John Shearer: Random Thoughts About Local Soccer Game And NIT Championship

Amid the weekend anti-Donald Trump rally at Ross’s Landing and the recent Chattanoogan.com poll showing equal support and disapproval for his tariff policy in this usually redder community, one could paraphrase “The Music Man” and say there is trouble in River City.

And raise your hand if you have had your data breached lately!

But amid the somber news everyone is trying to make sense of, some positive headlines did surface among supporters of the red and blue. That came in the inspiring soccer match between the two local pro teams wearing those colors.

And that occurred the day before the also-inspiring NIT championship won by the UTC Mocs, causing this city of multiple fanbases to become collectively blue and gold for a few days or at least hours.

Regarding the former, I decided to go to the U.S. Open Cup soccer match last Wednesday night between CFC ( the Chattanooga Football Club) and the Chattanooga Red Wolves. As many know, the CFC has been around since 2009, while the Red Wolves were established in 2019.

Despite that, I had not seen either team play, even though I played the sport at Baylor back in the soccer dark ages of the 1970s and have always admired the sport. Of course, when we played, it was a winter sport, and the practice field would get quite muddy over the course of a season and start resembling a barnyard where cows gather to get hay.

So, anticipating the historic moment and wanting the chance to be there, I got a ticket to go see them at Finley Stadium. I had a previous commitment at church, so I did not get there until halftime after having parked my car just on the Tennessee River side of the Chattanooga Convention Center and walking three or four blocks.

Among the observations that quickly caught my eye as a first-time observer of local pro soccer is that perhaps the fans seemed overall more in the range of in their 40s and younger. Also, the blue-clad CFC fans seemed to outnumber the Red Wolves fans, at least in color of shirts.

I was also surprised that the Red Wolves’ colors are actually more maroon than solid red. They look more Mississippi State, Alabama and Texas A&M than Georgia or Wisconsin. To me, the light and darker blue uniforms of CFC looked a little snazzier.

And I did not realize that the CFC has two or three people who wave giant flags away from everybody throughout the game, and that both teams have supporters who play drums in the stands all game. I am sure someone might ask, “Where have you been?” regarding my naivety. I did feel a little like Andy Griffith observing football for the first time in his humorous album of yesteryear.

I was also impressed with all the food trucks around the stadium. A hot dog at a game is apparently not enough for today’s tastes.

Anyway, I sat in the less-crowded North grandstand and enjoyed it. At first the action in the second half seemed a little slow, and the players seemed a little far away from me. But maybe I just needed to start wearing my eyeglasses throughout the game to rectify the latter.

I wished for more excitement like at a basketball or football game, or even sometimes at a baseball game during an exciting rally. But the ball kept changing hands after a player or two from each team would control it.

I was enjoying the relaxing time, though, while knowing enough about soccer to realize that one quick breakdown or skillful play could quickly change the complexion of the game and result in a quick score. As a result, I tried not to look at my phone for more than five or 10 seconds at a time.

But the second half continued without any near score, despite numerous corner kicks back toward the goal.

The intensity remained, however, including with the fact that both teams were apparently aware they are vying for the attention of local soccer fans. The latter was evident through a lot of pushing and shoving and small fights. It was obvious that this rivalry that had been simmering off the field for years was finally manifesting itself on the field.

As was only fitting, the game went into overtime, since it was part of the U.S. Open Cup competition and could not end in a tie. While I was hoping it would not continue and I could go home at 9, the fun was actually just beginning, I was to learn.

After two scoreless 15-minute overtimes, the game went to penalty kicks, and the team with the highest number of made kicks after five would win. Along with other spectators, I headed down to the east goal to witness the spectacle, suddenly becoming like a diehard local soccer fan after being ho-hum when I arrived at halftime.

The first penalty kick by the CFC player was stopped by the Red Wolves’ goalie, and many around me let out a cheer, letting me know that not all Red Wolves fans were wearing red or maroon.

That ended up being the deciding factor, as the Red Wolves made all five of their kicks to win. That occurred even after a delay when another CFC player missed the fifth goal attempt, but the goalie was charged with leaving the goal line too early, and the player made the next attempt.

While I was briefly happy the Red Wolves won this game without cementing any long-term commitment to either team, I was certainly glad I had been there among more than 12,000 people to witness the enjoyable inaugural rivalry game amid equally nice temperatures. That is, even though I arrived home more than an hour later than I thought I would when I decided to go.

Here’s hoping both teams can survive long term and that they start finding a way to play each other every year.

Since we are likely not to get it in politics, many might say that Chattanooga needs more red and blue mingling, as Baylor and McCallie have been doing in football for many decades.

The Chattanooga men’s basketball team was one squad everyone rallied around singularly in recent days. That came following the Mocs’ surprising and unexpected National Invitation Tournament championship with a thrilling overtime win over California-Irvine, which ironically featured former UTC player Myles Che.

For longtime UTC fans or alumni who would rather cheer on the Mocs than Tennessee, Georgia or Alabama, it was a time to remember and cherish a very special sports moment.

And many fans of these bigger schools wore blue and gold on their hearts briefly as well. I know because I was one of them, even though I have been following the UTC basketball program closely off and on since the 1970s and received a master’s degree from there. In fact, I cheered hard as an 11^th grader for them when they won the 1977 Division II national championship.

How inspiring was the NIT run, especially after the loss in the Southern Conference tournament, when many assumed their season was over, based on past scenarios? It seemed to be an improbable run after getting by bigger state rival Middle Tennessee State and then beating Dayton in the only post-season home game.

The Mocs then went through Bradley and defeated Loyola Chicago amid the support of 105-year-old team chaplain Sister Jean in the semifinals at historic Hinkle Fieldhouse before the memorable final victory over California-Irvine in OT.

As in some of their other games, the Mocs looked like they might lose in the final game. But they somehow won on a Garrison Keesler mid-range shot and a point-blank miss by a California-Irvine player in the closing seconds. It was somewhat reminiscent of when Russ Schoene missed a shot late against Minnesota in 1982 to keep the Mocs out of the Sweet 16.

The Mocs’ seemingly improbable win was just like out of a scene from the underdog “Hoosiers’ movie also filmed there. And that included Trey Bonham’s half-court shot at the end of the half to help provide the difference.

UTC seemed to have an appealing team with good guards Bonham and a young-looking Honor Huff and several talented other role players who played hard and were well coached. I actually went to the second-round Dayton game – when the better-seeded Flyers team had to play on the road due to the Ohio state basketball tournament taking place – and I could tell the Mocs had a special team.

In that game, it was worth the price of admission just to see Dayton coach Anthony Grant, who formerly led Alabama, get upset with a call late and angrily walk out to mid-court and have to be restrained by his staff. Of course, that scene also showed the pressure of being a college coach at a higher-profile program not expecting to lose to Chattanooga.

I am not sure I could have picked out Mocs coach Dan Earl in a lineup a few months ago, but he has become a familiar face in recent days, especially as Moc fans hope the former Penn State player stays for a few more years.

Speaking of coach Earl, I was eating lunch at the Panera by Northgate Mall a few weeks back and saw a seemingly familiar person with a legal pad talking to a woman. I assumed maybe he was a Panera manager interviewing someone for a job, but then it dawned on me that the person was coach Earl.

I thought he was focusing on You Pick Two off the menu, but he was likely drawing up basketball picks or screens to get players open.

One or two people spoke to him, and he chatted with them in a friendly manner.

I have a feeling he might have a few more greeting him if he were to go in there this week.

He is one leader being collectively cheered in Chattanooga in recent days instead of being partially jeered.

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Jcshearer2@comcast.net