Okay, I'm not gonna lie. This game at Vandy on Saturday scares me a bit. They have a solid team, they will of course be jacked up like Robin Williams on three Red Bulls, and they have that stupid stinkin' gym working for them. But I did manage to uncover a few items about the place that I hope you might find intriguing....
* The facility holds approximately 14,000 people, of which 13,988 are country music lovers.
* As freshman, all Vanderbilt players are given special instructions for locating the dead spots in the floor and avoiding the indoor air currents that are used to deflect opponents' shots.
* The playing surface is made from rejected wood that was deemed unsuitable for Cornelius Vanderbilt's coffin.
* This floor is polished with the same brand of wax paste that Kevin Stallings uses to shine his forehead.
* Vanderbilt's all time leader in blocked shots, Will Perdue, proposed to his girlfriend at halfcourt of Memorial Gymnasium during the Tennessee game in 1986. She said no.
* The lights are dimmed during game play to give AJ Ogilvy a more dramatic background for his frosted tips.
* Former Kentucky player/athletic director and former Vanderbilt coach, C.M. Newton, was once quoted as saying the place smelled a little bit like a pair of his old Chuck Taylor All-Stars.
* After beating Vandy on a last second runner in '98, Kentucky's Nazr Mohammed fell from the court, breaking his leg. He then shouted "Sic semper tyrannis" before hobbling to the locker room.
* Nashville locals often refer to the gym as "The Lil' Opry".
* A 2002 facility renovation, tabbed at $25 million, did not expand the women's restroom facilities. In fact, no public arena ever has enough women's restroom facilities. Federal law.
* Memorial Gymnasium-- the building itself-- hated Saul Smith, too.
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