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Another Reason to Root for the Titans

I doubt a college football player will come along in my lifetime who will do more for the University of Texas football team than Vince Young did. Well over a year after the fact, I still am not over just how epic it was for Vince to lead my Longhorns to a national title over a team (USC) that many, especially those folks at ESPN, thought was the best college football team ever assembled.

When Vince Young entered the draft last year, I knew I’d be a fan to some degree of any team he landed with. The fact that it was the Titans made it a little more interesting than I had anticipated, being that they left my, and Vince’s, hometown of Houston after the 1996 season. With Yince Young in tow, though, the Titans could now count me as fan.

The whole Adam “Pacman” Jones debacle this past season soured me a little bit, but with all that Vince Young did for the Longhorns, it’s hard to turn a blind eye toward the Titans. And then came yesterday’s draft. The Titans had the nineteenth overall pick in the first round. I was watching ESPN’s coverage, and it seemed like defensive back was the place the Titans were going to go. In my head, all I was thinking was “Aaron Ross”. I knew it was going to happen. I even started to think about how cool it would be to watch Titans games next year and get to see Vince with the offense and Aaron Ross with the defense. Pretty sweet.

Roger Goodell, the NFL commissioner, walked to the podium with the Titans’ pick, and said something to the effect of, “With the nineteenth selection in the 2007 NFL draft, the Titans select from Texas…Michael Griffin”. Woah. Didn’t see that one coming. It’s not a shock; Michael Griffin was high on a lot of people’s draft boards. And if he had come out after his junior season, he might have been a top ten selection. So I wasn’t befuddled, but it definitely was an interesting coincidence.

Regardless, I’m now even more a Titans fan than I was before. I hope Michael Griffin lives up to those Ronnie Lott-esque fantasies many analysts spout, though how can you expect any young safety to become the next Ronnie Lott? He’ll do fine, though. And I’m looking forward to some Titans games come this fall.