The Charlotte 49ers' six seniors and their senior team manager were all recognized Thursday night during Senior Night activities following the loss to George Washington.
However, coach Bobby Lutz had one more senior to recognize on Saturday. Following Charlotte's regular-season finale win against St. Bonaventure, Lutz took the microphone on the court and thanked the fans in attendance and offered words of encouragement as Charlotte heads to the Atlantic 10 conference tournament next week in Atlantic City, N.J.
Then wrapping up, he asked for one more senior to join him on the court - his daughter, Natalie, a senior at Central Cabarrus High. Natalie, her sister Christine, and mother Janet, are regular fixtures at Charlotte games, sitting behind press row at Halton Arena.
Although a busy high school athlete in her own right, Natalie has never missed a Charlotte home game since her father was named head coach in 1998. Natalie will likely have to break her streak as she heads off to college this fall. She has narrowed her choices to Texas and Florida.
Natalie was obviously caught by surprise and started tearing up as she made her way to the court, where her father presented her a bouquet of roses. It was an unexpected and special moment, shared between father and daughter but witnessed by 49ers fans.
Suddenly, a very difficult and disappointing season didn't seem so bad after all.
- Jim Utter
Saturday, March 3, 2007
Lutz's special thanks to a special fan
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5 comments:
Maybe im a sucker for mushy stuff, but I did get something in my eye last minute there.....
She HAS missed home games at Charlotte. Perhaps during Bobby's days at Pfeiffer? Gotta get the story straight.
It would be nice if readers actually READ the article. Utter said that she hasn't missed any home games since he took over at Charlotte. The previous comment "perhaps during Bobby's days at Pfieffer?" doesn't seem to apply, does it?
I think it would be fitting that, since his daughter will no longer be able to attend his games, Bobby resigns from his head coaching position.
And it would be nice if you understood. She HAS missed home games WHILE BOBBY WAS HEAD COACH AT CHARLOTTE, due to her own athletic committments.
What Bobby himself said was that she never missed a home game while he was at Pfeiffer.
Again, let's get the story straight.
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