MotW1 - TitanJeff

The Dallas Cowboys were my favorite team growing up. This is going back to Roger "the Dodger", Bob Lilly, "Too-Tall", etc. I lost interested in them, and the NFL in general, around the time Landry was canned.

It's a long story so will hit on the highlights. Diehard Dave, Titanium and a few others had the idea for the plate. Problem was, the Titans were not keen on it at first. But Diehard and T pushed on and got the 500 signatures they needed to get it approved by the State. Problem was, by the Titans got on board, the law had changed to needing 1,000 signatures.

After a few years (T can give you more background), the Titans jumped in and helped get the 1,000 sigs and gave permission for the use of their logo for the plate.

My part was probably the easiest. I was contacted by an old friend, Bob Hyde, who handles all the Community Relations for the Titans to design the plate. There's only so much you can do with a license plate. I had to fit things within a standard template because letters/numbers have to be a certain size. Where things got complicated was that the state went from plates totally made by prisoners to a new 3M printer which allowed for full color (the prisoners only have to stamp the numbers now). The guy with the state didn't know how to use this new printer so early prototypes of the plate had the Titans light blue printing purple and no way the NFL wasn't going to allow that. I worked with the state and they finally got the colors right. Once the State Troopers and Bud Adams approved, it went into production.

The best part is that a lot of great charities have received a lot of donations from the sale of the plate. It's in the multi-million range now.

Tough question. I wouldn't mind a dinner with Albert Einstein, Abraham Lincoln and Jesus. It would need to be a meat-and-three place.

It's always cool to meet any member of the site from a foreign country. It's serious dedication to come so far for a Titans game. Plus, they talk funny.

1976 Chevy Vega Hatchback. Took it to Panama City Beach after high school graduation and carried my huge home speakers in the back as we cruised the strip. Not a chick magnet.

Rafting the Grand Canyon.