Twas a cold and blustery night

It was easily the worst conditions I've ever seen a game Driving rain.    Temps hovering just above freezing.  Strong winds. 

I'm talking about the Alcoa football championship game.  Man, it was cold.  Twice, we had lightning delays.

Let me back up a minute.  I had the privilege of assisting my colleague and Alcoa High Head Athletic Trainer Peggy Bratt during that memorable game.  She returned the favor when she joined me on the sidelines of Maryville High's game the next day.

While not nearly so wet, it was just as cold.   Still, nothing met the miserable conditions found on Friday evening when Alcoa took the field. 

At times on Friday, our primary concern was hypothermia.  Really.  The players on the field did OK, since they were generating some body heat while playing.   The biggest problem they had was their hands.  It seems like nothing we could do would keep their hands warm.

The players on the sidelines, soaked to the bone by halftime, could only stand there and suffer.  I stood with Alcoa Athletic Director Josh Stephens and one of us muttered "this is miserable" every few minutes.   And it was.

Yet, as the game wound down and the rain came harder, the joy of a state championship seemed to overcome all the discomfort.   I don't recall being as miserable when the game was finally out of reach.  Such is the joy of victory.

So when I went back with my own team the next day, the somewhat colder but immeasurably drier conditions didn't seem so bad.   My only concession to a wind chill factor of about 22 was ear covering in the second half.  Layers are everything in cold weather.

And when the "mercy rule" went into effect, I don't remember being cold at all.  The culmination of almost 20 weeks of practice had paid off for these young men and their coaches.

I am often asked what the secret is to the success of these Twin Cities Titans (yeah, that's my answer to the search for a moniker).  Everybody has an opinion--mine is a little tilted by perspective.

Let me offer what I think both teams have.  Heart.  Great coaches.  Discipline.  Commitment. Execution.  Good athletes.  Tradition.  Expectations.  Work ethic.  A swagger, if you will.

When either Maryville or Alcoa take the field, opponents don't exactly tremble but they do have doubts.  And when Jaquez Tyson runs for 8 yards every time he touches the ball and there is nothing you can do about it or when John Garrett tosses a touchdown or runs for 20 yards just when you think you've got him...well it breaks your spirit if not your heart. 

Sure, the coaches approach the games a bit differently.  Alcoa will play with more emotion while Maryville will bring a surgical cunning to the game.  Both result in an intensity that nothing if not intimidating.

In his pre-game chapel before Maryville headed to Tennessee Tech's football stadium, Bubba Hooker said that the key to this team was faith, hope, and love.  

Faith in your teammates and coaches.  Hope that leads to ambition.  Love for each other that transcends sport but results in stellar performances.

Yeah, it's all that too.