A Great Day at the Game

Last week a friend of mine unexpectedly gifted me with tickets to the Titans/Colts game. As much as I love the Titans, I had only been to one game previously - a preseason game against the Bills that was notable mostly because it was the game where Frank Wychek suffered the concussion that ended up pretty much ending his career. So going to the game was a big deal for me. Going to THE game of the year against the Colts was icing on the cake. So much that I noticed that the seats were Club Level, but didn't actually notice where the seating was.

So I set out for the game yesterday morning, wondering if the Coliseum was a hot spot so I could borrow a laptop for liveblogging (yes, I really am a sports geek.) I met Big Orange Michael, who was equally pumped about the game, and waited till we were searching for parking to break the news to him. Yes, I am the only Vols fan in the state of Tennessee who dislikes Peyton Manning. Since he is, well, Big Orange Michael, I was afraid that I'd get kicked out of the car posthaste. Luckily, he decided to keep me around. And he only joked once as we were crossing a busy street that if I got hit by a car, he'd at least leave me his headphones so I could listen to the game as I waited for an ambulance, and he'd come by the hospital afterwards. Twerp. ;)

After waiting far too long for what Titans security calls a "pat-down search" and I call a useless inconvinence, we got in and got to our seats literally at kickoff time. That's when I discovered what "Club seats" mean.

1. We were seated in chairs (not stadium seating) on our own level at the 50-yard line, a few rows above the CBS cameras. I could actually stand up without blocking the view of the people above me. I could prop my feet up on a barricade and not come close to touching the hairdo of the woman below. I am certain that I will never, ever again have such great seating for a sporting event, unless I someday sit in Bud Adams' suite. And even then I have my doubts.
2. The concession stands for the level were in an air-conditioned "lounge" with a "Stress-Free Zone".
3. They served REAL beer. No Bud for me! Amstel Light on tap!
4. They had bartenders. The one who served me was a fellow Red Cross volunteer, so I got the best double margarita of my life. Michael didn't drink, but I managed not to get drunk enough to be annoying. Be thankful, Michael.

So Michael and I sat in the lap of luxury, pretending to be rich and pretending that the game didn't suck. And suck it did. The highlights:
- The Colts have exceptionally dirty defense. I know that the losing team always says something like that, but trust me - it's true. They kicked Drew Bennett on the ground after the play had ended. They fake-called McNair's voice to create false starts. They just sucked. And I'm fairly certain that the refs left their penalty flags on the sidelines when the Colts were on offense, because they just sucked.
- Nice to see that the Colts do have an offense. Just wish they'd waited a week to show the world. Thank you, Reggie Wayne, for finally justifying my fantasy pick.
- I am contemplating buying Drew Bennett a lifetime supply of Super Glue. Is it in his contract that he only catches passes when Volek plays?
- Boy, it was cool to see Travis Henry play twice - first with the Bills and now the Titans. Oh, wait...
- Is it me, or does my idea about dropping Pacman and picking up Eddie George sounding better and better? Other than a couple of good runs as the kickoff returner, Pacman was pretty much a big ol' dud. And thanks for the taunting call, pal. Nevermind that the Colts had been doing plenty of that on the other side of the ball....
- However, Jarrett Payton did a very nice job as a fill-in RB. Please keep him on the roster when Henry comes back, Titans. I think he has a promising future.
- The one nice thing - I was very glad to see that Steve McNair has finally learned how to slide instead of falling forward. Only took 10 years to learn, right? And he still was the star of the Titans offense, which is having some problems getting going under Chow. McNair proved that he still has legs, and at least the offensive line managed to give him some room to work with.

Despite the game, we had a great time. Michael is cool enough to not think I'm wacko when I do my form of Football Aerobics (jump up and yell and do stuff that's just not cool in a sports bar.) We got a kick outta feeling like rich folk for a day. And unlike 1/3 of the crowd, we actually stayed until the end (why bother paying for tickets if you don't stick around, guys? Talk about disrespect.) And I managed to refrain from going to buy ice to pelt the Colts fans sitting below (at least they were cool enough to not all be wearing Manning jerseys - the sign of a true fan is to actually spread the love around.) All in all, it was a success.