Aug. 18, 2005 | Photo Essay

I had a real thrill earlier this week — that's right, I had a real blast, even more than the winners of my annual Meet Dickie V Contest, John and Becca Uthlaut of Tennessee. This is the fifth online trivia contest I have sponsored through my Web site.

I had the opportunity to share time with the Uthlauts, residents of Lookout Mountain, Tenn. — and what a duo they are! For anyone who has doubts about young people and their beliefs, they should spend a moment with Becca and John. My wife and family were so impressed with them.

	Dick Vitale hosted the winners of the Meet Dickie V Contest, Becca and John Uthlaut of Tennessee.

The Uthlauts graduated from Covenant College, a private Christian college in Georgia. John grew up in Charleston, S.C., with a loving family. His brother, David, whom he spoke about passionately, is a graduate of West Point and currently is serving in Iraq. The family is so proud of his sibling.

It is a special family, as John talked about his mom and dad, about his father's work ethic, which taught him so much about life. Then there is Becca, who grew up in Sarasota, Florida, and took advantage of this trip to see her mom and dad. What a beautiful young lady; her father is a minister in town, and he has instilled the right values in his wonderful girl.

She reminded me of a young Julia Roberts!

The Uthlauts stayed at the beautiful Ritz-Carlton. Our trip included a visit to St. Armand's Circle on the first night of their visit. My daughter Terri, her children Sydney and Ryan, my wife, along with my buddy John Stote (chairman of the board of The Rock, the basketball company), his brother Billy and his beautiful wide Patty joined us. We had great Italian food and heard story after story.

It was great to see this young couple in their early 20s, celebrating their first year of marriage, sharing their thoughts about the sports scene. John is an avid baseball fan who also loves college hoops. He was thrilled to see his Yankees play, and he doesn't get that opportunity often. I teased him that my seats aren't that good.

The next night, he had the thrill of a lifetime. My seats are right next to the visitors' dugout, and his eyes lit up when he saw Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter, Joe Torre and Co. The Uthlauts were a foot away from the players, and the cameras were flashing as they took lots of pictures.

John Franzone of the Devil Rays' front-office staff, one of the best marketing men in baseball, made the night even more special by providing a bag of goodies, including hats and baseballs.

The Uthlauts also had their names in lights on the scoreboard, hailing their success in the Dickie V trivia contest on my Web site.

It was really special, and I was so impressed. I told them they should stay in touch. They have everything going in the right way. As the contest has done in the past, meeting the winners was a chance to share time with some sports junkies.

These fans have allowed me to make the living I have. I get a big thrill every year, probably a bigger thrill than they do.

They also joined us at our house and met my daughter Sherri and grandchildren Connor, Jake and little Ava. It was a family gathering, and they were family people.

It was simply awesome, baby!

Dick Vitale coached the Detroit Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979. Send a question to Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.