Pat Summitt shows soft side (honest!)

Posted on April 29, 2009 by Cynthia Moxley
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Ninety-one-year-old Mary Ellen Allen was only 5-foot-2 but she played basketball in elementary school, high school and two years of college. Wednesday, the Jacksboro woman fulfilled one of her dreams when she got to meet Lady Vols Head Coach Pat Summitt.

Summitt was the keynote speaker at the American Heart Association‘s “Go Red for Women” lunch at the Knoxville Convention Center. For a Mothers’ Day present, Mrs. Allen’s two daughters, Peggy Allen and Debbie Chambers, had purchased tickets to the lunch and Peggy Allen accompanied her mother, who is in a wheelchair, to the event.

After Coach Summitt finished her remarks encouraging the audience to eat healthy and exercise (Summitt works out six days a week), Peggy Allen stood up from a table near the back of the room. “My mother is 91 years old and it would mean so much to her to meet Coach Summitt,” she said, as the room fell into a hush.

Coach Summitt didn’t hesitate. She literally ran through the audience to Mrs. Allen’s wheelchair and began asking the senior citizen questions about her basketball days.

The meeting ended with many wiping away tears.

Now that’s a champion.

Coach Pat Summit chats with Mary Ellen Allen

Coach Pat Summitt chats with Mary Ellen Allen

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15 Responses to Pat Summitt shows soft side (honest!)

  1. Maria M. Cornelius, on April 29th, 2009 at 5:41 pm said:

    Sweet story. Thanks for posting w/ photo. Pat Summitt has a real soft spot for senior citizens. (So, hopefully, Mox got some love, too. 🙂 )

    Reply
  2. Diana Morgan, on April 29th, 2009 at 5:59 pm said:

    Whenever Pat Summitt talks about her childhood on the family farm, she humanizes a legend. How many of you know that she milked cows morning and evening when she was a kid?

    Reply
  3. Cynthia Moxley, on April 30th, 2009 at 7:12 am said:

    Very funny, Maria.

    Reply
  4. Jenny Hines, on July 7th, 2016 at 11:43 am said:

    Well, you left this CPA crying. Now my mascara is running and I have to meet someone for lunch…..

    Reply
  5. Cynthia Moxley, on July 7th, 2016 at 12:05 pm said:

    Aww. Sorry, Jenny. I know what you mean, though. Pat was so kind.

    Reply
  6. Annette Winston, on July 7th, 2016 at 12:37 pm said:

    There has never been and never will be another Pat.

    Reply
  7. Katie Kline, on July 7th, 2016 at 1:11 pm said:

    I wondered what you could possibly write about Pat that hasn’t already been covered. And as always, you did it. Nice story.

    Reply
  8. Cynthia Moxley, on July 7th, 2016 at 1:20 pm said:

    Annette: I agree.

    Katie: Thanks so much.

    Reply
  9. Cile Mathews, on July 7th, 2016 at 1:26 pm said:

    Wonderful story about a wonderful woman who will be missed by many.

    Reply
  10. Cynthia Moxley, on July 7th, 2016 at 1:27 pm said:

    She certainly will be, Cile.

    Reply
  11. Alan Carmichael, on July 7th, 2016 at 1:30 pm said:

    That’s the kind of person she was.

    Reply
  12. Diana Salesky, on July 7th, 2016 at 7:30 pm said:

    Beautiful, Cynthia. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  13. Cynthia Moxley, on July 7th, 2016 at 11:56 pm said:

    Thanks for reading the Blue Streak, Diana.

    Reply

  14. Pingback:The Pat Summitt Suite: beautiful and beneficial - Blue StreakBlue Streak

  15. Carol, on July 8th, 2021 at 9:05 pm said:

    I remember when Pat started. Being a kid who played 1/2 court Pat quickly became my favorite. Well when my daughter was coaching BB at her high school she contacted Pat about coaching her Elite BB camp. Pat asked her to come to camp which she did for 10 years. This was a favorite JOY of my life.

    Reply

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