This is an easy time to get excited about sports.
Your March Madness bracket was either shot or you somehow knew that Texas Tech was going to have the best defense since O.J.
Major League Baseball started. The Masters is this week. The NFL draft is coming to Nashville. The Derby is around the corner.
Jay GreesonIt's even an easy time to understand how sports are going beyond box scores and baselines, considering the legislation in Tennessee expected to be voted on today. Today, there are proposals in the state House and Senate about legalizing online sports gambling.
But that's big-picture, statewide stuff.
For the first time in a long time, Chattanooga became a sports town, a professional sports town.
Keep the minor-league jokes to yourself. Saturday night was great for our city - close to 13,000 folks paid to watch professional sporting events in a baseball stadium or at a soccer field.
For comparison, that's very close to the number of fans Saturday at the Pirates-Reds MLB game, which was not that far from the NBA's Nets at Pacers on Sunday.
The events - 4,129 fans at Fort Finley for a Chattanooga Football Club 1-0 win; 3,527 fans at Fort CCS for the Red Wolves' 1-0 win in their United Soccer League League One debut; and 5,008 at Fort AT&T for a 6-5 Lookouts win - were hits and a kick. (Sorry.)
This healthy turnout could be attributed to the simple truth that movie theater tickets are through the roof or rain-induced cabin fever is driving people out at the first sight of clear skies.
Still, there might be some broader implications. Let's explore.
First, all of those teams are competing for our entertainment dollar, like the movies, restaurants, comedy clubs, concerts, etc. During the spring, the edge goes to sports in those competitions.
Can these teams continue this? It's difficult to know, considering that when the summertime heat goes up attendance goes down and when football, not futball, is the topic, we become singularly focused in the South.
Equally important, Saturday's Chattanooga turnout puts a different spin on competition for new facilities around town.
The Lookouts have made it known they want a new park, and they want taxpayers' help.
The Red Wolves have made it known they are are going to build a new stadium. They just have not made the location known yet.
While the CFC has not announced any intentions on relocating, you have to believe they have their eyes open.
Does fan interest and support nudge the conversation along about whether we should consider help in funding those new facilities?
Maybe not. A legitimate question could be raised: "Well, how bad is your current home if you have 3,000, 4,000 or 5,000 fans attending now?"
So let's enjoy the ride and the spring.
The Lookouts are back - kudos to the Chik-Fil-A coupon promotion for home games when Lookouts pitchers strike out 10 or more - and are exciting. Soccer is new and familiar at the same time.
Game on, friends.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.