School Spirit: Tennessee and Alabama fans who show their team spirit year-round

photo University of Tennessee fan Bo Evans, 7, in his bedroom that his mother, Shelly Evans, decorated.
photo Alabama fan Margaret Abernathy in her office.

If You Watch* What: Tennessee vs. Alabama.* When: 7:30 p.m. tonight.* Where: Neyland Stadium, Knoxville.* What network: ESPN2; channels 31 and 331 (HD) EPB; channels 29 and 404 (HD) Comcast.

Fan caves.

Sports-themed rooms designed by fans of all ages wanting to show their team spirit are conversation starters, no-brainers when it comes to picking color schemes (go with team colors) and an easy way to display prized treasures such as autographed jerseys and footballs.

Shelly and Jimmy Evans have three sons -- Cade, 16; Eli, 13; and Bo, 7 -- who are all University of Tennessee Vols fans like their dad. Shelly grew up rooting for the University of Florida -- no surprise since her dad, Rudy Simpson, was an all-SEC baseball pitcher for the Gators and later was inducted into the University of Florida Baseball Hall of Fame.

But today they are a house united, everyone pulling for the Vols in tonight's heated football rivalry with the University of Alabama. Long after the game ends, however, the boys' team spirit remains on display in the Big Orange bedroom.

The Hixson mom says Cade asked for the Vols' orange-and-white checkerboard pattern in his bedroom when the family moved into the house. When Cade outgrew the room, Bo moved in and wanted to keep the design.

The checkerboard pattern is the Vols' signature end-zone design in Neyland Stadium. It debuted in 1964 under coach Doug Dickey. The checkerboard is so famous it has its own Facebook page, where Vols trivia is posted each day.

photo University of Alabama football pencil holders are found all over the office of Margaret Abernathy.

"I thought about it and just came up with my idea of how to do it," says Shelly of creating the design on one wall of the bedroom. "A friend, Kim Sisk, and I painted the whole wall white first, then taped it off and painted every other square orange."

And they did it the old-fashioned way, using a ruler and level on the 8-by-11-foot wall.

Starting from the top of the wall, working left to right, she measured off 12-inch squares across the width of the wall, then moved to the row below until the wall was filled. To get the shade of orange she wanted, Shelly took the bed's comforter to the hardware store where she had Benjamin Moore paint custom-mixed in a flat wall satin to match.

An orange valance centered with a white Power T, three framed UT prints, orange chairs and throw rugs, and UT desk accessories finish the theme room.

photo Among Abernathy's office decorations is this rock painted with an Alabama elephant.

Bo, a first-grader at Big Ridge Elementary School, says that, when his friends see the checkerboard wall, "They like it. They jump on the bed (from excitement)."

Margaret Abernathy has been an Alabama football fan since she married husband, Tal, 43 years ago. The Abernathys show their team spirit everywhere, from his Alabama-decorated golf cart to her office at the Hamilton County Department of Education, where she is exceptional education director.

"I have collected Alabama memorabilia for years," she says. "We have a condo in Alabama with an Alabama decor, a couple of rooms in our house here and this is the overflow."

In her office, the red Alabama "A" decorates memorabilia from pencil holders to pachyderms. Dozens of elephants -- glass, resin, clocks, mini plush replicas of Bama mascot Big Al, even Big Al painted on a rock -- sit on the floor and line shelves and tabletops. Her framed Bama artwork includes an autographed jersey from Johnny Musso, Alabama's all-American running back in 1971 who went on to play for the Chicago Bears.

Abernathy laughs that she already has the newest member of the family in training.

"I have a picture of my latest grandchild, Jacob, in an Alabama T-shirt. He's just a few weeks old."

Decorating a boys room in a sports theme is easy and economical because a sports theme can be updated and grow with the child into the teen years. Younger children may like bolder design ideas such as painting a wooden floor green and striping it with white yard markers, or installing metal lockers for storage space.

Remember the 60-30-10 ratio when decorating in team colors, advises HGTV. Sixty percent of a room's color should be the dominant/bright color, 30 percent the secondary color and 10 percent an accent color. For example: The wall is the bright color, bedding is the secondary color and accessories such as throw pillows, picture frames or chairs are the accent.

Contact Susan Pierce at spierce@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6284.

Upcoming Events