Pat Summitt Isn’t Afraid of a Little Rabies

Pat Summitt, the legendary and legendarily good women’s basketball coach at the University of Tennessee, has always frightened me because deep in my heart I know she’s more man than I’ll ever be. Just watch her at courtside and tell me you don’t think her piercing stare would actually raise welts on your skin, or that she couldn’t chop wood at a rate that would cause most fit men to stroke out and die. She is a great coach because she understands the game of basketball and teaches it brilliantly, but her ability to look like wrath in an orange pantsuit doesn’t hurt, either.↵↵She’s tough enough to reverse the normal order of guardian/animal protection, as well. Normally, it’s your dog that protects you from wild animals, but with Pat Summitt, she’s the one who shields her dog from potentially rabid attacking wildlife (emphasis ours):↵

↵↵⇥The winningest basketball coach in NCAA history has had problems with her right shoulder since dislocating it while chasing away a raccoon poised to attack her Labrador. The attack came near her home on March 5, just days before the Southeastern Conference tournament.↵⇥↵⇥A month later, Summitt guided the Vols to their eighth NCAA title.↵⇥

↵↵Pat Summitt: not scared of rabies, success, or coaching with a dislocated shoulder. She’s looking at you right now wondering why you aren’t at the gym and/or writing the great American novel and/or starting a Fortune 500 company and/or fighting wild animals with your bare hands. She won’t stop until you give her the 110 percent she deserves. GO!↵