Red Sox star Mookie Betts named “12th Titan” in hometown of Tennessee

The Tennessee Titans honored Boston Red Sox star Mookie Betts prior to last weekend’s game by making him the “12th Titan.”

Sorry, New England. Mookie Betts is not a Patriots fan. The Boston Red Sox star took his World Series celebration tour back home to Nashville where he attended Saturday’s game between the Tennessee Titans and Washington Redskins.

His hometown team honored the AL MVP by naming him the “12th Titan” for that game. The team’s social media accounts also delivered a message from Betts in which he encouraged fans to Titan Up.

Betts was given the opportunity to run out on to the field from the same tunnel the Titans players enter from. He was sporting a No. 12 Titans jersey, which we can assume represented his 12th man role and wasn’t a nod to Tom Brady.

The Titans kept their slim playoff hopes alive with a 25-16 win over Washington. Quarterback Marcus Mariota was knocked out of the game with a stinger but backup Blaine Gabbert led the rally, tossing the game-winning touchdown to MyCole Pruitt with 4:30 remaining in the fourth quarter. Former Patriot Malcom Butler sealed the victory with a pick-six as time expired.

The thrilling comeback was miraculous considering the circumstances of turning to a backup quarterback late in the game. Particularly when you consider Gabbert’s dismal career performances. Anything’s possible when you have Betts on your side though.

Let’s just hope that too much of the Mookie magic didn’t rub off on the Titans. This is a team the Patriots could conceivably face in the playoffs and the Titans are already responsible for handing New England one of their five losses this season.

Betts is far from the only connection between Boston and the Titans. Head coach Mike Vrabel won three Super Bowl rings playing linebacker for Bill Belichick’s Patriots. Cornerback Malcom Butler and running back Dion Lewis also won championships in New England before bolting for Tennessee in free agency last winter.

This is the second time since the Red Sox were crowned World Series champions that a Tennessee team has honored Betts. The Nashville Predators recognized Betts and teammate David Price during a game earlier this month.

Betts is already a multi-sport athlete as a star bowler. Could he add football to that list? The Patriots are thin at wide receiver and we know Betts is as good as they get when it comes to chasing down fly balls. Actually, scratch that. If he’s a Titans fan then he’s more likely to suit up for his hometown team and do damage against the Pats. Stick with baseball, Mookie.