But if you do not want to sit out in the cold Friday evening (though I would
love to see the game!) you can come down to the Tivoli and hear the
Chattanooga Girls Choir sing their Holiday Concert.  The singing begins at
7:30pm.


Cecelia M. Wigal, Ph.D., P.E.
UC Foundation Associate Professor
NSF Scholars Program Director
College of Engineering and Computer Science
The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Phone: (423) 425-4015
Fax:   (423) 425-5229

-----Original Message-----
From: UTC Staff E-Mail List [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of
Kim Edward Renz
Sent: Thursday, December 18, 2003 8:16 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: [UTCSTAFF] Let's talk football, tomorrow, at the game.


Dear friends and colleagues,

Who is in town tomorrow? Somebody told me there is a big championship
football game tomorrow. Y'all goin?' Ought to be fun. I don't have a dog in
this fight, but I will jump onto my SOAP BOX. You probably think of me (I
hope) as the guy who talks about the Arts all of the time. Well, I did not
brake any bones onstage.

Did you know that the Vols are not playing for anything but money and a
higher ranking? Those Hairy Dawgs have been outsold over two to one,
because they lost the SEC championship game (whine). The Tide, well, I am
not too sorry for my friends with elephants; they have plenty of trophies.

Have you been a champion, ever seen a championship game, experienced the
level of excitement you cannot get at a bowl game? We should be supporting
the I-AA too, since we did create this stadium so we could bring this kind
of event. If you went to the first River City Classic at Finley, don't you
wonder why that is not every week? So who cares that Georgia Southern is
not here? If you are in town tomorrow, go to the Pavilion, spend a couple
dollars, then watch Colgate play Delaware for a championship.

Why Colgate? Not that long ago Colgate had one of the the worst teams in
the history of college football. That is not hooey. I cannot imagine anyone
who wants a football championship trophy any more than Colgate. Gee, do you
think they will play hard?

I read a recent e-mail that asked us to be good hosts. We cannot be good
hosts if we don't support the event. Do we want Finley to fail? Hello!! We
are trying to renovate, to build, to bring in more industry, more high-tech
corporations, more regional conventions, more overnight tourists. Think
about it this way. How many of us would rather put money into Chattanooga
and Hamilton County than Knoxville or Athens or Tuscaloosa? Honestly, did
you or will your kid play football for the Vols, or anywhere else in
Division I-A? Then if you are a football fan, why not put some of that
effort into your own city!

And while we are at it, let's help Allison and the Mocs turn it around the
rest of the way. We may be somewhat embarrassed that UTC alumnus Terrell
Owens is a bigger spectacle than a winner; is he also to be our football
legacy?

Challenge: How many local players could stay here and play at the I-AA
level? Hey, does anyone out there believe that Gerald Riggs, Junior would
not have been the biggest fish ever to swim in this pond, rather than a
third-stringer with bad wheels who may not even play a down in the NFL? Who
can tell me what Junior's major is? I hope his father has prepared him to
look for a radio gig.

If you don't go to see local games because the team is not winning, don't
just say the coach is no good, the players aren't talented enough. What do
you do to help? The easiest way to start is to actively participate as
audience. Trust me, I can honestly say an active crowd helps one perform,
partisan or not! Who wants to come play for a 2/3 empty stadium when he can
go somewhere that has a real fan base? Why do we hear about Middle
Tennessee State beating Memphis and not the Mocs? Why are they I-A? They
put butts in the seats. Knowing a city cares makes a huge difference to an
athlete in a team sport, which is so much driven by attitude.

Think locally!! Why doesn't the management at Finley make 10,000 comp
tickets available to pee wee, junior high and high school football players
and coaches from our area for every game? Do you want to create some
awareness and some goodwill? Will a few parents not buy a ticket or two?
You are going to sell concessions, are you not? If we ever really start to
support the stadium, maybe we can sell those tickets. In the meantime,
let's be creative. It's only a white elephant if we let it be.

When was the last time you saw Jeff Lebo or Wes Moore's teams at the Arena?
We are a hair's breath from the 1996-7 season. Remember that? Hey, if that
team beat Illinois and Georgia, who knows? From what I've seen they were no
more talented than this group. The women beat Mississippi the other day!!
Champions, champions, champions....  Have you ever played softball? The
Lady Mocs go to the tournament every year. And how many conference
championships can Bill Gautier's track and cross country teams win before
someone says, "Hey, they are winners?" Maybe we can support that program so
he can stop worrying that it will be cut?

I am not generally a rah-rah kind of guy. I would rather live in
Chattanooga than in New York, London, D.C., Los Angeles, Atlanta, New
Orleans, Charlotte or Miami. And not because I think we have more to offer.
But if we don't fight to keep what we seem really good at creating, like a
Spring Fling, a women's conference basketball tournament, or a I-AA
championship football game, what makes us think all of this development
will make the Aquarium, the Hunter Museum renovation, the Southside
projects, etc. profitable in less than 15 years. And if we want to make
downtown "the place," we'd better "re-place" some more evening energy
downtown. WalMart is the place to be after 10:00.

Tell you what. somebody find me a partner with the guts to help bring in
B.B. King and Emanem for a concert after next year's I-AA Championship
game, and we will rock that stadium!! But we had better not lose the game
this year. Hey do you have tickets to Kid Rock? I hear he mixes genres.
We'll talk music later.

We can start right here and make a big difference. Who's in? Turn off the
doggone tube, meet me at to tailgate. I'll be easy to spot, the lonely guy
in the Mocs jacket. Okay, maybe Coach Allison will join me.

If this e-mail has shaken you, please be reassured. Call me about tickets
to a Patten Series performance, and I will happily tell you all about our
incredible spring and sell you tickets to a show or four (or five) that
will restore your faith. Watch for updates more in line with what you have
come to expect.

Happy Holidays.

Kim Edward Renz
Patten Performances, Department 6756
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
Fine Arts Center, 752 Vine Street
Chattanooga, Tennessee 37403-2598
Office: 423-425-4379 Facsimile: 423-425-5249
[log in to unmask]     www.utc.edu/finearts