Mike Keith: Pride

A man from ABC Sports stopped me in the hall right after we had finished our Titans Radio post-Super Bowl show. At that point, it has been over one hour since Kevin Dyson came up one yard short.

'Excuse me,' he said. 'You with the Titans?'

I told him that I was.

'Well, I just gotta tell somebody with the Titans this,' he continued. 'You didn't lose tonight---the Rams won. And you guys just played in one of the two or three greatest Super Bowls of all-time. I've seen them all and to me, this was the best. This sounds lame to you right now, but tomorrow, you'll begin to understand.'

He was right, it did sound lame at the time. And today (which is tomorrow), I am beginning to understand. I've read some of the paper and watched some TV. I've also been on a few of our Titans Radio stations. The reaction is the same everywhere:

1) What a game!

2) Super Bowl XXXIV is already a classic!

3) While the Rams are a deserving champion, the Titans are not a Super Bowl sidenote.

Isn't it ironic that, on October 31, it was the Rams would earned the football world's respect with their rally in a 24-21 loss to Tennessee---and last night, the Titans did the same thing in a losing effort? There are no moral victories in football, especially in the NFL, but there are moments where it is no disgrace to not be on the winning end. This is one of those moments.

Will anyone forget Steve McNair's gallant second half, shucking tacklers and delivering precision passes? Eddie George's run after run to gain every inch when those inches counted more than ever before? The defense hanging in against the fierce Ram attack, playing without Marcus Robertson and later, Blaine Bishop?

And then there's Kevin Dyson. Irony again: Dyson scored on 'The Music City Miracle' against Buffalo and was the man handing the ball on the game's last play.

A sound play call, a call that we've seen produce touchdowns time after time. A one-on-one battle to be won, with Dyson stretching and straining with all of the heart God gave him to reach the end zone, only to be stopped by a brilliant...and I mean brilliant...tackle by Rams linebacker Mike Jones.

Battles won, battles lost. No disgrace when you give everything that you have. McNair did. George did. Dyson did. The Titan, to a man, did. This doesn't make anyone feel better about the loss. What the ABC guy didn't make me feel any better last night, but what he said was true. And this is true:

I've never been prouder of a football team than I was last night. Check that, I'm prouder of them today.

You probably feel the same way.

The Tennessee Titans do not have possession of the Lombardi Trophy today, but they have possession of their pride and a bright future. Everyone in America knows that today.

Even in a losing effort last night, the Titans made themselves an unforgettable team for the ages.