Marcus Mariota explains why he didn't chug beers with teammates at Predators game

Nashville has played host to one of the wildest sports scenes in recent years with the Predators in the Stanley Cup Final. A handful of Titans players have joined the fun by not only chugging beers but throwing catfish on the ice, too – a weird tradition for the Predators.

You may have seen them in the stands on television a couple of times.

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Marcus Mariota joined his offensive linemen at Bridgestone Arena to cheer on the Predators, but he didn’t partake in any beer drinking or catfish throwing. He had a very good (and simple) reason for that.

“I’ve never had a sip of alcohol,” Mariota said at the second annual Tennessean Sports Awards on Tuesday night.

But what about the catfish? Sure, they’re dangerous, but why not hold one up with the linemen?

“Well a catfish is gross,” he added.

 

Many people wondered why Mariota was awkwardly on the side waving a towel rather than pounding tallboys with his teammates. His high school friends wondered the same thing.

“A lot of the guys that I was close with on the team, most of my high school friends, I’m still close with,” he said. “It’s funny. They’re the guys that are texting me when I’m out there at the Preds game, saying, ‘Why aren’t you drinking a beer?’ Or, ‘Why aren’t you flying a catfish out there?’”

The obvious explanation seemed to be that Mariota was just trying to be a good role model in the public eye as an NFL quarterback, and that’s still part of it. But the main reason is that he simply doesn’t drink beer or like catfish.