Viral Dancing UT Couple Shares the Story of Their First Date at Neyland Stadium

Chester and Betty Hood returned to the place where they shared their first date, and unexpectedly danced their way into the hearts of Vol Nation.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Long before Chester and Betty Hood captured the internet’s attention by waltzing inside Neyland Stadium, the iconic venue played host to another unforgettable moment in their lives: their first date.

The couple met on a blind date at a Tennessee football game nearly 50 years ago as the Tennessee Volunteers were taking on the Auburn Tigers.

A couple they both knew helped arrange the date. Chester worked with the husband, while Betty worked with the wife, who knew Betty was a Tennessee football fan.

“We just kind of hit it off,” Betty said. “We both enjoyed football games, and we’re both big Orange fans.”

They continued attending games together that season before expanding their dates beyond Neyland Stadium and exploring more of East Tennessee had to offer.

“We were made for each other,” Betty expressed.

The blind date proved to be a successful one. The pair married in 1978 and have now spent 48 years together.

Knoxville Was Home

Betty was born and raised in South Knoxville and taught at Young High School, South Junior High School and Bearden High School.

Chester, from Pulaski, Tennessee, attended the University of Tennessee, where he studied electrical engineering and computer science. After the couple married, he moved to Knoxville, began working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory and completed his master’s degree.

Through every chapter of their lives, their love for the University of Tennessee remained.

“We bleed orange like a lot of the UT fans,” Betty said. “It doesn’t matter what sport, really. We’re big Lady Vol basketball fans and baseball fans. It’s just part of life, I guess, once you’ve been there. It just means a lot.”

The couple later welcomed two sons, whose bedroom walls were even painted orange and white. Although neither ultimately attended UT, Chester said they both received strong educations at major universities and made their parents proud.

When asked about the secret to nearly five decades of marriage, Betty’s answer was simple.

“Just keep talking,” she said.

Chester agreed, emphasizing the importance of communication, sharing with one another and discussing the advantages and disadvantages of any major decision before making it.

Two Free Dance Lessons Later

Although Neyland Stadium brought the Hoods together, ballroom dancing did not become part of their love story until much later.

About five years ago, the couple attended a church friend’s birthday party at a dance studio. As part of the celebration, they received two free dance lessons. (Which we think is the coolest party favor ever!)

Neither had much dance experience, but they decided to give it a try.

“We said, ‘If we like it, we like it. If we don’t, we had two free lessons,’” Betty recalled. “The rest is history. Here, five years later, we’re still dancing.”

The Hoods learned several styles of ballroom dance, including the waltz, tango, foxtrot, rumba, cha-cha and hustle.

They initially planned to dance only for fun and had no intention of competing. However, with encouragement from Lily Elkin, their instructor and the owner of National Dance Club, they entered their first competition within a year of beginning lessons.

The couple has since earned several first- and second-place finishes and is preparing for its fifth showcase, which pairs music with routines developed by a professional choreographer.

Betty said dancing has pushed both of them outside their comfort zones while providing physical, mental and social benefits.

“You have to think about what you’re doing,” she said. “You’ve got to learn the patterns. It’s physical. Some days, we come out of a lesson sweating. It’s a well-rounded program.”

The couple also recommends ballroom dancing to other couples looking for a creative date night. Many studios host couples’ nights, themed parties and social dances for singles and couples alike.

“You meet a lot of really nice people,” Betty said.

The Neyland waltz seen by millions

During a recent Tennessee football game, the Hoods’ two great loves, Vol football and ballroom dancing, came together.

With Tennessee comfortably ahead on a hot game day, many fans had already left the stadium. As the Pride of the Southland Band played the “Tennessee Waltz” following the victory, Chester and Betty began dancing in the nearly empty stands.

“There weren’t many people around at all when we first started waltzing,” Betty said. “The band was playing, and most everybody had gone home because the game was so hot and we were so far ahead.”

The couple noticed two people filming them, but they did not realize how widely the moment would soon be shared.

Betty learned the video had been posted after a friend’s daughter spotted it online and passed it along. The clip later reached the SEC Network, where views doubled and they became an even more viral sensation.

It was not the first time the Hoods had danced to the “Tennessee Waltz” inside Neyland Stadium. They had done it once before, Chester said, when the weather was cooler and fewer people were recording everything on their phones. (We sense a tradition coming on...)

This time, however, millions of eyes watched as they twirled through a stadium that had witnessed the beginning of their story nearly half a century earlier.

Lily Elkin, the Hoods’ instructor and owner of National Dance Club in Franklin, said she watched the video begin gaining attention after another ballroom dance teacher recognized Chester and Betty from a competition.

“When I first opened it, it had just started growing,” Elkin said. “Then I saw that the SEC Network picked it up, and it was just really cool throughout the weekend to see how it trended.”

Elkin believes the video connected with viewers because it brought together “three tiers of love”: Tennessee football, ballroom dancing and the Hoods’ marriage.

“Their love started at UT, and football kind of holds it all together,” she said. “Then, of course, just seeing two people in love dancing and knowing they met on a blind date is also super cool.”

Ballroom dancing has been part of Elkin’s life since childhood. Her parents were instructors, and her grandfather owned the National Dance Clubs group of studios. Although she initially studied biology and planned to pursue a different career, she eventually returned to the family business. She and her husband, Caleb, took over the Franklin studio about a year and a half ago.

The studio offers private and group lessons in several partner-dance styles, including the waltz, tango, foxtrot, cha-cha, rumba, swing, salsa, country two-step and more. Partners are not required, as individual students can dance with an instructor.

Elkin said she hopes the Hoods’ viral moment inspires others to finally take the dance lessons they have always wanted to try.

“I’ve never met someone who, when I tell them I teach ballroom dance, hasn’t said, ‘Oh, I’ve always wanted to do that,’” she said.

Who knows? You might just gain national attention for your moves, too.

For Chester and Betty Hood, Neyland Stadium is more than the home of the Volunteers. It is where their love story began, and where, nearly 50 years later, Vol Nation fell in love with them.