The Tennessee Volunteers‘ home field at Neyland Stadium can hold up to 102,455 fans. Most of those fans can’t help but anticipate the song ‘Rocky Top’ as it plays through the speakers. I’ve experienced the energy in Tennessee’s stadium. It is electrifying. I’ve also realized that Tennessee football fans come in all shapes and sizes. In particular, one fan is exceptionally hairy, can’t speak and is smaller than a chihuahua.
At this point, you probably think I have lost all my brain cells, but trust me when I say the smallest, hairiest Vols fan is not human.
It is a squirrel named Sinan.
His owner Saed Awad always looked for and helped out injured animals. Sinan was no exception.
Awad told reporters, “I rescued him. He was a little baby. Some of my friends found him in the backyard, and they know I rescue squirrels, so they called me to help him because he was a few days old, and his mom looked like she had left or hadn’t come back. So they asked if I could help him. Usually, I help them till they’re healthy enough to release them or take them to the UT hospital so they can put them in the rehab program and release them.”
But once Sinan was fully healthy, he never left his owner’s side.
Saeb and Sinan go everywhere together. Sinan became a Vols fan after Saeb found a Tennessee hat one day at The Marina and put it on Sinan. Ever since, Sinan was a Vols fan.
That one hat gave Saeb an idea to make small clothing for his squirrel. Sinan has plenty of outfits, but he is most known for wearing his orange and white. Sinan does not just wear Tennessee’s colors, but he also goes to the campus and sometimes even games.
During the 2019 season, Sinan sparked attention and interest after he was pictured with his owner at the Tennessee vs. Georgia game. From that game forward, Sinan gained a following. Saeb made an Instagram account and a Facebook account for the squirrel. Sinan’s Instagram has almost 9,000 followers, and his Facebook has over 4,000 followers. His social media accounts display the squirrel skateboarding on Tennessee’s campus, riding his motorcycle in his Harley Davis leather jacket and even searching for the Smokey statues on Tennessee’s campus.
With COVID-19 putting a halt to many people’s lives, the question arises if COVID has stopped Sinan from cheering on the Vols? The answer is no.
Since quarantine, Sinan has turned 2 years old, celebrated the class of 2020 for its graduation, received a new Vols outfit and of course went to campus for the Vols home opener against Missouri.
Sinan is forever a part of the Tennessee football family and was welcomed with open arms. There is an excellent chance Sinan will make it into one of the home games this season to see his favorite team play, but for now, he will just have to continue cheering on his team from outside of Neyland Stadiums gates.
