It's easier to feel like a part of something when you attend a school- UT students. Also, UT has been around forever and is established as a state representative, so I understand the passion. The Titans may establish that status in the future, but for us older guys, they're still the Houston Oilers.
I'm a semi young guy and I look at them as the Houston Oilers. Steve McNair was one of the toughest human beings on the planet but Eddie George curling up in the fetal position every time Ray Lewis talked shit to him made me dislike the whole team.
I can't say I remember anything about him playing other than the card I had. I did enjoy watching Carl Pickens with the Bengals
That game was two shitty teams playing to their level of shitty-ness Have you ever read the book "Badasses"? It's a sort of biography of the Raiders in the '70's.
One more reason I could never really cheer for the Titans: Jevon Kearse. I despised him at Florida and then he came to the Titans and was a freak too. He was amazing in his prime, but I could never get over his time at UF. Petty? Probably so.
It's nice to not have any NFL allegiances. I go with a "fluid fanhood" approach. I basically just root for whatever team appeals to me in any given year. It could be because of former Vols, or it could be for some entirely different reason. This year I'm thinking about getting on board with the 49ers because of my homeboy Randy Moss. But then if it turns out they suck real bad, I'll just pick a different team. It wouldn't be called a "fluid fanhood" approach if it wasn't fluid.
So you enjoy being a part of the fanbase with the highest percentage -- and by a good margin -- of obnoxious pieces of sh!t? Would you consider yourself an obnoxious piece of dogsh!t?
Exactly where I am on it, Kid. College games all affect Tennessee in some way, so I'm always wanting someone to win or lose, but I specifically don't have a favorite NFL team for that same reason. I can just enjoy the games, and root for who / what I like in the moment, or for a few seasons.
Did you say, meow? Do I look like a cat scooting all nimbly-bimbly up a tree? Do you see me eating mice?
That's sort of how I am. I'm for Vols players first then and whatever non-Vol players and coaches I like. The Titans had a chance to attract my fanhood, but as has been mentioned, I had and still have no interest in rooting for the players on the Titans' roster. They're either guys I cannot embrace, like Betty George, or players that just don't interest me. Oddly though I liked The Freak.
I was a bigger Titans fan when I was younger and they had guys you could actually cheer for. The early 2000 Titans like McNair, Dyson, Rolle, Bishop, Wycheck, George, Mason, and those guys. The 2008 Titans should have won the Super Bowl in my opinion. Interesting note for you guys. I have always been a UT fan, but the first season that I can really remember paying attention to every game and watching every game was 2004. We have sucked since then to. Until then, I had always watched the Titans a little closer until that season. Sigh Quick story- Back around 2002-3, my parents were re painting the house, and my mom decided she was going to paint my room UT orange, well at the time, the Titans were playing really good ball and I was following them more closely, so I threw a fit and wanted my room painted Titans colors. She told me then that I would appreciate it being orange in a few years, and oddly enough I did. She always told me that I would end up liking UT way better than I did the Titans and she was right.
I was born in Wisconsin, so I'm one of the few here that has a longer attachment to their NFL team than Tennessee (though my Vol fandom is very strong after 25 years) and am lucky to have a team that's about as close to a college atmosphere and following as is possible. Still, I can't watch too much of the NFL and, just to add on to others, the NFL preseason is the biggest scam running in all of sports. I, foolishly, bought tickets to the Packers-Titans preseason game a few years back. I then watched Favre direct a TD drive in his one series and then 3 1/2 quarters of DeShawn Wynn running off-tackle. Utterly mind-numbing boredom. I feel the same way when watching one of the 5 million NFL shows on ESPN and elsewhere. I can't even stomach those anymore; the talking about nothing for months on end. Why people watch NFL preview shows in June is beyond me.
