Adams: Firing up for a major barn burner

You probably would have thought the worst. Maybe a tragedy had occurred, and there had been an overflow of refugees outside the arena.

Back then, Thompson-Boling on game night had all the atmosphere of an empty warehouse. Now, it's the Warehouse That Roared.

You can't call it "The House That Bruce Built." You can call it "The House That Bruce Brought to Life" in men's basketball.

And it was never more lively than Tuesday night when coach Bruce Pearl's Vols upset the Florida Gators 86-76 before a sellout crowd of 24,047.

The Vols made 66.7 percent of their field-goal attempts in the first half, hit 58 percent for the game and forced 20 Florida turnovers. They led by as many as 27 points in the second half before the defending national champions provided the slightest hint that they're the top-ranked team in the SEC.

The buildup for UT's biggest night of the season began Monday when UT students began positioning themselves for a race to the best seats.

It wasn't that long ago when you could show up 30 minutes before tip-off and get a good seat for a UT basketball team. Now, students are showing up the night before.

But this wasn't all about the students. The alums did their part, too.

Former UT quarterback Peyton Manning, who led the Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl championship earlier this month, delivered the pregame speech. Based on UT's 50-31 first-half lead, Manning obviously can motivate as well as he passes.

"His talk was quite simple," Pearl said. "He talked about this (past NFL season), and the difference for him. What he learned most about this year is you've got to trust your teammates.

"I thought our team trusted each other. The effort was something special."

But not even a Super Bowl-winning alum could upstage a basketball coach on this night. And I'm not just talking about Pearl.

You already knew Tennessee had one singer in its basketball family. Pearl's daughter, Jacqui, proved it again with her singing of the National Anthem.

But Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt can hit the right notes, too. On the first timeout, Summitt and her assistant coaches -- all dressed in UT cheerleader outfits -- took center stage.

It was Summitt's way of returning a favor to Pearl, who painted his torso orange and led cheers for the Lady Vols when they played No. 1-ranked Duke last month.

Summitt's singing of "Rocky Top" wasn't her most impressive act of the evening. After winning six national championships and more than 900 games, she can still fit into a college cheerleader's uniform.

She originally planned to wear a sleeveless top just like UT's current cheerleaders. But she had a good reason for wearing an older version of the uniform.

"I couldn't breathe (in the sleeveless top)," said Summitt, a former junior high school cheerleader. "I couldn't believe how tight they were.

"Those cheerleaders must weigh like 50 or 60 pounds. Eighty max."

Never mind the costume. Summitt is always comfortable on center stage.

She sang her way to courtside, where she delivered an orange-and-white, feathery hat to ESPN color analyst Dick Vitale. Then, hoisted off the floor by assistant coaches Holly Warlick and Dean Lockwood, Summitt led a UT cheer.

All the while, Summitt was thinking, "I can't fall. If I fall, I can't coach."

"Dean promised, 'Coach, you're not going to fall,' " Summitt said.

Summitt's response: "If I do, you're fired."

Properly motivated, Lockwood held up his end.

So did the Vols.