Friday, February 27, 2009

Van Chancellor's Comedy Hour

As the seconds tick away from me calling it a day a presence larger than yours truly casts shadow over the desk. Not a shadow of "doubt" but one of "we need a huge favor from you". With the constant maintenance of the O.T., the sports guys and gal didn't staff the LSU Women's basketball game against their rivals from Rocky Top. Turns out it was bigger than they thought. So with some hesitation I loaded up the CRV and made my way to the House the "Pistol Pete" built.
Little did I know that I was going to be entertained by some amateur comedian. Turns out that comedian was Van Chancellor, the women's basketball coach. Now keep in mind he just coached his team through physical contest against one of the premier programs in the country. Fresh off an impromptu victory lap across the arena he sits down, kicks the feet up, and starts whaling away. Naturally he answers the easy questions about the game but the reporters across the table are salivating for the perfect quote to splash across the airwaves. All this while he has the entire room slapping themselves silly while he's delivering one funny moment after another. So as he delivers his spiel he turns towards me and asks, "Are you from Tennessee?" I tell him no and he's thankful. "Good I didn't want to offend anybody". So the questions keep on coming...

Reporter: "Coach (Pat) Summit says similar situation two young teams but Coach Chancellor did a better job coaching his team..."

Chancellor: "Who said that?"

Reporter: "Pat Summit."

Chancellor: "Oh lord, she's the greatest con person in America. (room's laughing) Oh Lord. If she was in Starkville she would say the same thing about Shannon Fannie. I like Pat she is a sweet woman."

At this point I start looking around to tip my server at the comedy club. Turns out that he's always like that. Whether it's regular season, post season, practice. Yes we're talking about practice. Just don't worry about the game the highlight of the evening comes during the post game interview. Mr. Chancellor if this coaching thing doesn't work for you there's always the Apollo Theater, did you know?

No comments: