The Titans Fan Base Must Evolve

The front office and head coach have made moves to make this franchise relevant again.  The Titans 2015 draft class has the most upside in the history of the team.  They have a potential star quarterback, a new WR that could be the next Calvin Johnson if he has put his past in the past, and they drafted some of the biggest steals in the draft.

In free agency, they came to terms with one of the most well respected defensive coaches ever in Dick Lebeau, signed two major defensive players and Harry Douglas, who will be a very solid second wide receiver.   They made major moves this off-season.  It's time for us to get excited, and get different.

LP Field Needs a Nickname

LP Field is the worst name in the history of football stadiums.  The good thing is, as a fan base, we can change the name of our stadium without changing the name of it. We need suggestions and we need to pick one to stick with.  I recently heard "The Woodshed" on reddit and love it.  We need something.  I really don't care what it is, but no one is scared of "LP field", and I'm sure the players aren't too proud to call it home.

High Class People Who Don't Care About Football, Give Your Tickets to Someone Else

Look, I understand that going to an NFL game is a fun event for everyone and it's something fun to talk about, but if your not gonna scream, give your seat to someone that will.  I'm tired of see rich people showing up to games late and talking on their cell phones or to their significant other the entire time.  You can do that at home.  Don't bring to our stadium anymore.

Stop Being Negative

This is probably the most difficult thing for our fan base at the moment.  Everything on social media is negative and everything on the radio is negative.  Believe it or not, that attitude is contagious.  It trickles from the ones who say it first to the rest of the fan base and then to national media and other fan bases.  It's one of the main reasons our team is viewed as such a joke in the national media right now.  Other teams have sucked for a lot longer than we have and haven't been this irrelevant.  It's our fault.

Embrace Mariota

Some of you may not agree with the decision to take him in the first round of the draft, but you need to support him, and embrace him.  Go all in on this kid.  He has the potential to make us more than relevant in the NFL.  He's the most famous player we've drafter since Vince Young and he has way more potential.  Buy his jersey, talk about him, and root for him.  He's not going to have a perfect year.  Don't start calling for Mettenburger after he throws a few picks or even has a disappointing season.  It may take some time, but let him know that you believe in him.  He's going to be fine.

It's time for this fan base to make a change.  Stop being fair weather pansies and root for your team with all your heart.  The time to turn this thing around is now.

TITAN UP

Trey Frisbey
Boy Meets Sports
Twitter: @t_frisbeysports

In Memory of Stuart Scott

This past Sunday legendary SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott passed away at the age of 49 from cancer. The first thing that popped up on my mind was that I did not even know he was that sick. I remember watching him not too long ago and never knew just how much pain he was really in. Even during his cancer treatments he continued to work as much as he could. When the camera was on him he kept on his usual self like nothing was wrong. Apparently behind the scenes was a different story. When the camera was off him he would be laying down and catching a breath because he gave all of his energy in his broadcasts. He was a fighter till the end. When he was diagnosed with cancer, he never sulked around and let it beat him. He continued to live his life the way he wanted. He never knew what stage his cancer was because he did not care. He is an inspiration for others who deal with the same struggle that he was in.

I was very saddened to hear of his death because it was like a part of my childhood was gone. I still watch SportsCenter but back when I was younger I used to watch it ALL the time. I would go to bed watching the show and then wake up the next day and watch. That was the heyday of SportsCenter in my opinion. They had guys like Stuart, Dan Patrick, Rich Eisen, Kenny Mayne, Scott Van Pelt and Linda Cohn amongst others. They made watching sports cool and seemed to really enjoy what they did. This was back before there was Twitter or any form of social media and the stage looked very generic. All they did was show the highlights. That is what I think SportsCenter lacks nowadays. I do not want to hear what somebody is saying on Twitter for every single play. They seem to do that now but back then they usually just stuck to the highlights. They all brought a different element to the show and really made Sports fun.

Stuart Scott was probably my favorite of the group. He had the perfect personality to be an anchor on SportsCenter. He brought it every time the camera was on him. He said that when the camera is on you need to own the camera. Keep the viewers captivated. He did just that. His catchphrases were classic, including "Booyah" or "As cool as the other side of the pillow" or "Call him butter cuz he's on a roll". He made it fun for the young kids to watch and made it seem like me and my friends were calling the action. 

