Watch: NFL star goes extra mile, refuses to leave Special Olympics event
Argue about his on-the-field performance all you’d like, but one thing is not up for debate: Tennessee Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota cares a lot.
His great attitude is evident in all the little things — like the fact that he went out of his way to drive around an unheralded rookie who didn’t have a car, or the story about how he once drove hours to go help fix a teammate’s car.
As The Ringer reported in September 2017, Mariota even makes the bed when he’s staying at a hotel.
So the latest feel-good story about the young Titans star shouldn’t come as any surprise, because NFL fans already know what kind of a person Mariota is.
On Saturday, the Titans held a Special Olympics event, the Music City Blitz, at their home stadium.
But for Mariota, making an appearance was more than just a PR move.
The Titans wrote in a tweet that Mariota stuck around until every kid on the field caught a pass from him.
A short clip from the event posted by the Titans showed Mariota trying to complete a pass to one young man in particular.
The first two attempts were unsuccessful, but instead of growing impatient, Mariota kept on throwing until, on his third pass, the young boy caught the ball.
“I just like seeing their faces light up,” Mariota said in another video that the team tweeted out. “I enjoy being around them. I think they’ve got such a great perspective on life, and they’re always so happy.”
Titans head coach Mike Vrabel, meanwhile, took note of the fact that the athletes participating in the Music City Blitz “work just as hard as” the Titans themselves.
“These are special kids,” he said. “It’s fun to get out here and have fun, and they know football just as much as we do.”
Adam Germek, who serves as the president of the Special Olympics of Tennessee, was grateful for the team’s participation in the event.
"I heard one of our @SOTennessee athletes say this was the best day of his life." #TitanUp pic.twitter.com/pH2Z6ngbkA
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) April 8, 2018
“I heard one of our athletes say this is the best day of his life,” Germek said, according to the Tennessean.
“So if that gives you any indication of the excitement that the coach and Marcus and the coaching staff and the entire Tennessee Titans staff has brought to this, that says it all,” he added.
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