The Train Daddy is back with sports news, life lessons and politically incorrect talk. All aboard! It’s football time in Tennessee and I am about to hit you with three levels of the game.

We’ll start with high school football on a local level, then move to college football and wrap this issue up with me bashing the Tennessee Titans.

The most dominant high school football team in the state resides right here in Murfreesboro.

While I can respect the dominance of a program like Alcoa and its streak of championships spanning a decade with an insane 23 championships since its first in 1977, Alcoa’s years of dominating 3A football in the state is apples to oranges in comparison to what Oakland High School has accomplished in 6A football, the largest class in the state. I was thankful to see Alcoa finally move up, competing in Class 4A after 10 straight Championships in 3A, where nobody else stood a chance.

But the Oakland Patriots—shout-out to my alma mater, class of ’03, getting old—the Patriots’ recent success in 6A is unmatched in the state. Call me biased, but it’s fact. Oakland has won 5 of the last 8 championships.

Clearly the best football in the state resides not in the East, not in the West but right here in Middle Tennessee. When I was in high school the Riverdale Warriors represented the area, winning four championships of its own between 1994 and 2004.

But it’s been over 20 years since that last title for Riverdale, and since then the Battle of the ’Boro has been one-sided in Oakland’s favor. Catch this year’s Oakland/Riverdale game Oct. 30 at Oakland.

Certainly, there have been other successful teams in the state over the years, but none of them swing in the heavyweight division like the Oakland Patriots have for years running now.

Sidenote: Shout-out to Coach Gary Rankin, from Riverdale to Alcoa, no coach in the history of Tennessee high school football has the resume this man has. GOAT.

When someone screams “Yee-Yee, Tennessee!” you daggum right they’re talking about the Tennessee Volunteers! Because they probably scream “ass” when talking about the Titans.

The fandom for Big Orange is unmatched. You can’t really compare the college game and the NFL; they are two very different cultures and two very different games (that won’t stop me from comparing them, though).

I wish the Titans would take some notes from the people in Knoxville and attempt to replicate it. That probably is not possible, but at least show us you are trying, Titans owner hiding-in-the-closet Amy Adams.

The fan experience with the Titans isn’t in a good spot right now, while the fan experience for the Vols has been high for generations.

The intense passion of the fans, the iconic traditions like the “Vol Walk” and the beauty that is the Pride of the Southland band splitting its formation to create a large “T”—it’s powerful stuff, homie! Add to that the checkerboard end zones, the Vol Navy and the most glorious song in the world: “Rocky Top.”

Having a winning product makes all the difference in the world, but I am not only talking about that. If you have been to a Titans home game within the last few years, you as a football fan know exactly what I am talking about.

I felt like the Titans were recently heading toward a culture of tough-guy football. This team may not be as talented as the other team, but you better believe they would be in the fight to the end. Now it feels like the Titans are a bottom feeder in the NFL.

It starts with a leader, and the Vols found their man years ago with Coach Heupel leading the way, while the Titans hang around the NFL dumbfounded with apparently no leadership in that building.

Again, apples to (big) oranges. I understand the Vols have been playing football for over 100 years of rich history compared to just a few decades of Tennessee Titans football, and I am probably deep in my feelings writing this after another Titans loss—a shutout, in Houston.

Just heed my advice, Amy Adams. Please take notes from the Vols’ athletic department and attempt to replicate that.

That big beautiful billion-dollar stadium is just around the corner here in Nashville, and someone needs to step up and create new traditions that can hopefully last numerous generations to come.

What would you have me say about the Titans at this point? Cam Ward said it best after a loss to the Texans, “We ass, we 0–4.”

Normally I can spin something positive about this team when it’s bad. I have been writing for the Pulse since 2008, so I have plenty of practice covering bad Titans football, but this team feels bad on a level that’s historic. I would be surprised if they win a single game this year.

My expectations are pathetic considering we are only a quarter of the way into the grind of a season. I could not care less about wins or losses right now. The only thing that matters to me as a fan is the young players on this team, specifically Cam Ward.

We can trade away pieces before the deadline, and we can take a second look at these big cap hits at season’s end. The most important part is that these rookies finish the season with more confidence than they have right now. If anyone in this organization has a backbone, they will do everything in their power to help Cam and the rest of this rookie class finish with a few positives to take into the offseason.

There is no need to explain why Coach Callahan is out of his depth. Fire him yesterday! They need to show him the door immediately; call it a pity fire.

Callahan seems like a cool dude who you would want to sit and drink a beer with. I would leave my wallet on the table with him and have zero worries. But, sadly, he does not appear to be a good head coach.

His expertise was supposed to be running the offense and calling plays, and since they took that away from him, what purpose does he serve? Callahan isn’t an alpha male that these young men can follow. That was one of the positives of Coach Vrabel, because that’s exactly what he was.

Being an alpha isn’t a requirement to be a head coach, but if you aren’t a dominant tough-guy alpha, you better have a brain, and sadly Callahan recently proved he isn’t even fully aware of all of the rules and strategy of the game he coaches. Out of his depth!

He honestly seems depressed and ready to run away. The poor guy probably is looking forward to getting fired and becoming an assistant somewhere else. I must remember Callahan is a human being with a family, and I believe he is trying his best. But fire him!

One last thing: Keep men out of women’s sports. Biology matters. I found it funny seeing the failed presidential candidate and former VP Kamala Harris admitting to having reservations over trans athletes competing in women’s sports in her new book.

It’s just funny to me she never addressed the topic during her campaign, even with it being such a polarizing and prominent topic at the time, but here she is now with “reservations.” I have zero reservations—keep winkies out of women’s sports. Insanity!

That’s all I have for you this issue. Hopefully my next column will be a little more positive regarding the Titans. I don’t need much, just give me one or two positives that I can spin, and I will make it sound like the Titans are about to take over the world.

The Train is rolling into the station. Titan up!

___

[Top photo courtesy Jordan McKendrick / Houston Texans;
Cam Ward by Beau Brune / Tennessee Titans;
UT Vols fans by Andrew Ferguson / University of Tennessee Athletics]