Whittaker Plays Two Football Games in One Day

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NASHVILLE- Former Chicago Cub legend Ernie Banks loved playing baseball so much that he coined the phrase; “Let’s play two.” For Nashville Storm veteran wide receiver Jeremie “Bird” Whittaker, playing two was a reality this past Saturday.

At 11 am Whittaker played quarterback for the Franklin Panthers of the Middle Tennessee Football League. In the loss to the Lebanon Hitmen, he threw for a touchdown and engineered 22 points for his team. That night, against the number one semi-pro team in the nation the Columbus Fire, Whittaker caught two touchdown passes in the Storm’s 39-27 victory. His “iron-man” effort on Saturday was the subject of blogs and message boards across the country. His effort didn’t go unnoticed locally by his peers.

“Bird gained a lot of respect with him playing both games,” said MTFL Commissioner and Hitman player Matt Taylor. “A lot of guys said they couldn’t play two but he did. We beat him up pretty bad but he kept getting up. People don’t realize the significance of what he and a few more Storm players did by playing both games. My hat is off to them.”

The multi-talented Whittaker rushed for 105 yards, played defense for the Panthers and also was the holder on special teams for the Storm. He also is an accomplished rap artist that has CDs on the market. His rap name is “Versatile One Hunned”. Saturday proved that moniker to be correct.

“I just love playing football and love winning,” said Whittaker. “We took our first loss of the season for the Panthers but we made the playoffs. For the Storm we have a long season but we are off to a good start. There was a picture of me about to hug (Storm and Panther offensive lineman) Chris Moseley’s son Gavin. That’s what I do this for. I have kids besides my own looking up to me. That’s what is really important.”