When Joseph Korenblit jogs onto the turf to take his spot in the McCallie secondary for Thursday night’s BlueCross Bowl state championship game, his loudest cheering section won’t be heard from inside frigid Finley Stadium.
Rest assured, though, he’s aware they’re watching and admitted he can feel their support, even from more than 4,300 miles away.
Dozens of family and friends, scattered throughout Bordeaux, France — a city renowned for its wine — will be intoxicated by the excitement of watching Korenblit live out an unlikely athletic dream when he tries to help the Blue Tornado knock off rival Baylor and repeat as TSSAA Division II-AAA champions.
Although it will be 1 a.m. in France when the game kicks off at 7 p.m. in Chattanooga, Korenblit said a list of night-owl supporters have reached out to remind him they will be watching online and cheering.
“When the game is over, I will go to my phone and check messages, and I already know that my dad will be the first one to text to tell me he’s proud,” Korenblit said. “He does that after every game, just to let me know he was watching me. That means a lot, just to know they are so proud for me that they would stay up late and watch.”