A Pearl By Any Other Name…
Autumn Friday nights in my little growing-up hometown, almost the entire population of 3,500 gathered together to cheer the HHS Mustangs on to victory. The town lived for football. Basketball was just a way to kill part of the calendar until warmer weather arrived and the football team could start spring practice. It was about the same in college at UT, where the Volunteer football tearm and talk of the last game or next season dominated the campus scene.
The corporation that took a huge risk on me following graduation decided early on that a transfer to HQ in Pittsburgh would do wonders for working some of the y’alls out of my Tennessee speech pattern. There too, football ruled. The Steelers were just entering their Steel Curtain era, dominating the NFL through the 70s with four Super Bowl Championships. And so it went, football was it. Basketball and other sports were distant also rans.
Until I moved back to Tennessee in the mid-80s and got hooked on Pat Summitt’s Lady Vols and their legendary annual runs through womens’ collegiate basketball. Never once was I even tempted to consider watching, much less attending, a UT mens‘ basketball game. They sucked and everyone knew it. Occasionally teasing us with a half-vast season, but always fizzling out before the games and the season were done.
Until this year. Bruce Pearl bounced into Knoxville last Spring as the new mens’ basketball coach du jour. Yeah, he sounded different, but so had they all. Alumni and fans everywhere screamed out with a collective yawn and mutterings of “here we go again” and “whadda ya give ‘im? 2 years, or 3?“. Much to everyone’s surprise and delight, Coach Pearl and his rag-tag wannabes left over from the last non-productive season, came together as a team, excelled as individuals, and ran through their tough SEC schedule like Sherman through Georgia - who we defeated twice this season (Georgia, not Sherman), along with archrivals Florida and Vanderbilt. We split 1 - 1 with perennial king-of-the-hill Kentucky, the win being at Kentucky’s home cathedral, Rupp Arena, a feat that few teams have ever accomplished, and a first for Tennessee.
So this year, for the first time ever, I got excited about mens’ hoops, and have continued to follow the NCAA Tournament even after my beloved Vols made an unexpected early exit. But Coach Pearl and his team have no reason to hang their heads. Au contraire! We are proud of their accomplishments this season and they have every right to walk with heads high. They have finally elevated Tennessee mens’ basketball to a force to be reckoned with. Just wait until next year!
Having said all that, as soon as the NCAA Basketball Tournaments are over in another few days, I’ll be ready for some football!
3 Comments so far
I grew up listening to UT football on the radio. I remember when Reggie White was there. It has taken me a long time to get used to the announcers on the TV. Madden makes me nuts and most Monday games I watched with the sound off.
What about baseball? I don’t particular care for it but the atmosphere is nice and the food is decent. I like to go and irritate folks by yelling ‘touchdown!’ when someone reaches the home plate. Or calling out other football terms such as “roughing the kicker” when someone is walked.
We have a SAL team (farm team of the Rockies) here in Asheville - the Asheville Tourists.
Baseball as a kid growing up in West Tennessee. My hero was Stan Musial who played for St. Louis Cardinals. As an adult, I find baseball too slow, too boring, especially on TV. Going out to a game is better, mainly due to the hot dogs and beer, peanuts and popcorn.
My last baseball game in Pittsburgh was to take a visiting Australian to a Pirates game. He had never seen the game and had a thousand questions. Try explaining to someone with no comprehension such things as why foul balls are strikes on Strike 1 and 2, but then there can be an infinite number of fouls that count for nothing… Now do that for 3 hours straight!
Winston,
Lucy here from Joy’s. Thanks for sharing—I’m an avid sports fan too. I also got a big kick out of your previous posts. I’ll be back!
lucyd