As many of you have seen through my whored out Facebook statuses, I am profiling people who live in the Chicago area and are fans of out of town teams.
Thank you to everyone who has filled out a survey so far. If you're a fan of an out-of-town team and I haven't given you a questionnaire to fill out, please let me know ASAP, as I am looking to profile as many people as possible.
My second feature is on the lone AFC South fan in Chicago that I can find. Thank you to Josh, a good friend who worked with me about 5 years ago. Tennessee-bred, he is a fan of his home state's team. Here are his thoughts on the Titans' chances this year.
Here's a list of other blogs in the out-of-town feature series:
Dallas Cowboys
Unlike many fans of out-of-town teams, Josh Sumner was originally a fan of the Bears for a long time before switching allegiances to a hometown team. Although he can be excused - Nashville didn't get an NFL team until the Houston Oilers relocated to Tennessee in 1997.
"I actually liked the Bears as my #1 team until the Titans came to town," Josh said. "The 1985 Super Bowl was the first one I remember as a child and I remember how all the adults were pulling for them. Plus, they made it fun. Hell, I can still sing a good portion of the 'Super Bowl Shuffle'".
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| Repping his hometown college, now a Titans fan |
His fandom was rewarded almost immediately, as the touchdown-underdog Titans were a foot short and an extra-point away from forcing overtime against the run-and-gun St. Louis Rams in the 1999 Super Bowl.
Josh's change of rooting interest hasn't made things all that difficult in following his home-town team despite moving to his former favorite team's city 10 years ago.
"We do not play each other usually, nor is there any big rivalry," he said. "Plus, Chicago is a cosmopolitan town and all are welcome to go to our bars and root for whomever you like...even Packer fans."
His consumption of Titans games is a combination of Internet streaming and going to friend's houses who have the NFL Package (DirecTV). However, Josh still seems apt to watch a good Bears match-up over a boring Titans one.
"If the Titans are playing the Browns and the Bears and playing the Packers at the same time, love them or not, I'm likely to watch the Bears game and wait for Titans highlights to come as they may," he said.
He has seen numerous Titans games in his lifetime, including a game at Vanderbilt Stadium, the team's temporary home before their new stadium was being built. His seats were close enough there to see the gigantic size of the players, including Randy Moss.
"That guy is enormous," Josh said, "at least compared to Vanderbilt Stadium."
When it comes to his assessment of the 2012 squad, Josh believes the Titans will be 8-8 and get a wild card berth. A lot of the Titans' fortune this year lies in Kenny Britt, whose injury last year hurt the Titans' chances of making the playoffs in Josh's opinion.
He believes in Jake Locker as the team's quarterback, but just hopes he doesn't turn into another Vince Young, who flamed out quickly as the Titans' signal caller.
"He needs to take his time, learn and get stronger," Josh said. "Everything that Vince Young didn't do."
Josh's favorite Titan - Matt Hasselbeck - will enter the season as Locker's back-up. Josh appreciates Hasselbeck for his similar hairline (read: follically-challenged) and quarterback smarts.
"If Rex Grossman taught me anything," Josh said, "it's that ball control is vital. And you need to be taller than the linemen to play QB."
| Josh Sumner | |
| (10 years in Chicago) | |
| Favorite team | Titans |
| A fan since… | 1997 |
| # of games attended | numerous |
| Choice of Team Consumption | Internet, DirecTV NFL Package, bars |
| Favorite Player All-Time | Steve McNair/Eddie George |
| Favorite Player Currently | Matt Hasselbeck |
| 2012 Prediction | (8-8. wild card, second-round playoffs) |
| Vegas Projection for team | 7 wins |
| (as of 8-24-12) 5dimes.eu | |
| Over/under? | Over |
| Odds to win division - 5dimes.eu | (+495) |
| Super Bowl odds | 100/1 |
| (as of 8-26-12) - 5dimes.eu |
