In this Oct. 24, 2015, file photo, Tennessee linebacker Jalen Reeves-Maybin (21) and defensive back Cameron Sutton (7) close in on Alabama wide receiver Calvin Ridley (3) in an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2015, in Tuscaloosa, Ala. (AP Photo/Butch Dill, File)Poor Cooper Brooks.
Because his father bleeds Alabama Crimson and his mother's blood runs Tennessee Orange, the 6-year-old kindergartner at Bright School is stressing out more than most over this week's Alabama-Tennessee football clash at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville.
"Cooper's trying to figure all this out," said his dad, Nathan, who owns the Red Bank Athletic Shop. "I'll dress him in an Alabama shirt and hat, then his mom will have him wear a Tennessee T-shirt. It's bound to be confusing."
Said Cooper's mom, Christel, with a laugh: "Nathan's just trying to brainwash him, but it isn't going to work. Deep down, we both know Cooper's a Tennessee Vol through and through."
Welcome to "Family Feud Week: Bama-UT Edition," where even kinfolk in the Chattanooga area are sharply divided over whom to root for during the traditional "Third Saturday in October" showdown between the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide (6-0, 3-0 Southeastern Conference) and No. 9 Tennessee Volunteers (5-1, 2-1). The 99th meeting between the two will kick off at 3:30 p.m. Saturday and be shown on CBS.
"I definitely had a strange path to being a Bama fan," Nathan said. "I was born in Dalton (Ga.) and raised in Lookout Valley, but I pull for the Tide. My grandmother was a diehard Alabama fan, though, and I guess because of that I've always liked them."
Conversely, Christel grew up in Soddy-Daisy, where, "my whole family was for Tennessee. We went to games and bowl games. The Vols are the only team I've ever followed."
Until three years ago, the Vols were also the only college football team Jake Shuptrine, the son of noted artist Alan Shuptrine, followed. Then the Baylor School graduate received a full-ride Presidential Scholarship to Alabama, where he's an engineering major.
"I was a diehard Tennessee fan," said Shuptrine, who was in the fifth grade the last time the Vols beat the Tide in 2006. "My dad would flip out every time UT won, he was so happy. Our whole family's always pulled for Tennessee.
"But the first week I was on campus, I immediately converted. You can definitely feel the vibe around (Tuscaloosa). If we lose a game, the whole campus is down in the dumps. No one throws a party. Everyone's into the football team."
Yet when it came time for his younger brother Ben to choose a college last year, he picked Tennessee.
"As soon as I walked on campus, I felt the atmosphere of Big Orange Country," said Ben, who plans to major in art. "The minute you see that sea of orange walking into Neyland Stadium, you understand what college football is all about."
David Bradley, who owns the College Station sports apparel outlet at Hamilton Place mall, said the Vols' accomplishments this season speak for themselves with the Big Orange fan base. While Alabama and Tennessee merchandise are clearly his top two sellers, he said the Vols - even after their double-overtime loss last Saturday at Texas A&M -have surged ahead of the Tide at the cash register this season.
"It's not even close. Tennessee's fans are just so excited to be winning. Even after the A&M loss, the team and the fans seem so confident," said Bradley, adding that no Vols fan "is dreading this game like some other years."
A few miles away in Kimball, Tenn., Hibbett Sports manager Josh Long said, "Our traffic is practically 50-50 between the two schools, and those are the only two schools we sell."
Noted Bradley: "Let's just put it this way: I'd be out of business without those two teams."
Neither Christel Brooks nor the Shuptrine brothers expect to be out of zingers if their favorite team wins.
While Nathan Brooks said, "I'm a much better winner than loser," Christel was quick to note that if Tennessee wins, she'll let her emotions go.
"Anytime Alabama's playing anyone but Tennessee, I'll root for them," she said. "But he won't do the same."
Of course, a few minutes later she added: "Even Nathan's pulled for Tennessee a few times this year, though. He says it's hard not to root for them as hard as they've played this season."
While Jake Shuptrine admits to feeling "a tiny bit of conflict" over rooting for the Tide to roll over the Vols, he also said he has already planned his postgame words to his brother if Alabama prevails.
"Hopefully we'll meet up right after the game, right about the time I'm lighting a victory cigar," he said. "And with my cigar in my mouth, I'll put my arm around him and say, 'Maybe next year.'"
Countered Ben: "When UT wins, he's going to hear about it every single second of every single day. I'm going to text him 'How about that game?' every single day until next year's game."
So far, every Alabama-Tennessee game in the young life of Cooper Brooks has ended with the Tide on top, their series winning streak now at nine games. Not that his mother believes that has swayed her son's loyalties. Describing the new home the family is building, Christel said of Cooper's bedroom, "It will be smokey gray with UT orange trim."
But just in case you think that signals which way the youngster is leaning, when Cooper was asked which team he intended to root for Saturday, he slyly said, "Whoever wins."
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com.