At 8:22 Tuesday evening, a hot sun still somewhat hovering over Finley Stadium, the temperature still stubbornly registering 86 degrees, the Flag Czar waved his giant Chattanooga Football Club flag as he had not waved it all night.
Then again, for the first time in this National Premier Soccer League playoff game between the Chattanooga FC and its Nashville counterpart, the home team was in the lead, 1-0, thanks to a penalty kick by Leo De Smedt.
So the Czar, who answers to Topher Kersting at his day job as an E-commerce consultant, waved “Gramps” – the 9-by-16-foot flag attached to a 15-foot pole – as festively and furiously as possible, the rest of his Chattahooligans cheering section voicing its victory chant in full throat.
“I just took over this job this year,” Kersting said a few minutes later during halftime. “It’s a big responsibility. On a night like this it isn’t hard at all, but if it was raining or windy it might be different. I lost three pounds at one game this year.”
The CFC lost more than that against Nashville. It lost a chance to advance to the second round of the playoffs in New Orleans on Friday. It’s believed to be the club’s earliest playoff loss ever.