Her alarm clock hitting 6 a.m. Saturday, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga senior softball player Alyssa Taylor rose to call her father, Rob, hoping to receive a pep talk about driving in snow and ice. Never mind that her father lives in Orange County, Calif., where it was all of 3 a.m. Pacific Standard Time.
“I love snow,” she said. “But driving in it scares me to death. So I called my dad for a pep talk. ‘Just tell me I can do this,’ I said.”
But why the panic before the dark of night could give way to pale gray morning skies? Could this call not have waited until at least 6 a.m. PST? After all, hadn’t UTC canceled all athletic events Saturday in response to the below-freezing temperatures and the potential for heavy ice and snow?
That depends on whether you would label a fundraising breakfast an athletic event. For though every UTC sporting event involving referees and scoreboards was called off except for the women’s basketball team’s game at Samford, Taylor and the rest of coach Frank Reed’s 15th UTC softball team defied Mother Nature long enough to host the annual RBI Club pancake breakfast event Saturday at the Applebee’s restaurant inside Northgate Mall.
“It’s always fun to get to meet and talk to people,” fellow senior Criket Blanco said as she made sure cups of coffee were warmed up. “We look forward to this every year.”
Said Reed: “It’s a great opportunity to talk to our supporters about more than softball, to get to know them better. My number-one goal every year (at the breakfast) is to shake everyone’s hand and thank them for being here before they leave.”
The fundraising breakfast has been going on for a decade or more, Applebee’s generously furnishing the food and the dining room as long as the Mocs agree to serve those who attend. According to the RBI Club’s Mike Burke, the $6-a-plate event typically raises between $1,200 and $2,000 when additional donations are thrown in.
The weather threatened to diminish that amount this year, but Burke explained there was no way to reschedule, given the restaurant’s conflicts and the closeness to UTC’s season start on Feb. 12 at the NTC Tournament in Clermont, Fla.
“It had to be this morning,” Burke said as a small but steady stream of boosters continued to arrive past 9 a.m. for the 7:30 to 9:30 breakfast. “Frank kept calling me asking, ‘Do you think we should cancel?’ and I kept saying, ‘You’ve got nothing to worry about.'”
If Reed’s assessment of his team is right, Mocs foes may have a lot to worry about this spring.
“I can’t remember the last time I had this much talent,” he said. “We’ve got good backups at every position. My biggest concern is how we play when we start filling out the lineup card and some are playing and some aren’t.”
Added Blanco: “It’s really exciting. We lost some really good players, but we got some really good players to replace them.”
It’s an exciting time for UTC athletics in general. Maybe the most exciting time ever, what with football and men’s basketball suddenly as strong as men’s wrestling, volleyball surging, tennis and golf at or near the top of the league and women’s basketball and softball always SoCon title threats.
“I remember when it was just (former women’s basketball coach) Wes Moore and me winning championships,” Reed said. “Now you’re seeing it across the board. And I think it’s contagious. I think it’s really contagious with the athletes.”
Said Taylor of the momentum generated by other sports: “It makes you want to do well. You want to keep it going. It seems like every single team is winning championships.”
The winning alone is not what led 60-year-old Ralph Dockery to crawl out from under the warmth of his blanket or three a little after 7 a.m. to become the first fan to reach Applebee’s.
“I’ve always loved baseball and softball,” he said. “I played on a state championship baseball team at Trion. But a big reason I come is because the players are awesome, just great girls.”
Of course, at least a few came mainly for the food, including 11-year-old Jay Wales, whose sister Jesslyn Stockard is a Mocs first baseman.
The drive looking a bit iffy, Jay had to convince his mother that they still needed to make the trip in from north Georgia.
“I was hungry,” young Wales said.
How hungry?
“I ate six pieces of sausage.”
Longtime UTC supporter Bob Maffett wanted to make sure that Applebee’s and not Burke was preparing the sausage and pancakes.
“You’re not doing the cooking, are you?” Maffett said with a grin, as he slowly handed his money to Burke, who was wearing a chef’s apron.
Assured that he was not, Maffett said, “Then I guess I’ll eat.”
It was all enough to make any UTC fan proud, this surprisingly large gathering on an icy morning that begged the Scenic City to remain under voluntary house arrest. But it’s what brought the biggest smile to Reed that all Moc Maniacs should feel best about.
“What I’m proudest of,” Reed said, “is the athletic department’s cumulative GPA of 3.113. That’s really what all of this is supposed to be about.”
And that’s an accomplishment worth supporting in any kind of weather.
Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@timesfreepress.com