Earlier this summer, Mom won two tickets to yesterday's big game against the Indianapolis Colts. Mom was kind enough to give them Dad and I so we could attend the game yesterday afternoon.
This is the second time I've been to a Titans game live and in person. They've not won either time I've been. (Didn't mind as much the first time as they played the Redskins, my all-time favorite NFL team). At this point, I figure Jeff Fisher is working on a way to ensure I never go to a game again since it's obviously all about me.
And even though we didn't win, I still enjoyed the experience of going to the game.
I was decked out in my Titans' t-shirt, Titans' hat and had my Walkman radio so I could hear the Mike Keith calls on the radio. I was ready. I also had a small pair of binocolars that Dad loaned me to
check out the cheerleaders keep up with plays downfield. We parked not too far from the stadium (parking up close is reserved for season ticket holders who have promised to donate an organ should the team need it during the season...) which was nice. It was a great afternoon for a game--sunny, not a cloud in the sky and not too warm. Very pleasant to be out. We stopped the Purity booth where they were giving away free samples of their new Titans Touchdown Sunday. (Which is really quite good and worth a try if you've not had any yet!) We got into the stadium and were handed a sheet of trading cards. I assume that many of these are now available for sale on E-Bay even as we speak.
We entered by the south end zone and one of the program sellers was kind enough to point us in the right direction of the north end zone, where our seats were located. We walked around to them, passing the swarm of fans in the Titan's pro shop who were spending money on anything and everything with Titans on it. We finally worked our way around to the seats, which were just great. About 12 rows up, on the left side of the uprights for the goal posts. I was near some of the flameheads, and one of the guys you sometimes see on TV who has his face painted and a headdress to look like the Titan's sword logo.
We arrived early enough so I could visit the facilities, get some food and head back to my seat. Got back just in time to hear player introductions and the pre-game festivities.
One cool thing...the Titans were honoring the 101st Airborn Division from up at Fort Campbell yesterday. We had a B52 flyover after the national anthem was sung by Michael W. Smith.
The crowd had filled in and we had a good time. One guy near us was pretty critical of the refs, (we all were, but he took it upon himself to ask if Vegas had paid them off after several bad calls...he wasn't beligerant or rude. He just expresed himself). I high-fived it with several people around me after big plays and was repeatedly asked to repeat things I'd heard on the radio play by play. All in all, it was a good time and the stadium was rocking...well, at least until the fourth quarter when our injuries caught up to us and we let the Colts score 21-unanswered.
But, as I said before, it was a ton of fun. The crowd was a record-setting one for a Titans' game. So, if you wanted, you could have been part of two record-setting crowds in the state this weekend...pretty cool. I admit that going to a pro game is an entirely different atmosphere than college, but both are still fun. I think I'm fortunate that I wasn't near what I refer to as "butt-head fans"--namely those who ruin it for everyone by being over the top. Yes, I admit I was amused by a women a few rows down and to the right who apparently wanted to be a cheerleader but hadn't made the cut, but overall, it was a nice crowd.
I just wish the Titans had pulled off the win. That would have made a great day perfect.
Oh yeah, and I wished I had thought to myself--sunscreen would be a good idea. Yes, the day was not blazing hot and there was a breeze, but I swear there's something about stadiums that just intensifies the sunlight and heat. I wasn't overly warm, but I did get sunburned.
Ah, the prices we pay for fandom...
posted by Michael Hickerson at 9/20/2004 12:44:00 PM |
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