This is pretty hard to beat. You talk about powerful. I'm really proud of this place at times like this. How about you? So touching. Amazing.
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Vol Colonel
Yesterday was a day of heavy hearts here in Knoxville and around the country as news came down early in the morning that Pat Summitt had passed away. Sentiments poured in throughout the day from former players, coaches, friends and even the President of the United States. Governor Haslam ordered flags at the State Capitol and state office buildings to be lowered to half-staff until the sun sets on Thursday evening.
There has never been a greater ambassador for the University of Tennessee and women's athletics in this country and around the globe than Pat Summitt. She was the gold standard, not only as a coach, but as a great Tennessean and human being as well. The impact she made on and in people's lives is even more vast than her many accomplishments on the hardwood. Our loss here on earth is heaven's gain.
Pat came from humble beginnings and if ever there was a human being who never forgot where they came from and who always remained the same person, it was Pat Head Summitt. She never wavered in who she was or what she believed in and stood for, in all her years at the University of Tennessee.
Pat Summitt, the multi-millionaire was no different a person than Pat Head, the young upstart who worked for 62.50 a week as head basketball coach, women's athletic director, bus driver, clothes washer and a host of other duties that she fulfilled, most of the time working 15-20 hour days during the mid 70's. That kind of money changes most, if not all people. It never changed Pat.
Pat Head Summitt exemplified the American Dream. She showed everyone around her that with hard work and a strong will and belief system in place, that anything could be achieved in this world as long as you were willing to put in the time and effort and you were willing to roll up your sleeves and work for it.
I had the pleasure of meeting Pat a few times over the years and though these were brief encounters at various UT functions and events here in Knoxville, these are some moments that I will forever cherish and never forget. My wife has always been a supporter of Lady Vols Athletics and she's been involved with countless charities here in Knoxville and East Tennessee over the years. I can tell you that Pat was always giving if the cause was right. Several times Pat would send over signed balls and uniforms to be auctioned off for charity at my wife's request and many, many times those items would be accompanied by a personal check for donation. Pat was always giving back, not only here in our community, but around the state and the globe as well. She was just so much more than just a basketball coach.
There's going to be a celebration of Pat's life July 14th at Thompson-Boling Arena. It's free to the public and I would encourage all to attend. I guarantee you that this will be a first class event not to be missed. I would also encourage everyone in this special radio family to wear your orange this Friday to honor this Great, Great, Tennessean. Pat will be missed, but she will never be forgotten. The impact she has made as a human being far outweighs her achievements in the world of athletics.
In closing here, I'd like to throw this out there to the powers that be at the University of Tennessee. I know we have the Pat Summitt Plaza and the court at the arena is named in Pat's honor, but I think it would be more than fitting to re-name Thompson-Boling Arena, The Summitt Arena in honor of Pat. We can make this happen!
Have a Great Day and Go Big Orange
Your Vol Colonel
Wow.
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'Tony:
Next time I come to Knoxville, I think I'll buy a basketball net and use it to adorn the Pat Summitt statue. What do you think her statue would look like with a couple hundred nets hanging? Or a thousand? Think the Very Serious Official University People would blow a gasket feigning outrage at the desecration of the statue, or would they recognize the sincerity of the gesture? (Or would they recognize that sincerity only if Certain People were to start it?)
Eric S, S Georgia'
Eric: I absolutely LOVE this idea. LOVE it.
This picture is awesome! I could see something like that here on Pat's birthday next June.
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Hatfield's Nine
Tony,
I am going to break the standard format of my space to give my thoughts on the passing Pat Summitt. The number of coaches who have come to transcend their sport and become representative of excellence for excellence sake is very short. Coach Summitt is certainly among that rarified company. She came to be the face of the rise of women's collegiate atheltics. Every young lady practicing her given sport in a nice facility on a college campus tonight owes Coach Summitt a debt of gratitude.
Coach Summitt inspired a generation of young women to by showing that a strong, competitive woman was to celebrated instead of being called any of a number of sexist, derogatory terms. She was someone who demanded excellence and accepted nothing less. The esteem that coaches across all sports held her in is a testament to her undeniable greatness. Seeing the comments made about Coach Summitt by someone like Pat Riley really drives home how fortunate we have been to have her in our community. You didn't have to particularly follow women's basketball to recognize her brilliance.
