Should Dad root for App or UTC?

For much of the summer, Alan Wright figured choosing sides in today's football game between Appalachian State and the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga would be relatively easy.

Never mind that middle son Michael is a senior at App, while youngest son Brian is a freshman at UTC. Or that Alan once got Michael an official game ball with an App logo on it from one of the three FCS national titles they won inside the Mocs' Finley Stadium. Or that Brian got Dad a set of UTC season tickets for Father's Day.

"If I did it by tuition paid," said Wright, a Krystal executive, "I was probably going to cheer for the Mountaineers for three and a half quarters and the Mocs for the time that was left."

But as today's 3 p.m. kickoff at Finley grew closer, Wright grew more uncertain. After all, the 52-year-old Ball State grad does live in Chattanooga, and Finley Stadium's playing surface is named Gordon Davenport Field in honor of the late Krystal CEO whose bronze bust shares space with one of Max Finley at the facility's entrance.

"So I decided I'd base it on which son was the better Krystal kid," Wright said.

Unfortunately, that only made it tougher. Michael had driven more than an hour from Boone, N.C., last week with some buddies just to pick up "two packs of steamers."

And Brian had matched him by loading up on a couple of "combo No. 1s with cheese" during a late-night stop at the Cherokee Boulevard location a few days ago.

"So I decided to go with which son liked the least offensive SEC football program," said Wright, who grew up in Indianapolis but casually roots for Tennessee.

"Michael really likes the Florida Gators, who I can't stand. Brian will cheer for Tennessee. So while I'm going to wear my white App shirt, I'll wear my UTC cap and sit on the UTC side the entire game cheering for the Mocs."

Obviously, Michael was hurt. During a brief break from his accounting classes Friday at ASU he said, "I just think Dad wanted an excuse out. He's got all this App stuff in his closet - hats, shirts, stuff like that - I don't know what he's going to do with it now."

Brian's response?

"I don't know why Dad had to think about it," he said. "You can't live in Chattanooga and root for App. You just can't. But I think he still has an App decal on the window of his car."

Alan Wright said his wife, Marilyn, believes her husband and three sons - oldest son David graduated from Middle Tennessee a couple of years ago - "are too emotionally involved in our teams."

Yet Michael actually intends to stay in Boone to study this weekend while Brian works the game as part of the Finley maintenance crew.

And if the other brother wins, what then?

"I'll be OK," Brian said.

Said Michael, "I'd be very confused, but I'd just have to take it."

As for Dad, Alan defiantly said of App's No. 3 national ranking, "App's had its time in the sun. UTC is the up-and-coming program. Go, Mocs!"

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