Nashville has been good to me.
Within two weeks I saw Lionel Messi twice live and Jason Isbell in between.
I also attended a Tennessee Titans NFL game and the Grand Ole Opry, whose eight performers were headlined by “The War and Treaty” — the Michael Trotter Jr.-Tanya Trotter duo who sang a soulful version of the “The Star-Spangled Banner” ahead of Saturday’s Nashville SC vs. Inter Miami game.
Trace Adkins sang the national anthem at Sunday’s Titans game, confirming what I’d been told: You’ll see stars perform ahead of Nashville sporting events.
The on-field NFL action entertained, including touchdowns from an interception and a 67-yard punt return in the first quarter — a “15-minute” period that underscored a major difference between attending football and soccer.
While watching soccer played with rhythm, as it does at its best, commercials don’t interfere.
During the Titans game, we had four TV timeouts of more than two minutes each in the first quarter, which was followed by another TV timeout. The country trap rapper Breland took the field to entertain us while TV viewers watched commercials. By the time the second quarter began, as much time had passed as between kickoff and halftime of the MLS game at Geodis Park the night before.
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