Why Tennessee Vols fans can't complain after ugly win against the Florida Gators

For most of Saturday night, the Tennessee Vols looked like they were filming the sequel to Groundhog Day.

Tennessee trailed the Florida Gators 3-0 at halftime on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium, just like they did the previous week in Fayetteville against the Arkansas Razorbacks.

This time around, though, the Vols found a way in the second half (and in overtime) to get a win, leaving Neyland with a 23-17 victory over the Gators.

Tennessee made plenty of mistakes -- mostly on offense -- but they made big plays when they had to. And it was enough to get a win that looked unlikely at times on Saturday night.

Plenty of Vols fans, somewhat understandably, offered complaints about Tennessee's offense after the win. I get it. It needs to be better moving forward if the Vols are going to go on a run. But those complaints undermine what's so special about being a fan of college football.

For far too long, Florida has been an unexplainable stumbling block for Tennessee. Regardless of how good or bad Tennessee/Florida is, it seems like the Gators almost always find a way to win this game. Or the Vols find a way to lose. Whatever the case, the outcome usually isn't ideal for Tennessee fans.

So when the Vols do manage to get a win in this series, fans should celebrate it. And they should celebrate it with the same enthusiasm that they'd celebrate a 55-0 blowout win.

A win is a win. That's especially true when it comes to Florida. There will be plenty of time next week to dissect what went wrong and what needs to change.

But for at least 48 hours, if not longer, Tennessee fans should set all of that aside and just embrace the fact that they won a game that traditionally doesn't go their way. I mean, at one point fans were booing the Vols in Neyland and the night still ended with a win against Florida.

Enjoy it. Celebrate the fact that it wasn't a Groundhog Day type moment.

If you're complaining about Tennessee beating Florida, you don't get what being a college football fan is about. Let the coaches worry about what went wrong. After all, they're the ones that have to find a way to fix it. Fans get the easy part. And there's no sense in wasting an opportunity to celebrate a win against Florida if you're a Vols fan.

Related: Tennessee Vols finally make much-needed change to game days at Neyland Stadium