The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga's annual Blue-Gold spring football game was still more than 30 minutes away Saturday afternoon at Finley Stadium. Despite a blue sky, soft breeze and temperature in the 70s, the place should have been as empty as a politician's promise.
In fact, because of that it should definitely have been empty. The allure of playing golf, watching golf at Augusta National, tennis, boating or spring foliage surely was stronger than sitting through Mocs versus Mocs.
But there stood 8-year-old Amy Yamashita, new flip-flops on her feet and a broad smile on her face as her brothers played nearby.
"I get to see everyone having fun," she said as she looked out over a Davenport Field filled with youngsters running and tumbling and throwing everything from Nerf footballs to real footballs to Frisbees at the conclusion of UTC's clinic for kids.
"I'm having fun," her 5-year-old brother Sky added.
"Oh, this is great," said 11-year-old brother Tommy, a fifth-grader at Arts & Sciences. "I want to be a fullback, but I loved interacting with the quarterbacks."
To be fair, the Yamashita children can interact with the Mocs almost any time they choose. Their father, Masa, is the school's executive chef and thus oversees the training table for the athletic department.
But it wasn't just them. Nine-year-old Trey Vincent was there with his father, Bobby, who went to UTC with second-year Mocs coach Russ Huesman.
"I'm more of a Tennessee Vols fan," said Trey, though he was wearing a Mocs T-shirt. "But UTC's my second favorite team."
"Russ has done a tremendous job of getting the community back behind the program," Bobby said. "I can't remember the last time I went to more than maybe one game a year before last season. But we went four times last year and we'll be back this year."
As Vincent spoke, Jamon Bass walked by his wife, Anneka, and their three children: Deshaun (5), Kaylah (3) and Caitlin (1). Bass played defensive end for the Mocs in the late 1990s. He works for the city of Chattanooga.
"I've always gone to games," he said. "But the old regime wasn't as alumi friendly as the new one. They're really reaching out to the old lettermen now. It's good to see the program finally doing well. It's great to be a Moc."
It was apparently so great that nearly 2,500 people eventually joined the Yamashitas, Vincents and Basses at Finley to cheer the Blue and the Gold, or the Blue and the White as it showed up in the game program. The White eventually won 21-20, all the points scored in the opening half.
Huesman delivered the line of the afternoon when he was asked at halftime by the Voice of the Mocs, Jim Reynolds, if we could expect to see 41-point halves once the regular-season kicks off against Appalachian State on Sept. 4.
"Not without me jumping off a bridge," deadpanned Huesman, who built his reputation as a defensive coach.
The defense is going to be OK, of course. So is the offense, especially now that quarterback B.J. Coleman has been reunited with defensive back turned receiver Joel Bradford, who caught seven balls for 144 yards and a touchdown Saturday to reprise the pair's outrageous success at McCallie School.
"It's fun, seeing all these people," Coleman said. "The fan support was amazing today. What's most fun, though, is that I don't have to go against our defense again until August."
All of this defies logic, of course. Fun and spring football games are supposed to go together like Fords and Chevys, Tiger and marriage vows, Limbaugh and Obama. The Mocs have played more than a few regular-season games the past decade that haven't drawn 2,500 fans.
But UTC is no longer like most schools. Athletic director Rick Hart brought inflatable slides and jumping boxes for the children to enjoy Saturday. The school gave away 500 hot dogs and Coke products during the clinic. More impressively, the athletic department had every student-athlete write members of the Mocs Club during the winter to thank them for their support.
"We had some expenses," Hart said of the spring game. "But the return, seeing all these people out here enjoying themselves, is definitely worth the little bit we spent."
The game over, Huesman scanned the crowd and said, "This is pretty cool. But I kind of expected it. Everywhere I go people are talking about UTC football."
And when nearly 2,500 people are willing to do more than talk about the Mocs on a perfect April afternoon, just imagine how fun Saturdays could become this autumn inside Finley.
It might even be enough to make the Tennessee Vols a few Chattanoogans' second favorite team.