seat venue also revealed quieter unease: some of Trump’s own voters said they still backed him but had misgivings about his presidency.
Ricky Bretherick, 50, arrived at 5:54 a.m. — about six hours before kickoff — underscoring the enthusiasm surrounding Trump’s appearance even as doubts surfaced at the margins.
The split scene suggested Trump remains a strong draw in deep-red Tennessee while facing more complicated sentiment among parts of his base.