Waffle House is a beloved southern institution, but football players and coaches seem to appreciate the fast food chain just a little bit more than everyone else.
Auburn Head Coach Gus Malzahn typically dines there after his biggest victories, and the Carolina Panthers even went so far as to credit a portion of their success to the chain. Waffle House is big part of players’ lives off the field, but that is where it has stayed. Until now.
Tennessee Titans cornerback B.W. Webb loves Waffle House so much, he is not content to leave the restaurant behind like everyone else once he takes the gridiron. Instead, Webb figured out a way to bring part of the chain onto the field with him in the form of a black-and-yellow Waffle House sleeve.
Webb has been a devoted Waffle House patron since his childhood, and he told TitansOnline he eats there at least once a week. When he was visiting his hometown Waffle House in Newport News, Virginia, he saw the sleeve on an employees arm and knew he had to have it:
“They normally use it for hot plates,’’ Webb explained. “I just asked the lady if I could have it, and she gave it to me.”
The sleeve has been with Webb for a while now. He briefly wore it at practices when he played for the Pittsburgh Steelers, but figured it would truly be appreciated in the more southern city of Nashville. Still, not all of his teammates are fans of the sleeve, but Webb is unconcerned:
“There’s a couple of haters on the team that don’t like it,’’ Webb said. “But only those who truly love Waffle House truly understand.”
The sleeve is likely relegated to the practice field for now. The NFL’s harsh uniform policy all but guarantees it will never see the field on game day. However, fans can still show their support for Webb and Waffle House by donning sleeves of their own. The chain sells a two-sleeve set for just $10 on its website, or if you crave authenticity, you could always do what Webb did and get it straight off the arm of a server.
