I hope the Titans win, but expect no woofing from me.

Until I suggested via Twitter the other day that the Titans would stack up well against either the Chargers or the Colts (at least from their performance on Sunday), I had never heard of The Oliver Woofing Theorem.

Stop such talk, someone quickly warned me, with the word “Woof” and a link to the theorem, which obviously dates back to the earliest days of online sports-fan idiocy.

Oliver’s Woofing Theorem states, in a nutshell, that in any given athletic competition (team, individual, amatuer, professional), the team/player who is the most over-hyped/over-praised by his/her/its fans/supporters is doomed to LOSE the competition.

I have now studied up of the Woofing Theorem and have to agree that, in my experience, the science holds up. Fortunately, the theorem does allow a fan to suggest specific strengths and weaknesses or circumstances that may favor one team over another. So, for instance, if I were to suggest the Titans prospects for winning improve if Haynesworth is healthy on Sunday, that’s not woofing. However, I could not say, “The Titans are going to win because Ray Lewis is old,” as that would be blatant woofing.

Actually, for the game on Sunday, there is no chance of me woofing. For I know for a fact that the Ravens can come to Nashville and beat the Titans. I am not over-confident or even very confident.

And I was there for that home game against the Ravens during the 2000 playoffs (played in January, 2001) where the Titans lost. It was one of my low points as a fan.

And then, the economy kept spiraling downward and life sucked for a long time. So, yes. I remember. That day is awful and cured me of any cokiness I might  otherwise now been exhibiting towards the visiting team from Baltimore.

I will say this. The Titans need to win. It will be good for the economy.

That’s my theorem and I’m sticking to it.