A Sad Day on Rocky Top
Legendary Head Coach Pat Head Summitt passed away this morning. Reports are saying it is due to complications of her Early On Set Dementia Alzheimer Type.
There are articles all over the net today but I think this is one of the best. http://www.knoxnews.com/sports/vols/columnists/john-adams/384653011.xhtml
Mr. Adams talks about Pat off the court.
I had the privilege of meeting this iconic figure once - In the summer of 97, just after the Lady Vols had pulled off their Cinderella season.
That had been a rough year for the Lady Vols with 10 losses as they came into the SEC tournament. Naysayer were predicting that this would be the year that they didn’t make the NCAA tournament. Not only did they make it, they won against a very physical ODU team. I was very lucky. That was the last year that the tickets for the Women’s tournament were sold, the next year they started the lottery system. I had asked if Mom and Dad wanted to go, but Mom was already in declining health and didn’t want to deal with the crowds. I asked Mike if he wanted to. I was determined to go to the game. He said yes, so I was on the phone the next morning, buying tickets. We were seated just behind the Tennessee seating area. It could not have been better.
When I took vacation that summer, I went to see my grandmother who lived in Knoxville. During the time I was there, Coach Summitt was holding her annual basketball camp. Mamaw made sure that I knew, in case I wanted to go to the signing that they held at the first day. Boy did I. I bounced over to a shop just outside the campus and grabbed a couple of t-shirts. One had a very nice screen shot of Coach Summitt and her son, Tyler, standing on the ladder cutting down the net after the 97 Finals - the same game I had seen. When I got to the signing I saw the note that it was one item per person. So I got one shirt signed for Dad (After all, he introduced me to the Vols) and a couple of photos of the team members present. (including Michelle Marciniak, Dad’s favorite player) as I got near the end, I decided to take a chance. As the coach signed the shirt for Dad, I asked if she would sign the other shirt. I said that the big one was for my father, a former Vol, the other was for my boy-friend. And that we had seen that game in person. She smiled at me, said “Oh, taking care of your men,” and signed that second shirt.
That is the kind of person she was. The only thing that was more important to her than the game was the fans, and her faith. A fan asked for a few extra seconds of her time and she gave it, with a smile.
I am but one of a million fans, but for that one brief moment in time, I was important to her. I cherish that memory.
Rest in Peace Coach Summitt. They say that a person never truly dies as long as they are remembered. If that is so, then she will live on forever.
There are tears flowing throughout Vol Nation, but in Heaven Pat is free of her pain, and her mind is clear and sharp once again. And she has signed a contract to coach alongside the great John Wooden. Tryouts are going to tough. ;-)
There are articles all over the net today but I think this is one of the best. http://www.knoxnews.com/sports/vols/columnists/john-adams/384653011.xhtml
Mr. Adams talks about Pat off the court.
I had the privilege of meeting this iconic figure once - In the summer of 97, just after the Lady Vols had pulled off their Cinderella season.
That had been a rough year for the Lady Vols with 10 losses as they came into the SEC tournament. Naysayer were predicting that this would be the year that they didn’t make the NCAA tournament. Not only did they make it, they won against a very physical ODU team. I was very lucky. That was the last year that the tickets for the Women’s tournament were sold, the next year they started the lottery system. I had asked if Mom and Dad wanted to go, but Mom was already in declining health and didn’t want to deal with the crowds. I asked Mike if he wanted to. I was determined to go to the game. He said yes, so I was on the phone the next morning, buying tickets. We were seated just behind the Tennessee seating area. It could not have been better.
When I took vacation that summer, I went to see my grandmother who lived in Knoxville. During the time I was there, Coach Summitt was holding her annual basketball camp. Mamaw made sure that I knew, in case I wanted to go to the signing that they held at the first day. Boy did I. I bounced over to a shop just outside the campus and grabbed a couple of t-shirts. One had a very nice screen shot of Coach Summitt and her son, Tyler, standing on the ladder cutting down the net after the 97 Finals - the same game I had seen. When I got to the signing I saw the note that it was one item per person. So I got one shirt signed for Dad (After all, he introduced me to the Vols) and a couple of photos of the team members present. (including Michelle Marciniak, Dad’s favorite player) as I got near the end, I decided to take a chance. As the coach signed the shirt for Dad, I asked if she would sign the other shirt. I said that the big one was for my father, a former Vol, the other was for my boy-friend. And that we had seen that game in person. She smiled at me, said “Oh, taking care of your men,” and signed that second shirt.
That is the kind of person she was. The only thing that was more important to her than the game was the fans, and her faith. A fan asked for a few extra seconds of her time and she gave it, with a smile.
I am but one of a million fans, but for that one brief moment in time, I was important to her. I cherish that memory.
Rest in Peace Coach Summitt. They say that a person never truly dies as long as they are remembered. If that is so, then she will live on forever.
There are tears flowing throughout Vol Nation, but in Heaven Pat is free of her pain, and her mind is clear and sharp once again. And she has signed a contract to coach alongside the great John Wooden. Tryouts are going to tough. ;-)