How a person uses their fame has always said far more about their character than how they achieved it. Think now about the number of times we saw Coach Summitt on local television rallying support for a worthy local cause. She was tireless in working to make this community a better place for everyone living here. How she helped people outside the public eye was even more impressive. The volumes upon volumes of stories being related regarding how Coach Summitt quietly reached out to someone having a tough time just to lift their spirits speaks to core values of that remarkable lady.
All of us with even a peripheral relationship to the University of Tennessee have been so incredibly fortunate to have Coach Summitt as an ambassador for the institution. She represented UT in a first class manner from the White House to White Station. She was always gracious and never lost sight of where she came from or what being a Tennessean was about. As staggering as her on court accomplishments were, her true legacy is found in the university she worked for and the people she inspired over the years. Coach Summitt, simply put, made everything and everyone she came into contact with better for having done so.
Keith
'Tony,
I'm a long time reader of your blog from the Bristol, Va. area.
I love what you do and how you call things as you see it regardless.
I look forward to seeing you and Vol Nation at the Battle of Bristol. I hope you have something special planned here for that weekend. If you feel the same, can you help propel this idea into reality. You have the contacts and forum to start the ball rolling.
The NCAA should rename the women's basketball National Championship Trophy after her. That would be the honor she deserves on a national level.
I would also like to say:
"Thank you Pat" for being a great role model in life not just in basketball.
I missed you when you retired and now there is a big hole missing in the hearts of all UT fans.
Best Regards,
Keith Gregory'
Keith: Such great sentiments. I echo what you're saying wholeheartedly. We lost a treasure. An absolute treasure.
Brutal day for me yesterday as my all time favorite Eagles coach died as well. RIP Buddy Ryan. The guy got it. He coached as a common fan would. Buddy Ryan was in Philly for only 5 seasons but they were the most fun I've ever had watching any team this side of Bruce Pearl's years in Knoxville. Buddy did things like take his team and circle Soldier Field in Chicago seven times in their buses harkening that the Eagles were coming to knock down the walls in 1988 before a divisional playoff game. It became the infamous Fog Bowl and the Bears were damn lucky the fog rolled in because the Eagles would've beaten the hell out of them that day. But, oh well.
Buddy used to dismiss Eagles' owner Norman Braman as "that man in France." He once cut a guy on his call in radio show, live on the air!!! LOL. He faked like he was having Randall Cunningham take a knee only at the end of a game only to throw a bomb to the end zone against the Cowboys in 1987! Nobody stood up to the Cowboys like that in those days. I loved that era. He once cut a 1,000 yard rusher and when pressed about it by the media said "My wife could rush for a 1,000 yards if I gave her the ball 1,000 times." He was so fun. And it made Eagles football us against the world.
I kind of thought Lane Kiffin was a young Buddy Ryan when he first got here. The us against them approach was similar but Buddy was the man. In the '87 strike year, Buddy refused to coach the scabs because he had his players back. Do you remember the Bounty Bowl? Look it up! When the Eagles crushed the Cowboys on Thanksgiving day and targeted kicker Louis Zendejas. Awesome stuff. Ryan said he ran up the score on the Cowboys on Thanksgiving because, "That jerk in the other locker room (Cowboys Coach Jimmy Johnson) got my school (Oklahoma State) on probation."
Oh and those uniforms my Eagles wore back then... actual Kelley green. What a concept. Wearing your actual colors. Hard to believe Buddy Ryan only had five years in Philly. He was so beloved there that when he took the Cardinals head coaching job in Arizona in 1991 his coaches show in Phoenix was carried live on the radio in Philly and got great ratings. Think about that for a second. The guy connected with that place in a special way. The late great Reggie White once told me, "I love Buddy Ryan. I always did from the first moment I met him." RIP Buddy Ryan.
Reuben Frank does an awesome job on this Buddy Ryan piece.
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So, you're England today and you lost to these guys. Look at this breakdown. How is it even possible to lose to a country this small in your nation’s sport of identity?
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Archaic is a great word for the NFL's drug testy policy.
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Would you attend a bowl game at Lambeau Field? Are they getting a dome? This can't be serious.
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RIP guitarist Scotty Moore. The man defined the sound of early rockabilly what a talent.
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Here's Moore Scotty.
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Manziel is screaming for attention. I hope he gets it.
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Final Thought: Every player Pat Summitt coached in 38 years that completed their eligibility graduated!
Tony
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