Little Titans (is that an oxymoron?)

Here's a nice shot of Will and Adelaide together in their football togs. Unfortunately for Will, he is getting to the age where he can watch and understand what's going on in football games. Thus, one must be strong in her team loyalty when they lose all the time, or one's son might end up (horror of horrors!) a Colts' fan! We actually get a lot of the Titans' games here in BR because DirecTV gives us a Jackson, MS CBS affiliate, which apparently has a "regional interest" in the Titans' games. Well, I figure maybe it's good to introduce a child to football when one's team is losing all the time -- if they don't think that part of the enjoyment of watching football is winning, they are more likely to be a loyal fan through thick and thin. It builds character. (I mean, just look at Cubs and Red Sox fans. They're nutso for their teams. Yeah, BoSox came through last year, but that doesn't negate the example because they couldn't do it for years and years.)

The other unfortunate aspect of Will's learning by example instruction in being a football fan is that I am a "yeller." I yell at the refs. I yell at the coaches. I yell everytime Travis Henry steps on the field (or is that moan, gnash teeth and cry? I get mixed up). I yell "go go go" on every run until the player is tackled, and I respond heartily to the quality of plays. As Will has a tendency toward loudness and melodrama as it is (I have no idea where that comes from) he of course has picked up these habits. We turned on the LSU/Auburn game the other night while Ben fixed dinner and I tended to the baby. I'm in the other room with her and I hear my four-year-old screaming "GO GO GO GO GO -- Aaawwwww!" in the front room. Yeah. He's cheering for LSU. They just broke a run for a first down. The aaawwww? That was when the runner was tackled. Oh, yeah. He's learning fast.

Anyway, Ben hasn't had local feeds of the Chiefs games since we left the Missouri stations that we recieved when we lived in Murray. He is already disadvantaged in any quest to turn the kids into rabid Chiefs fans because:
1.) As I previously mentioned, I yell a lot more at the television than he does.
2.) All of our families have much easier access to Titans stuff, which brings about the third reason...
3.) The kids are going to be geographically inclined to support the team they identify as their "home" team. I mean, this is what happened with Ben -- he hasn't lived in Missouri since he was really little, but he knows that is where he was born and where all his family is. Thus, the Chiefs are his "home" team. And Will? He was born in Tuckasee, that's where all his family is, AND he has a mother that screams at the TV a lot.

Incidentally, I cheer for the Chiefs, too. I cheer for them every game unless they play the Titans. That's only happened once, though, since we've been together, and it was last year. Last year -- well, let's just say that if you can name anyone who was on our roster, they were hurt. It was tough. But I think next year will be better...I mean, I'm a real fan. That's what I have to believe.