South Pittsburg Football Team Enjoys Fans at Practice

South Pittsburg, TN-(WDEF-TV) South Pittsburg always enjoys big crowds for their home football games, and they even draw a crowd for practice. The Pirates practice field runs adjacent to a community road, and South Pitt fans are free to roll up to check in on the team.

Reporter:”How long has this been going on?”
Said head coach Vic Grider:”I mean it has been this way forever. I’ve been here 30 years, and this has always been kind of the norm. Our people want to see our football team. The fact that we have not started school yet, so we’ve been practicing at six o’clock pretty much every night. People are kind of looking for something to do at night. We’ve had several nights when there were 50 or 60 cars down here watching practice.”
Said running back Hunter Frame:”A lot of these cars are just family members from our teammates and everything, but even most of them are fans that just come out here to watch us every day.”
Said Grider:”They bring their lounge chairs. Sometimes I’ll see some ladies over there with some reading material. You know you’ll see some guys with a cold beverage. Whatever that might be. That’s just kind of part of it. It’s just a daily routine, and it’s apart of a lot of our people’s daily lives is to come watch football practice.”
Reporter:”Do people drive by and roll down their window?”
Said lineman Jared Stone:”All the time. Hoking horns. Yelling and everything.”
Reporter:”What do they normally yell?”
Said Stone:”Go Pirates and go get’em.”
Reporter:”Dog ever gotten loose out here?”
Said Grider:”Oh yeah. That’s a pretty common occurrence here.” (laughter)
Reporter:”If you are a kid out here and your mom and grandmother is out here watching, you better not slack off.”
Said Grider:”Lot of pressure. I’ve seen grandmothers charge the field before. But no.(laughter) I’m kidding.”
Reporter:”Do you ever worry about Marion County fans driving down this road?”
Said Grider:”I’ve developed a pretty good eye over the years of knowing our people and who they are, and who is supposed to be here, and who is not. (chuckles) We kind of joke about it sometimes and out other coaches call me paranoid because I’m always looking around to see who is here. The fact that our people are willing to come and sit for two and sometimes three hours. A lot of times in the hot sun to watch practice. Kind of lets you know what our football program is about.”