DENVER — Calvin Ward couldn’t take it anymore. He stood up abruptly from his seat at Empower Field at Mile High, walked over to the stadium aisle and leaned on the railing in frustration, his head facing the ground.
Calvin Ridley had just dropped a perfect pass from his son, Titans quarterback Cam Ward, on a second-and-10 on what became Tennessee’s final drive in the team’s regular-season opener against the Broncos on Sunday. On the next play, tight end Chig Okonkwo also couldn’t make the catch; Ward’s third-down throw appeared to be a bit ahead of Okonkwo, but the ball hit his hands.
Calvin Ward, walking back over to his seat, put his hands on his head.
“That was catchable, right?” he asked out loud, speaking to no one in particular.
Then came the desperate final play: fourth-and-10 with 47 seconds left, Titans trailing 20-12 with no timeouts. Unblocked, Broncos cornerback Ja’Quan McMillian sacked Ward on a blitz, forcing a fumble that Denver recovered.
Ball game.
“If they caught the ball,” exclaimed Patrice Ward, Cam’s mother, “we wouldn’t even be in this situation.”
This is Calvin and Patrice Ward in a nutshell, watching their son play football. Their facial expressions belie the emotions beneath the surface. They’re locked into the game, every game. They’re competitive and intense, similar to Cam. Friends and family know not to come chatting when they’re watching their son because, as Calvin says, “We not listening.”
Calvin and Patrice Ward let me shadow them on Sunday as they watched their son, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 draft, make his NFL debut. He went 12-of-28 for 112 yards and took six sacks in Tennessee’s loss to the Broncos. Despite the frustrating defeat, Cam’s parents left Denver encouraged about his future, feeling that he belongs. And as parents, they couldn’t be more proud of him — to get to this point after once being a zero-star recruit coming out of high school.
“He’s going out there and showing that he’s an NFL player,” Patrice said. “He can hang with anybody.”
Cam Ward didn’t throw any touchdowns in his NFL debut, but he also didn’t throw any interceptions, and he led the Titans on three scoring drives. (Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
‘I was driving like 95 miles per hour’
Calvin and Patrice have never missed one of their son’s games — from his Pee Wee football days in West Columbia, Texas, through his five-year college career that included stops at Incarnate Word, Washington State and Miami.
It always meant a lot to Calvin when his family came to his high school football games. He’d look for familiar faces in the stands. He told himself that when he had kids, he’d do everything possible to make sure he was always present.
“It wasn’t just Cameron, it was with my other kids, too,” Calvin said of his four children. “We were there.”
After shining at Incarnate Word, Washington State was Cam’s school of choice. His UIW coach, Eric Morris, had been named the Cougars’ offensive coordinator. But Cam didn’t want to go to Pullman, Wash., more than 2,200 miles from home, if it meant his parents couldn’t come to the games. He was OK settling for a school closer to home. But the message back to him was simple: Go where you want to go, and we’ll figure it out.
That came with logistical challenges, particularly at Washington State. Home games meant a layover en route to Spokane, Wash., and then Calvin and Patrice would have to drive an hour and 15 minutes to get to Pullman — “if the weather was good,” Patrice explained. It could take up to two hours. They’d typically arrive at their hotel around 2 or 3 a.m. Friday morning, the day before the game.
Catching Cam’s games at Washington State meant long trips from Texas and early morning arrivals, but his parents never missed a kickoff. (Photo by Alika Jenner/Getty Images)
Wear and tear was a very real factor when traveling every weekend during the season, too. Calvin works at a nuclear plant outside West Columbia, and Patrice coached girls’ basketball at Columbia High School for more than two decades.
“His first year at Washington State, we traveled to Oregon for the Oregon State game. … They had a bye week that following week,” Calvin said. “If they hadn’t had that bye week, I don’t know if we could’ve [made the next game]. Kami baru saja lelah. “
Tapi Calvin dan Patrice selalu mendorong melalui tantangan. Tidak pernah ada titik di mana mereka pikir mereka tidak bisa membuat salah satu dari 57 pertandingan kuliah Cam.
Patrice memiliki beberapa panggilan dekat. Satu datang saat dia masih melatih. Pada pagi hari salah satu pertandingan kandang Cam di Incarnate Word di San Antonio, ia mengadakan turnamen bola basket di Columbia Barat, lebih dari tiga jam perjalanan dengan mobil. Patrice berlari ke UIW segera setelah turnamen dibungkus.
Dia sampai di sana pada babak pertama.
“Aku mengemudi seperti 95 mil per jam,” Patrice tertawa.
'Cameron akan mengetahuinya'
Selama pregame Titans-Broncos, Calvin dan Patrice mengambil foto dengan putra dan keponakan mereka, Titans Safety Quandre Diggs. Koordinator ofensif Nick Holz dan pelatih punggung Randy Jordan termasuk di antara staf Tennessee yang menyapa. Darrell Colbert, pelatih quarterback pribadi Ward, menghabiskan waktu bersama keluarga.