You never know how important someone is until they are gone. As soon as news broke of his death, their were many tributes from fans, athletes and even President Barack Obama. That shows just how important he was to the sports world. Rich Eisen, his co-anchor on SportsCenter for many years, gave a touching tribute to Scott. He had to fight back tears and he almost broke down a few times Many of his colleagues also broke down while remembering the man. You should check out these tributes. If you have time check out some of his work from ESPN, including the This Is SportsCenter commercials. The best one was one with him, Kenny Mayne, Keyshawn Johnson and Kobe Bryant when they were both rookies. Also check out his ESPY speech from this past July. It will make you shed a tear now that he is gone. I will have to admit that when I went to bed that night I turned my pillow over to the cool side in honor of Stuart Scott. Just paying a little respect for the legend. I hope you are in Heaven right now calling the highlights like you did so well. RIP Stuart Scott

Until Next Time,

Nathan Krispin

Boy Meets Sports

The Returns

Tonight, the NBA 2014-2015 season will tip off.  There is new hope in the league this year.  As with every sport, every team feels that they can win a championship.  Even the Hornets (who actually may be much improved) are winning fans by the boat loads with Michael Jordan taking of the Hornets twitter account calling it #MJtakover.  Hell, the guy even made me interested in the Hornets with some of the inside pictures he showed us.  The NBA is hyping up this year more than any year I've seen in a long time.  They are poised to have a big year ratings wise, and look to gain some ground on the NFL who has had a disastrous start to the season.

Picture of the Hornets locker room from #MJtakover

https://twitter.com/hornets/status/527167626586648577

One of the biggest assets the NBA has at the beginning of this season is the return of some major players.  Kobe and D-Rose are both back from injuries (hopefully) and Lebron James is returning home to Cleveland after spending the last several years in Miami.  Which star will have the greatest impact? Who will fans pay the most attention to?

The Cleveland Cavaliers have the least historied fan base of the three, but it's Lebron James.  They are undoubtedly going to get the bulk of the media attention throughout the year, and deservedly so.  The king is back.  Can he bring Cleveland an NBA championship? Is there anyone in the east who can stop of the Cavs star-studded line up?  It's doubtful.  If anyone can, it's probably the Bulls.

Which brings me to the next to return, Derrick Rose.  Rose has been out the past two seasons with damage to his knee(s).  The once up-and-coming star may have seen his best playing days pass him by all too soon.  All of the talent in the world can be dismissed by the injury bug.  Nobody wanted to see that from Rose.  He was quickly becoming the best point guard in the league.  He can pass, score, and slash.  The trio that is rare in most point guards.  Most only have two out of three in the reservoir, but Rose had all three.  We're about to see if Rose still has all three.  He's still young enough to prove to fans that he's not done, but he has to stay healthy.

The final return we're going to see early in the NBA season, is Lakers legend, Kobe Bryant.  Kobe has accomplished so much in his career, it's difficult for the average fan to be as excited about his return over the other three.  The average fan sees Kobe as a washed up, has been.  A really good 'has been', but a 'has been' none the less. Can Kobe prove the average fan wrong? Lakers' fans have no doubt in their minds that he can, but has father time finally beat Kobe Bryant? We'll find out this year.  It's do or die time.  Kobe usually does, but as the days go by, the night time creeps in.  How much longer will Kobe Bryant's light burn?

Trey Frisbey
Boy Meets Sports
@t_frisbeysports

The Monday Massacre: Sammy Watkins

I need only massacre one football player this week.  His infamous decision to begin his celebration of a long touchdown pass with a defender directly on his heels was possibly the worst decision of the year, in any sport.

If this wasn't his first offense, there's a good chance the punishment for that crime would go far beyond public humiliation.  He made himself look like a dumb ass.  Sammy Watkins, ladies and gentlemen, is the victim of my Monday Massacre.


Nothing irritates me more than show boaters that perform their show boating before they reach their goal.  Boasters have the worst karma in the world.  Everyone wants them to get what is coming to them, and they usually do. It's no different with athletes.  If you're going to celebrate scoring a touchdown, wait until you actually score a touchdown.  Almost only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades. The NFL is neither one of those.

Sammy Watkins, you have been massacred.

Trey Frisbey
Boy Meets Sports
@t_frisbeysports

The Best of Titans Talk Back: Week 8

"Titans Talk Back" is a post game show on 104.5 the zone that takes place every week after Titans games and is driven by fans.  It has become very entertaining this season.  Since the season has gone downhill, crazy, drunk fans love to call in and give Kevin, Mark, and Blaine their best stuff.  Their best is not very good, but it's ridiculously entertaining.

Here are some of the notes taken from Titans Talk Back after the loss to the Texans Sunday.  Read them as though your listening to the drunkest, most southern person you know.  Enjoy.

