At one SF bar, they've been obsessed with the new Giants manager for years

"That's because the Potrero Hill dive is a hot spot for alumni of the University of Tennessee. So when Tennessee baseball coach Tony Vitello was tapped to be the new manager of the San Francisco Giants last month, the patrons of this SF mainstay were already well aware of him. "He's coming here, of all places. How cool is that?" Aaron Thompson, a Twin Peaks resident who helped start Tennessee's Bay Area alumni chapter, told SFGATE. "It's kind of unreal. Our group is extremely ecstatic.""

"Like most Saturdays in college football season, Thompson was with his fellow Volunteers at Blooms on Nov. 1 to watch Tennessee's pivotal showdown with Oklahoma, a ritual that's been going for the last decade. Their chosen dive bar has gone through many owners and phases since it opened in the late 1930s as Joe's on the Hill. (It's now primarily owned by San Francisco restaurateur Barbi Tice.)"

Blooms Saloon sits on 18th Street in Potrero Hill near Plow and displays a bright orange flag on Saturdays in the fall. The bar opened in the late 1930s as Joe's on the Hill and has changed owners and phases over time. The bar now primarily belongs to San Francisco restaurateur Barbi Tice. University of Tennessee alumni gather at Blooms for a decade-long Saturday ritual to watch pivotal Volunteers games. The group sings "Rocky Top," plays banjo and guitar, and the bar opens early and turns most televisions to Volunteers contests. Patrons reacted with excitement to Tony Vitello’s hiring as San Francisco Giants manager.

Read at SFGATE