Tennessee Titans: Zach Mettenberger Punched by Alabama Fan
Alabama fans continue to make a name for themselves in the world of sports. Harvey Updyke set the bar high several years ago when he poisoned the trees at Auburn’s beloved Toomer’s Corner. It’s going to take something that I don’t want to imagine to top that, but it hasn’t stopped people from trying.
Recently, a construction worker hung an Alabama Crimson Tide flag on Kyle Field at Texas A&M University, for which he was fired. He also made several jokes via social media about doing faulty welding at the stadium…which, you know…is what most people in his shoes would do to a rival school.
And now, we have a Saturday night in Nashville to discuss.
Tennessee Titans 6th round draft pick, Zach Mettenberger, was out Saturday night when a man yelled “Roll Tide” at him. The former LSU Tiger responded with “Good luck with that.” And for that, Roll Tide’s buddy sucker-punched him square in the face.
Because you know….Mettenberger clearly took the situation too far. His blatant disregard for this fan’s presence obviously warranted an unforeseen knuckle sandwich. I think any reasonable Alabama fan is probably giving this man the slow clap today for standing up to such devious blasphemy.
All sarcasm aside, Mettenberger handled the situation as well as one could imagine. Dealing with this type of Alabama fan is like dealing with a caged grizzly bear while you are in the cage with said grizzly bear. What could be brushed off as trash talk by most other fanbases becomes the shot that killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914.
I see them all the time – and they are unstable individuals. I can confidently say that because I, myself, am a third generation Alabama fan.
Don’t worry guys, when they say “Roll Tide” to me, I say it back. But, if they read Titan Sized and recognize my face, I might be in trouble. If they ask me what I think about naming a child ‘Crymson Tyde,’ I’ll definitely be in trouble. That’s stupid. I will undoubtedly get Mettenberger’ed.
Alas, I’ll just cross that bridge when I get to it.
The owner of the bar was quick to defend Mettenberger – citing that he was completely innocent, didn’t start any trouble, and was the victim of a targeted attack.
That’s good in one way – it doesn’t seem to indicate any sort of ‘character issues’ with Mettenberger. It appears as though he was just out, trying to have a good time, and encountered a raging idiot.
It’s bad in another way – and I don’t want to get on a moral soapbox – but it means that our athletes aren’t safe in public. This isn’t a knock on Zach Mettenberger’s choices, it’s a knock on our own society and the culture of drunken tough guys.
It’s a shame that a guy can’t go out and have a drink or two without worrying about whether or not some loose cannon is going to walk up and punch him for no reason.
Besides, quarterbacks aren’t known as tough guys. So, why on Earth does that make them a target? I can remotely understand the logic of trying to fight a professional wrestler or a MMA fighter. They are supposed to be the baddest men on the planet! And, you have to prove that you are on their level!
At least that’s what your irrational, ridiculous, drunken machismo is telling you. But a quarterback in the NFL?
Really?
Just calm your fandom down. He’s just a dude – and a dude whose jersey you will probably be wearing in 2 or 3 years at that. Let’s let our athletes be people, too.
In the end, this wasn’t the first victim Midtown Nashville claimed (speaking from experience), and it won’t be the last. Likewise, this isn’t the first crazy Alabama fan story we’ve heard, and well, it certainly won’t be the last.
Thankfully, training camp is set to start, and Mettenberger won’t be hindered at all in his development by this.