Randy Smith: To Go To The Battle Of Bristol, Or Stay Home?

  • Friday, August 26, 2016
  • Randy Smith
Randy Smith
Randy Smith

Tennessee faces Virginia Tech in the first-ever "Battle at Bristol" on Sept. 10. The game will be played on the infield area of the Bristol Motor Speedway in front of a national television audience on ABC. Heck, even ESPN's "Game Day" crew will be there bright and early that Saturday morning to cover every possible angle of what could be the most unusual venue for any college football game ever. 150,000 fans or more are expected to be there, which would be the largest crowd to ever witness a college football contest.

(And we thought 102,000 fans at Neyland Stadium was a big deal.)

Because of the size of the track at Bristol, this is very likely the only racing venue that could host a football game. And I'm sure that most Nascar fans who have witnessed a race or two in Bristol are anxious to see what it looks like when the cars aren't there, and the football players are. The above mentioned facts are enough to convince me that I should go.......but then again I had this dream a few nights ago.

I dreamed that I was going to the game as a working member of the media, but it was one of those dreams that you are stuck in traffic or something weird that prevents you from ever getting to the stadium. To make matters much worse, Butch Jones was driving my car, which was colored in bright Tennessee orange and decorated with the number 107. (I have no idea where that number came from). We were actually moving at a pretty good pace and we could see the Speedway but we couldn't get any closer no matter how fast we went. Butch kept saying that if he made it by halftime, it would be okay. His coaches would do a good job with his team. So, he kept driving. When we finally arrived at the press parking lot, we were still miles away from the venue, so we took a shuttle bus to get us to the game. Keep in mind this is a dream and it wasn't unusual to get there and realize that Nascar had booked a race there and they were playing football and racing at the same time. More than a million people were trying to get to their seats before the kickoff, or the gentlemen started their engines. Then.......I woke up......in a cold sweat.

After having that dream, I decided to stay home and watch the game in the safe and comfortable confines of my man cave. At the game it will still likely be in the 80s temperature wise, with a lot of humidity, while in my home it will be a cool 70 degrees. I'll have the game on ABC on my big screen TV with the fridge stocked with all sorts of cold drinks and goodies to eat. I'll have my family with me and we will watch the game together. Hopefully we will see a Tennessee victory, and while the fans at the game will fight the traffic getting out of Bristol, I can take comfort in knowing that I will be asleep in my cool, comfortable bed, before they even get to Interstate 81.

That's the advantage of being retired. If you want to stay home and watch the game on television rather than being there, you make the choice. It's your option.    

--- 

Randy Smith has been covering sports on radio, television and print for the past 45 years. After leaving WRCB-TV in 2009, he has written two books, and has continued to free-lance as a play-by-play announcer. He is currently teaching Broadcasting at Coahulla Creek High School near Dalton, Ga.

His career has included a 17-year stretch as host of the Kickoff Call In Show on the University of Tennessee’s prestigious Vol Network. He has been a member of the Vol Network staff for thirty years.

He has done play-by-play on ESPN, ESPN II, CSS, and Fox SportSouth, totaling more than 500 games, and served as a well-known sports anchor on Chattanooga Television for more than a quarter-century.

In 2003, he became the first television broadcaster to be inducted into the Greater Chattanooga Area Sports Hall of Fame. Randy and his wife Shelia reside in Hixson. They have two married children, (Christi and Chris Perry; Davey and Alison Smith.) They have four grandchildren, Coleman, Boone, DellaMae and CoraLee.

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