• Kevin Dyson starts the show by comparing Zach Mettenberger to a brand new Bently that breaks down driving off the lot.
• After Kevin's Bently comments, callers run with the metaphor and we begin to wonder if the show is about the Tennessee Titans or cars.
• Caller talks about his morning trips to the grocery store, convenient store on Sunday and how positive those trips were this morning. Now blames Mark Howard for bringing negative vibe to Zach Mettenberger's first start (and his sunny day).  Says the Titans aren't trying save the game, or season, they're trying to save the "DECADE" with Mett. I believe the caller was the famous "Phillip", who is also accused of having two identities by Chad Withrow.
• Caller blames Titans for passing on Colin Kaepernick, Teddy Bridgewater, and Johnny Manziel in the draft.  I wish this guy was in my fantasy league.
• *Token Dexter McCluster call*. Every week.
• Caller makes a reasonable and intelligent call.  Fun sucker.
• Tons of other calls that transcripts wouldn't do justice for because of how hammered they were. 
• Caller claims that Florida State quarterback Jamious Winston will be the Titans savior next season.
• Fan calls and begs other fans not to sell their tickets and allow other teams fans to come in and take over the stadium.  It's too late for that, buddy.  Steelers will be playing a home game.
• Caller contrasts Titans ownership to Muhamad Ali.  Seriously.
• Caller drunkenly bashes food at LP field.  Mark explains that it was a point of interest in the offseason and the team tried to make it better.  I've had the Chilli Pesto or whatever it's called.  It was cold an awful.

That will do it for this week's "Titans Talk Back".  The callers brought the heat today.  We'll do another edition in two weeks.

Trey Frisbey
Boy Meets Sports
@t_frisbeysports

Here Comes the Mett show

The Titans have a new starting quarterback on Sunday.  Here are the best plays of his career at LSU.

 You're an absolute clown, Mett, but please bring some of this to Tennessee with you.  We need a leader, and we need one now.  It's time to show these NFL clowns what the real clown is made of.  You're a diva, we know, but show us that the NFL quarterback can be a diva.  Show us what you have.  You have nine games.  Ready, set, go.

WWE Night of Champions Review

This past Sunday, I went to WWE Night of Champions in Nashville. I had been to a few events over the years but I had never been to a PPV event so I was pretty excited going in. It was a pretty good show and I will take a quick look at all the matches and give you my thoughts.

Goldust and Stardust defeat the USOS

This was a great way to start the show and got the crowd hot at the start. I really liked the backstory behind Goldust and Stardust. We thought they would break up, we got the transformation from Cody Rhodes to Stardust and then the heel turn. The Usos had a great run with the belts but it was time to put it on another team.

Sheamus defeats Cesaro

This was pretty boring for the first few minutes as it mainly consisted of punches and kicks. It got much better the second half of the match. I wish they had put the belt on Cesaro. This guy has so much potential and is better than the majority of the guys in the locker room. 

The Miz defeats Dolph Ziggler

Let me say that I LOVE Damien Mizdow. I know that he deserves better and should be higher up on the card but give the man credit. He takes anything goofy and turns into gold. He adds so much to the Miz and they should keep the 2 together. This wasn't that great of a match and I do not understand why they had Florida Georgia Line there. I also do not understand why they would put the title on the Miz after Ziggler just won it from him. O well.

Return of Dean Ambrose

It was unfortunate that Roman Reigns was not able to be there. I was really looking forward to that match. The crowd went NUTS for Dean Ambrose. He is amazing. He will be the breakout star of the Shield.

Rusev defeats Mark Henry

It was cool hearing the National Anthem before the match. That was the one highlight of this match. We all knew Rusev was winning. They need to start putting him in longer matches so we know if Rusev is the real deal or not. 

Randy Orton beats Chris Jericho

Best match of the night. The result was obvious but they put on a great match that the crowd was into. You could see the RKO coming a mile away when Jericho went to the top rope. Does he not watch film of other past Orton matches?

AJ Lee defeats Paige and Nikki Bella

Not a bad match with a surprise ending. I thought that Paige would retain. Just like the IC title, why put it back on AJ when Paige just won it? I was also surprised that Brie Bella never showed up.

John Cena defeats Brock Lesnar by DQ

Let me say that Brock Lesnar is a beast! I could tell even sitting from the upper deck. This had a big match feel to it and the crowd was into everything. This was a pretty good match. Did not understand why Rollins cost Cena the title. I wonder if they will say the Authority sent him to make sure Cena did not win the title. I got really nervous when it looked like Rollins would cash in but thankfully Cena saved the day. Cena looked good and Lesnar looked like a beast after surviving 4 Attitude Adjustments, The STF on numerous occasions, a curb stomp and still standing tall at the end of the night. I can't remember the last time a main event on PPV ended by DQ. I don't mind if it makes sense. This will probably set up a third match between Lesnar and Cena inside Hell in a Cell which should be fun. 

Overall it was a pretty good show. Orton vs Jericho was the best match of the night but there were several other good ones plus a good main event. The next event that comes to Nashville is Monday Night Raw on Feb 23rd. That will be the night after Elimination Chamber so we will be on the Road to Wrestlemania. Should be a great show.

Until next time,

Nathan Krispin

Boy Meets Sports