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Nashville, Tenn. -- The Tennessee Titans are one of five NFL teams being recognized for their large number of fans pledging to be designated drivers at home games this season, the TEAM Coalition (Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management) announced today. The Titans join the Baltimore Ravens, Washington Redskins, San Diego Chargers, and the Detroit Lions in this prestigious ranking to help save lives on our nation’s highways.
“We want the game-day experience to continue to be safe and enjoyable for Titans fans while they enjoy LP Field and as they travel home after the games,” said K.S. Adams, Jr., founder, owner, chairman of the board, president and CEO of the Tennessee Titans. “We’re proud of our fans’ commitment to responsible behavior and thrilled to reward them with such a great opportunity.”
Through the Anheuser-Busch Good Sport program, nearly 10,000 Titans fans promised to refrain from drinking and be the designated drivers to get their friends and family home safely from the games played at LP Field this season. TEAM Coalition has been aggressively promoting the designated driver program at NFL stadiums since 2003 with a league-wide campaign called Responsibility Has Its Rewards. The campaign encourages fans to participate in designated driver programs supported by beer and concessionaire companies at every NFL stadium nationwide.
“We’re pleased to be able to recognize those teams whose fans show such a strong commitment to responsibility by volunteering to be the designated drivers for their parties on game day,” said Carol Clark, Anheuser-Busch vice president of corporate social responsibility. “When it comes to preventing drunk driving, we’re all part of the team.”
During the 2007 NFL season, nearly 120,000 football fans planned ahead and make the responsible, winning play by pledging to be designated drivers. This season, the league-wide total is 140,000 (an increase of 17 percent).
“This promotion is an opportunity for the NFL to show support for the teams’ efforts in coordination with the concessionaire, brewer and beer wholesaler to encourage responsible fan behavior,” said Jill Pepper, executive director of the TEAM Coalition. “And for the fans, it’s a great reminder that responsibility really does have its rewards.”
One lucky Titans fan, Barbara Woehnker, was selected by TEAM Coalition as the Titans' Designated Driver for the Season. The Designated Driver for the Season from the Seattle Seahawks won a trip to the 2009 NFL Pro Bowl® in Honolulu, Hawaii. The winner of the Pro Bowl prize was selected by TEAM Coalition through a random drawing after the NFC and AFC Champions were determined.
Recognition of the Titans fans’ commitment to the designated driver program coincides with the TEnnessee Department of Transportation's (DOT) enforcement crackdown on drunk drivers called Drunk Driving: Over the Limit. Under Arrest.
“We want to congratulate the Titans and their fans and remind everyone that true football Fans Don’t Let Fans Drive Drunk,” said Kendell Poole, director for the Governor's Highway Safety Office of the Tennessee DOT. “If you plan on consuming alcohol, whether you are at the game or watching from a house party or sports bar, pass your keys to a designated driver before the pre-game begins. We commend all the Responsibility Has Its Rewards campaign partners for creating such a fantastic incentive for fans who make the responsible decision to designate a driver."
Fortunately, football fans join millions of other Americans in doing the “ride thing.” According to a national survey by TNS Custom Research Inc., nearly two out of three adults – more than 137 million Americans – have been a designated driver or been driven home by one.
TEAM Coalition – an alliance of professional and collegiate sports, entertainment facilities, concessionaires, the beer industry, broadcasters, governmental traffic safety experts and others working together to promote responsible drinking and positive fan behavior at sports facilities – coordinated Responsibility Has Its Rewards.
For more information, please visit www.TeamCoalition.org or
www.rhir.org.
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