Justin, the Nick of time

Charleston, a 3.5-year old boy, sat in the trolley with his father asking why (misplaced modifiers are my favourite form of word play).

Why are we not there yet?

It's the journey, son. Your final destination is a long way away.

Soon you'll see the names you'll recall as the great field leaders of their time - Tauren Poole, Austin Johnson, Justin Hunter, Nick Reveiz, Matt Simms and that new kid Bray.

You won't remember the band selling clay tablets, papyrus rolls, 45 RPM records, 8-track tapes, audiocassettes, CDs, and ring tones of marching music in the stands.

You'll think of blinged out mobile phones as nostalgia.

Will you lead a crowd cheer where the wave starts with people standing up on the first cycle, sitting down after the wave passes through a second time, standing up after the third time, etc.? Your version of my old cheer, "stand up, sit down, fight, fight, fight!"?

Did you know Neyland's son was a neighbour of mine who stands in the shadow of his father's statue like the rest of us now?

At your age, falling asleep when the score's 31-14 by halftime is okay.

I stand guard over you while students celebrate homecoming with trophies toted around like...well, like trophies, and young people, older than you, take mobile phone pics of themselves in their firsttime visit to the glorious coliseum of triumphs we call Neyland Stadium.

Will you remember the big plane and the tiny ultralight that flew overhead?

You're one of the boys of fall, a slew of them claiming a wellfought 52-14 victory on the field below us, a few, like Archie Manning, reminiscing about wellearned battle scars.

Today, it's time for racing and prayers, not in that order, of course. Think Momma has a birthday meal surprise on order for me today? Don't worry. We'll keep it a secret that we already know. Maybe by the time you grow up, Ford'll have another NASCAR championship, whoever the sponsor may be.

As smart as you are, you may have a business empire that owns the whole shindig, including UFC, WWE, NFL, NBA, NCAA, ESPN, EA sports, CBS and all the rest. Don't forget your daddy - he'd like good season tickets while you're hobnobbing with the well-to-do.