Cavalier Corner

wahoo nation MARK SMITH you almost had to go from the bottom to the top to appreciate it. Virginia alumnus ('85) still recalls something that hap- pened during the 1994 football season like it happened yesterday. "Three friends and I went to Shreveport for the Poulin Weed-Eater Bowl," Smith said. "I was wearing a shirt, asked for an alternate route. They took down four bar- riers to get us to the game. She asked me, 'What would happen if we don't make it?' And I said, 'We'll lose. player, the Cavaliers still beat TCU, 20-10. "I've only missed one football game since Despite the fact Smith was a fan and not a '" 1981 and I've only missed one of 13 bowl games [in which UVa's played], ite victory was the first over Florida State. "The greatest moment was the three weeks in baseball and men's basketball. And he's traveled to Omaha for the College World Series when Virginia played there in 2009 and 2011. "I'm a huge baseball fan, Smith is a season-ticket holder for football, " " Smith added. "My favor- 1990 when UVa was ranked No. 1 in the country. Those were the three greatest weeks of a foot- ball fan's life. The Smith family: from left to right, Leslie, Lisa, Mark, Lori, Libbie and Lucy. PHOTO COURTESY TOM VEAZEY named Direct Impressions, Inc. in Richmond] and thrive on competition. Competition drives my life. is designated for the Friends of Baseball. When I was a student at UVa, the baseball team was a glorified high school team. There were aluminum bleachers and they used a relief pitcher to hang numbers on the scoreboard. "Now, to sit in a first-class stadium [Davenport Field] which seats over 5,000 and play in the best conference in the country and to be ranked No. 1 in the country, " Smith said. "My donation tion for college baseball players. But the 2011 Super Regional at Davenport, Iowa, provided Smith with a lasting memory. "We had to win to get to Omaha," he said. "We were Obviously, the CWS provides the ultimate competi- " "She got on the radio and said she had a player and ' Even though baseball is Mark Smith's passion, the Smith was succinct when asked what impresses him the most about Virginia's baseball program. "[Head coach] Brian O'Connor," he said. "He brings " an air of professionalism as well as an air of class and quality. jeans and a football helmet. The cab driver asked me, 'Where to?' And I said, 'The football game and I have to play. But there's a more subjective reason why Smith is such a big fan of UVa baseball. "I'm a career-long baseball player, " high school baseball and I played softball until I was 42. And I'm a career-frustrated basketball and football player. "But I'm a career salesman [he owns a company " he said. "I played down, 2-1, in the bottom of the ninth against Cal Irvine with two outs and two strikes on the batter — and we came back to win, 3-2. "There was a single, a hit batter, a pinch-hit single and Chris Taylor's two-run single that won it." CAVALIER CORNER ◆ AUGUST 2012 ◆ 21

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