Flag Day has long been designated as June 14. But there is an exception.
Anytime Lindsey Nelson Stadium is open for business is also Flag Day. And business could be booming again this weekend when Tennessee baseball hosts a best-of-three series against Evansville in an NCAA super regional.
You can’t miss the flag waving if you look toward the stadium’s left field porch seconds after a Tennessee hit soars out of the park. At Lindsey Nelson, “goodbye, baseball,” also means “hello, flag.”
As a UT player rounds the bases at a home run pace, a fan can be seen waving the state flag on the porch. The home run flag waving is relatively new, but it already has become a Tennessee tradition. UT players notice it. So does UT coach Tony Vitello.
Sometimes, the flag is waved by Tennessee superfan W. Lynn Hatcher.
I entered the stadium with him earlier this season when he had the flag in hand. As he toted the 6-foot flagpole up the porch steps, he was wearing a coonskin cap, which was large enough to cover the Vols baseball cap he got at a Johnny Majors golf tournament years ago.
The coonskin cap and pole suggested he was ready to hike the Appalachian Trail, rather than execute a task as significant as honoring a Tennessee home run.
Hatcher isn't just a flag waver. He’s the flag founder.
“I got a stick out of the wood and attached the flag,” Hatcher said. “That was in 2005.”
The flag didn’t make its stadium debut until 2019. It was adorned with an orange shaker, which was held in place with duct tape at the top of the flag pole.
Hatcher hasn’t been the sole flag waver. Former UT basketball player John Fulkerson took his turn when the Vols were slugging their way through the regional.
Fulkerson watched all three days from the left field porch. However, he didn’t transition from spectating to flag-waving right away.
“I wasn’t experienced at waving the flag,” Fulkerson said in a deadpan tone. “But I watched the other guys do it for the first two games.”
Then, after an early Tennessee home run Sunday, Craig Jenkins – the porch’s game manager – turned to Fulkerson and said, “Next time, Fulky, you get to wave the flag.”
Jenkins even offered instructions: “Go slow and go in figure-eight motions.”
Fulkerson played for coach Rick Barnes, so he knows how to take instructions. He followed Jenkins’ advice and performed accordingly. And just like that, the 6-foot-9 Fulkerson became the tallest person to wave the state flag at Lindsey Nelson Stadium.
Ramona Fulkerson, Fulkeron’s mother – or as he calls her, “Momma Fulky” – got to wave the flag, too. The way Tennessee has been hitting home runs, Fulkerson should have brought along a couple of cousins for flag-waving opportunities.
His cheerleading efforts didn’t go unnoticed. They were highlighted on both the SEC Network and ESPN.
“As soon as I did it, my phone blew up with like 30 text messages from people,” Fulkerson said. “And the SEC network tweeted out the video."
The flag has become a highly visible reminder of the state of Tennessee baseball. This team already has broken the single-season school record – set just two years earlier – for home runs. The Vols have totaled 159 home runs, one more than the 2022 team hit.
If they keep winning and homering, they could end up with the second highest home run total in college baseball history. LSU holds the record with 188 home runs in 1997 when NCAA baseball allowed for an even more hitter-friendly, super-charged aluminum bat.
The left field flag-waving also serves to accentuate what a vibrant venue Lindsey Nelson Stadium has become. Tennessee keeps setting attendance records – thanks, in part, to fans who have become so passionate about the program they don’t mind standing.
Next season, when stadium renovations further increase the seating capacity, the school will break more attendance records. The noise level will increase, too, though opponents might question how it possibly could be any louder.
ADAMS:Tennessee baseball consistency under Tony Vitello distinguishes it from most programs
Tennessee fans pumped up the volume in Saturday’s victory over Indiana, prompting a reporter’s question about crowd noise in the postgame press conference.
“I felt like I was a football coach when the quarterback couldn’t hear the play call,” Vitello said. “It was pretty cool with the crowd interfering with the PitchCom − and the technology we use to communicate − and putting pressure on the pitcher.”
The noise could make things tough enough for opposing pitchers. It’s probably just as well they don’t look to the left field porch as a Tennessee batter circles the bases.
No pitcher wants to see his mistake punctuated with a giant flag waving in the background, especially when the flag waver is 6-9
John Adams is a senior columnist. He may be reached at 865-342-6284 or john.adams@knoxnews.com. Follow him at twitter.com/johnadamskns.