Di antara interaksi itu, Calvin menyaksikan para Titan melakukan pemanasan. Sementara itu, saudara perempuan Cam, Aaliyah dan Chantel, serta pacar lamanya, Nailah, direndam di setiap detik di sideline.
Calvin (No. 1) dan Patrice (di kiri Calvin) dengan rombongan Cam Ward sebelum debut NFL di Denver. (Foto oleh Ben Arthur)
Sekitar 30 menit sebelum kickoff, seorang penjaga keamanan memberi tahu mereka bahwa sudah waktunya untuk pergi ke tempat duduk mereka.
Saya bertanya kepada Calvin dan Patrice apa yang mereka rasakan karena putra mereka akan melakukan debut NFL -nya.
Calvin mengakui perasaan “kegembiraan untuknya” tetapi dengan cepat mengalihkan fokusnya ke tugas putranya.
“Cameron akan mengetahuinya,” katanya.
Calvin dan Patrice bertemu dengan Cam pagi itu dan malam sebelumnya, seperti yang selalu mereka lakukan sebelum pertandingan kuliahnya. Biasanya, Cam akan membawa iPad timnya – “Kami tidak bisa pergi makan malam normal dan hanya duduk dan berbicara sebagai keluarga,” kata Patrice – dan Calvin akan membahas semua permainan dengannya. Patrice akan bertanya kepadanya apa tujuannya untuk pertandingan.
Namun, menjelang debut NFL Cam, Calvin tidak membahas semua permainan dengan putranya. Dia hanya bertanya kepadanya apa drama pertama. Ketika Patrice bertanya kepadanya apa tujuannya melawan Broncos, Cam hanya mengatakan bahwa dia “siap untuk pergi.”
Dia bermain seperti itu juga.
Itu dimulai pada drive pertama Titans. Pada ketiga-dan-11, ia mem-flash beberapa keajaiban yang membuat rekaman Miami-nya istimewa. Ward melangkah di saku, mengguncang calon karung dengan kekuatan tubuh bagian atasnya dan mengibaskan umpan untuk berlari kembali Tony Pollard di flat untuk mendapatkan 29 yard.
Ward memimpin tiga drive skor di babak pertama.
“Dia bermain dengan banyak ketenangan sekarang. Dia cukup mengendalikan pelanggaran,” kata Calvin di babak pertama. “Untuk pemula, saya senang bagaimana dia mengelola segalanya – terutama jenis lingkungan ini juga.
“Hanya harus mendapatkan beberapa touchdown.”
Mereka tidak datang.
Ward memiliki kesalahannya-karung back-to-back di awal kuartal keempat kehilangan gabungan 27 yard, menyia-nyiakan tim khusus yang dibawa pulang-tetapi mereka adalah renungan dalam permainan di mana pelatih Brian Callahan's Game Management dan playcalling menarik perhatian berat. The Titans juga memiliki tetes kritis, keledai perlindungan dan bermain sepak bola yang tidak disiplin (13 hukuman yang diterima untuk 131 yard). Mereka mencetak hanya enam poin dari empat takeaways.
Janji pick No. 1 dibayangi oleh kekurangan di sekitarnya.
Di akhir pertandingan, seorang penggemar yang duduk di depan Calvin menoleh padanya ketika dia bangun untuk pergi. Penggemar menyebutkan berapa banyak potensi cam, kemudian menambahkan bahwa ia memiliki pertanyaan tentang bakat di sekitarnya.
Saya bertanya kepada Calvin bagaimana perasaannya tentang debut NFL putranya.
“Saya sangat terdorong,” katanya. “Aku tahu ini akan menjadi pertandingan yang sulit untuk dimenangkan.”
Patrice menimpali.
“Saya melihat beberapa hal baik. Kami membuat banyak pilihan buruk di luar sana [as a team]”katanya.” Ini bagus [Broncos] tim. Jika kita terus sedekat ini dengan mereka, itu berarti kita juga sampai di sana.
“Dari game satu di NFL, itu hanya akan menjadi awal dari perjalanan baru ini bagi kami,” tambah Patrice. “Hanya akan mencapai puncak ini. Tahun ini mungkin bukan tahun terbaik, tapi saya tahu setelah tahun ini, segalanya akan naik.”
Tidak peduli apa yang terjadi, Patrice dan Calvin akan menonton, dengan saksama, dari tribun.
Ben Arthur adalah reporter NFL untuk Fox Sports. Dia sebelumnya bekerja untuk jaringan Tennessean/USA Today, di mana dia berada Titans Kalahkan penulis selama satu setengah tahun. Dia menutupi Seattle Seahawks Untuk Seattlepi.com selama tiga musim (2018-20) sebelum pindah ke Tennessee. Anda dapat mengikuti Ben di Twitter di @Benyarthur.
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