More recognizable than the tantalizing smell of smoke drifting from the concession-stand grill or the sound of pads popping as players collide, Jackie Russell’s distinctive voice again will let fans at Copper Basin know that another high school football season is set to kick off tonight.
Like countless other mapdot towns throughout Tennessee, Friday night games in Copperhill are as much a community event as church on Sunday, and when Russell welcomes both Cougars fans and the visitors from Whitwell tonight, it will mark the beginning of his 41st season as the public address announcer.
“Growing up in the area, he’s all many of us know as the voice of Cougar football,” Copper Basin principal Jared Bigham said. “My earliest memories are of him calling games with that booming voice. But it isn’t just his voice, it’s his professionalism.
“What separates him from a lot of other announcers at other places we go is that he doesn’t get overly excited for Copper Basin or root for the team when he’s on the mic. He just calls the action, who carried the ball and who made the tackle and lets the players have the spotlight.”
A three-sport athlete in high school, Russell played on the first consolidated team at Copper Basin in 1956. He earned a scholarship to play receiver at Furman University, and once he returned to his home community, he immediately began supporting every athletic team the school had.