April 14 stops include Waverly, Camden, Paris and Martin; Recent signee Jake Scott to join last stop of day
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Along with six-time Pro Bowl mascot T-Rac and the "Voice of the Titans" Mike Keith, Vanden Bosch will kick off the Caravan at Waverly Junior High School at 1 p.m. with a program for children from several local schools. The program is closed to the general public.
The school program, which will be performed a total of 16 times before an estimated 14,000 children on this year's Caravan, will emphasize the need to stay healthy by exercising. Through the "Play 60" program, the Titans and the NFL will campaign throughout the 2008 season to get kids to spend at least 60 minutes each day in active play or exercise. The crucial message will be delivered in hopes of making the current youth the most active and healthy generation ever.
Following the program in Waverly, the Caravan then will make three public stops during the remainder of the day: a 2:45 p.m. stop at Wendy's in Camden, a 4:45 p.m. appearance at Ace's Pizza in Paris and a 6:45 p.m. stop at the Martin downtown gazebo. Fans will have an opportunity to get autographs from Vanden Bosch, T-Rac and Keith at all of the public stops in addition to Scott at the Martin event. Each public stop is free, open to the public and will last approximately one hour.
Vanden Bosch is entering his fourth season with the Titans and eighth overall NFL season. Voted to his second Pro Bowl in 2007, his season totals included a team-high 12 sacks and 115 tackles, which ranked second on the squad. Since arriving in Tennessee in 2005, Vanden Bosch has 31 sacks, a total that ties for ninth place on the team's career sack list. In that three-year period, only eight other NFL players have recorded more sacks than Vanden Bosch.
Scott, who was signed in March as an unrestricted free agent from the Indianapolis Colts, is entering his fifth NFL season and is expected to fill the right guard position along the team's offensive line. A veteran of 60 career games, including a current streak of 55 consecutive starts, Scott helped the Indianapolis offense rank fifth overall in the NFL in 2007. He also helped the Colts finish in the NFL's top three in total offense and rank first in the league in fewest sacks allowed in each season from 2004-06.
Titans Caravan 2008 will make a total of 50 stops over a span 11 travel days. In addition to using the Caravan as a way to thank the team's fans throughout the Mid-South, this year's Caravan additionally will take time to celebrate the launch of the club's 10th season as the Titans. In 1999, the team moved into LP Field and changed its name to the Tennessee Titans. The season ended with an improbable run to Super Bowl XXXIV.
Over the last decade, Titans Caravan has made over 530 stops, traveled approximately 45,000 miles, visited nearly 200 schools and shaken hands with over 100,000 fans. The number of autographs signed and pictures taken is estimated to be in the hundreds of thousands.
Titans Caravan began in 1998 as a small effort to spread goodwill through the region. The current Caravan includes six full-time staffers that travel with Titans players, broadcasters and T-Rac throughout the Mid-South on a specially-decorated motor coach from Premiere Transportation.
To obtain a complete schedule and follow Titans Caravan 2008, fans can go to the team's official website, TitansOnline.com.
