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How a typical ‘grip and grin’ photo opp morphed into the ‘Throwdown in Morristown’ is a sweaty tale of two mayors.

One willing participant and one claiming to have been tricked teamed up with partners to battle it out on one of the new pickleball courts at Morristown Landing Recreational Sports and Event Center Wednesday evening.

Hamblen County Mayor Bill Brittain and City of Morristown Mayor Gary Chesney were paired with skilled pickleball players Pam Evens and Roni Snyder to highlight the growing sport in the local community. The match was held just days after the Pickleball Slam was broadcast on ESPN, featuring tennis greats like Andre Agassi and John McEnroe.

“Pam’s been talking about this being a dream of hers. She’s a great Pickleball player,” Snyder said. “She plays a lot of tournaments. She’s earned a lot of medals. She’s only been playing for a year and a half; she’s a tremendous player.

“She wants to grow the sport and has been talking about ‘Wouldn’t it be great to get the mayors to play and learn Pickleball?’” Snyder said. “Bill Brittain’s been great, Gary’s never, ever played – and they were willing to do it.”

“I’ve been playing with Bill at Talley Ward,” Evans said. “So, I’ve played with him for several months. I’ve never met Gary, but I’ve heard what a good fella’ he is.”

“What a great promotional thing for the sport, to get the two mayors together.” Snyder said. “It’s been on ESPN, it’s growing in our community, too.”

“We want everybody to give it a try,” Evans said. “They would love it if they’ll just try it.”

“We don’t really care who wins or loses, Snyder added, “We just want to have a good time and help people understand that Pickleball is not just about the sport, it’s about the socializing, the exercise, the laughter. If you watch people out there, everybody smiles. It so fun. It takes you back to being a kid.”

Prior to the ‘Throwdown,’ Brittain, who played tennis in his college years, was asked if he planned to take it easy on Chesney.

“I have played before, I do have that advantage,” Brittain acknowledged before gesturing to his opponent and saying, “This was a college baseball player, and left-handed; he’s a super athlete.”

Chesney’s noted his advantage on Wednesday as being a ‘surgically repaired’ knee.

There may have been subterfuge with regard to how the ‘Throwdown’ was put into play, according to Chesney, who said Evans and Snyder initially posed the question: “Would you like to come for a picture?”

“Well, if you ask a mayor if he wants to show up for a picture, he’s going to say ‘absolutely!” Chesney said.

Evans and Snyder suggested Chesney dress like he was going to play pickleball, to make the photo seem authentic, then slyly asked if he would ever consider playing Brittain, which led to Chesney saying he might, which then led to him being assigned a partner and instructed where and when to show up.

Chesney’s partner turned out to be Snyder, a former ace tennis player, who was drawn to the sport of Pickleball around the time that Evans became interested.

Morristown Landing General Manager Steve Eaton, who has managed a variety of events over his career with Sports Facilities Companies, said he had never imagined such a match as the ‘Throwdown.’

“It reminds me of Jimmy Connors and John McEnroe, to be honest with you, back from my generation. This is amazing,” Eaton said.

The Landing has seen an outpouring of interest in Pickleball from the local community.

“As soon as we opened the doors, the courts were full of folks wanting to play pickleball. It’s the fastest growing sport in the country,” Eaton said.

Early into the ‘Throwdown,’ Chesney served a left-handed ace that flew past Evans, leaving her with a genuine look of surprise. With softly voiced instruction from Snyder, he returned serves and chased down the bright orange plastic balls with enthusiasm. Brittain leaned low into his approach shots – both mayors hit their fair share of balls into the net.

The biggest ‘Throwdown’ surprise was the amount of speed required to stay in play; during one prolonged ‘volley,’ the sound of the ball hitting all four paddles in succession, over and over again, was similar to a championships ping pong game.

The crowd watching was just as energetic as the players – “oohs and ahhs” over good and bad plays were followed by loud applause for Evans specifically. After she scored a crucial point against the Chesney-Snyder team, a wave swept through the courtside bleachers.

It was stated prior to the ‘Throwdown’ that the play was all in fun and no score would be kept; however, the clear winners were Evans and Brittain – although the points scored by Chesney and Snyder meant “We didn’t get pickled!” Snyder said.

A quick poll of onlookers indicated that all of the players were “doing great.”

Spectators at the ‘Throwdown’ included members of Lakeway Area Pickleball, many of whom were wearing black or gray T shirts that were printed as part of a fundraiser for Evans. She was recently diagnosed with breast cancer. The proceeds from shirt sales will help her with the expenses of treatment in Texas.

“It was important for her to do this Mayor challenge tonight,” Snyder said. “She might be sidelined from Pickleball, her favorite thing, for a while.”

Pickleball courts are offered every morning at the Landing, along with Monday and Wednesday evenings.

“We’ll keep expanding and growing our program as much as we can,” Eaton said.

Lakeway Area Pickleball has a membership of 160 players, with an estimated 40 to 60 participant in the Landing’s open play times.

Evans posted to Facebook Thursday: “Morristown sure is blessed with two wonderful Christian men as their mayors. They both went out of their way to help me get my mind off of starting chemo tomorrow! I had so much fun!” she said.

For more information about the sport, and the upcoming “Pickle for Pam” tournament fundraiser, visit the Lakeway Area Pickleball Facebook page.