By: Dallas Bowlin, Senior Staff Writer, Junior Editor
Roger Davis, a legend among Tennessee fans, sadly passed away on Sunday, February 28th. Roger had been a Tennessee fan for the majority of his life. His fandom started while he was participating in the Big Brother Program in elementary school. His assigned "brother" would start taking him to Tennessee games and events. That was when Roger fell in love with Tennessee.
Roger’s uncle, Charlie, reminisced on his memories of watching Tennessee games with Roger and spoke about remembering Roger getting so upset and angry when Tennessee would lose. That’s something all Volunteers fans should be able to relate to.
Davis became a beloved figure among Vol fans for his call-ins to Tennessee Talk Shows. Jon Reed of Fox Sports Knoxville and the Reed’s Ranch Podcast gave his comments on Roger’s passing through a tweet on Wednesday, March 1st: "I will never forget him yelling at me that "the ball ain’t round!" while trying to convince me the Vols would pull an upset." said Reed.
Jake Miller, also of Fox Sports Knoxville, had this to say when hearing of Roger’s passing: "He never complained or felt sorry for himself because of the hand he was dealt. A Knoxville Sports Radio legend that always had a smile on his face."
Outside of Tennessee athletics, Davis was a devout member of the First Apostolic Church of Knoxville. "He sat on the front row of every service and made it a priority to greet you with a hug. Roger made an impact on those he met with his kindness and his pureness," said a friend of the family. " I am overwhelmed with the kindness of everyone. His aunt has raised him, and she is just as kind as he was," he continued when asked about his relationship with Roger.
Spend five minutes on any Tennessee sports message board or search his name on Twitter, and you’ll see just how big of an impact and reach Roger had. A beloved member of the Volunteer family is gone too soon.
Photo above | A Davis Family friend.