Battle at Bristol and the 15th Anniversary of 9/11

From time to time, you find yourself caught up in an event you recognize as pretty significant. That was me at the Battle at Bristol on September 10, 2016.  It was a football game between the University of Tennessee and Virginia Tech, held in the Bristol Motor Speedway, in Bristol Virginia. It was the largest crowd to ever attend a football game. It was also the 15^th Anniversary of 9-11. It was worth attending because my son, Chad invited me to join him and my grandson, Shepherd. I couldn’t say “No.”

The significance of this “Battle” escaped few people. It was an event that might make history books, at least for a few years. It wasn’t a “Super Bowl” where the winning team will be remembered for 50 years or a Presidential Election, or even Lunar Landing. It was an anniversary of a tragic event and a football game attended by a lot of crazy fans. It was Big and it was noteworthy!

So what went down?

First, this football game was held in Bristol, Tennessee at a Speedway. It had to be retro-fitted to accommodate a football game. There was a speedway between the field and spectators. There was a 700 ton Jumbo-Tron referred to a “Colossus” that hung over the field for spectators to view field activities, such as the coin-toss with Peyton Manning, the singing of the National Anthem with Jennifer Nettles, and game re-plays. Although you could see “play” on the field, Colossus was a “hit” because it added much to the experience of the game. It was a whopping 63 feet wide and 30 feet tall. So, the venue was unusual because it was in neither Knoxville nor Blacksburg. The stadium was in itself an attraction.

Though it was not an SEC Conference game, it was an important game for the teams and coaches of each school. Butch Jones, coach of the University of Tennessee team had not yet proven himself as a viable coach in the SEC. He needed wins. For those of us who are UT fans, 2 quick touchdowns (plus extra points) by Virginia Tech in the first quarter made us wonder about even attending this event. Who likes to loose, even if it is an historic occasion? Thank goodness, in the second quarter Tennessee made three touchdowns (plus extra points) and a field goal, for twenty-four points. In the third quarter J. Dobbs connected with A. Kamara with a pass and Virginia Tech had a field goal, making the score 31-17. In the fourth quarter both J. Dobbs and J. Kelly ran for touchdowns (with extra points) and Virginia Tech had a touchdown and good kick, making the final score 45-24. It was said to be sharper than the typical HDTV. But, this football game was only part of the event.

It was also the anniversary of “9-11.” As such, it was a special landmark or memorial to an event that changed the thinking and history of a nation. It needed special recognition. And for the 15 years that has passed, we took note. This crowd got it. We are Americans; we honor our military. We are patriotic. Though we may not always respect our political leaders, we respect those who put their lives on the line to keep us safe and free. The sacrifices of many needed honoring. Half-time was pretty much devoted to honoring the brave Americans who have sacrificed so much.

It fact, honoring Americans was done throughout the night. It actually began with the National Anthem, sung by Jennifer Nettles acapella. We had red, white and blue flip-cards to do two “card stunts” for television viewers. When the cards were flipped, they revealed long red and white strips along with white stars on a field of blue. As all of this occurred a huge American Flag was stretched over the field. At the end of our Anthem, there was a C-5 Galaxy flyover. If the Star-Spangled Banner didn’t make you emotional, the visuals and fly-over surely did. Did I mention, there were fireworks? Well, add that to the mix. If you missed it, Goggle it, listen to Jennifer Nettles and be inspired by a crowd that was totally into it.

During the half-time show Lee Greenwood sang, “God Bless the USA.” There were fireworks again as the band paid tribute to our American military services. These were powerful moments for those of us in the stadium. (Again, Google ‘Lee Greenwood at the Battle of Bristol,” listen and watch the fireworks.)

It was also significant that in the second half, game organizers announced that paid crowd attendance was 156,990 people, beating the previous record of 115,109 people at Michigan Stadium in 2013. That game was between Michigan and Notre Dame. Beating the previous record by 41,881 is no small feat. It was obvious that this was an enormous pro-Tennessee crowd at several points. One was just prior to the first play. The noise was almost unbelievable. I’m not certain, but I think time was taken for the crowd to quieten a bit in order for Virginia Tech players to hear their quarterback. During the first quarter, crowd noise was a significant issue, if you do not count the jarring boom of Virginia Tech’s obnoxious cannon on unsuspecting Tennessee fans.  But in the following quarters, if you were a Tennessee fan, the numerous rounds of “Rocky Top” made up for the cannon booms experienced in the first. Given the crowd size and venue, “Rocky Top” never sounded better. The sea of orange never looked better.

What was the coolest thing about all this? My son, grandson and I were eye-witnesses to this monumental event. You could see his mind clicking into higher gears as he witnessed the swelling crowd enter the stadium and fill to capacity. And when our team scored, and everyone was giving high-fives and hugging everyone around us and us too, how could you not notice. There seemed to be no strangers among all these strangers. Yes, the fun of it was seeing his face light-up like Christmas lights on a tree to sparkle throughout the night.

What was not so great? The 3 hours on a two-lane road in bumper-to-bumper traffic. Shepherd didn’t let it bother him though. He slept most of the distance to our hotel an hour and a half away.

Scripture

John 2.1-12 – The wedding reception at Cana where Jesus performed his first recorded miracle.

Luke 9.10-17 – Jesus fed the 5000 people who were following him to hear about the kingdom of God.

Acts 15.1-18 – The Council in Jerusalem recognizes the grace of God is available to all people.

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