Tennessee Titans!!!

Last Sunday, I took J.P. to his first Tennessee Titans game.  The Titans were playing the Washington Redskins and although I'd pretty much decided to wait until next season to take him to a game, the weather was so nice - unseasonably warm with the temperature in the low 70s at game time - I couldn't resist the temptation to give him his first taste of professional football, live and in person.  As we left the house and fought fairly heavy traffic for the short drive to the stadium, I think I was more excited than he was.  Kickoff was set for noon and my plan was to stay at the game through halftime, then get J.P. home in time for his afternoon nap.

We arrived at the parking lot in time to visit briefly with our tailgate gang - Peter Klett, Dave "Big D." Stansell, Stuart Scott, et al.  J.P. loves to see "Pedro" (Peter) and "Mr. Big D."  While I got our gear together, he walked around in the back of my Yukon, checking things out.  I had packed an Umbro bag with diapers, a change of clothes and a snack for J.P.  I was a little concerned, because I didn't know if the security at the stadium would allow me to bring the bag inside.

It was a bit of a haul to get to our gate from where we parked, especially since J.P. insisted I carry him.  As we got closer to the stadium and then, our gate, it got more and more crowded.  I wasn't sure how J.P. would handle the crowd, but it didn't seem to bother him.  As we waited in line at our gate, he just held on to me, his arms around my neck, taking it all in.

Inside, he enjoyed the long escalator we took up to our seats in the club section.  I held his hand as we walked side by side down the concourse, until we stopped at a concession stand and bought a hamburger, french fries and a bottled water.  We stopped by the windows in the inside lounge area and watched the Air Force jets do a flyover.  Then, through the door and to our seats we went, arriving right after kickoff.

Mark (Puryear) was already in his seats with his son, Michael.  They grinned at us as we made our way down the aisle to our seats.  Over the past decade that the Titans have been in town, we've gotten to know the people that sit around us.  They're kind of like our "football family" for eight Sundays every fall.  I was a proud papa, as they patted me on the back, said hello to J.P. and held their hands out so he could "give them five."

The crowd was boisterous, cheering loudly, but J.P. didn't seem to mind a bit.  He sat in my lap with a clear view of the game.  Initially, instead of clapping, he waved in the direction of the field, first with his right hand, then with his left.  I leaned a little closer to him and realized he was saying, "Hi football players!" while he was waving.  Very funny and very cute.  Early in the first quarter, the crowd exploded with cheers when the Titans' Marc Mariani returned a kickoff for a touchdown.  We stood up and J.P. clapped excitedly.

When we sat down again, J.P. alternated between eating french fries, drinking bottled water and climbing in and out of his seat.  He was perfectly content and seemed to be enjoying himself.  "Man, this is going to be easy," I thought.  "Maybe we'll stay for the whole game."  Not so fast.  With about five minutes left in the first quarter, J.P., turned to me and announced, "I'm ready to go home, daddy."  Oh, boy.

I was determined to stick it out for the entire first quarter, which we did.  After that, we went inside and visited a souvenir stand near our seats.  I bought J.P. a Titans football and a small Titans helmet.  We walked around a bit, then I introduced J.P. to the wonderful world of "Dippin' Dots."  We sat on a couch and watched the game on television, while J.P. ate "Dippin' Dots" and played with his football.  At halftime, we left, walked to my truck and drove home.

Overall, a successful and memorable day and one I'm guessing we're going to repeat many, many times over the coming years.