American musician Jelly Roll visited the Titans on Thursday and sang with defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat.
The Tennessee Titans got a surprise visit from Tennessee-native and award-winning musician Jelly Roll on Thursday. Head coach Brian Callahan introduced him to the team after practice.
Jelly Roll starts with a song, but first he’s heard that Titans’ rookie defensive tackle T’Vondre Sweat wants to sing with him, so he brings the 6-foot-4, 362-pound tackle down to the front and they sing a few bars together.
After Sweat goes back to his seat, Jelly Roll talks about growing up in Antioch, Tennessee. He remembers when the Titans first arrived in Memphis, and he attended the first game. He also said that he comes from a family of bartenders, and once the Titans came, things changed.
“So as soon as the Titans came, we knew that Sunday was a money day,” he said. “I want y’all to think about that, too, when y’all go on that field Sunday, that y’all’s impact is bigger than on the field. It’s happening all around the city. That the vibrations of this are touching everywhere.”
He continued to talk about how the Titans’ impact extends far beyond the 65,000 people who show up on Sundays, that the whole city is counting on them. You could hear the pride in his voice when he talked about going down the wrong path but finding the right one again and getting to bring his daughter to a game the same way his dad brought him.
Because of his past, Jelly Roll knows there’s a juvenile detention center right across the street from the stadium. He aims to be the first person to bring the two sides together and do something really special to help kids see a brighter future.
At the conclusion of his short speech, Jelly Roll shook hands with a few players and hugged Callahan before departing.
