Titans Mascot Made It To Titan Games
Bartley Weaver got the opportunity to be a Titan. Literally.
On Monday, Weaver, a former football player and current bodybuilder/nationally-ranked professional eater, debuted on Season Two of the NBC television series, The Titan Games, a show filled with endurance-based mental and physical challenges.
It gave him a chance to showcase his alter-ego, Hyperion, to a larger audience. Named for the Titan god of heavenly light, Hyperion is the real-life mascot Weaver played last fall during Tennessee Titans games at Nissan Stadium.
It also provided the opportunity to put his physical gifts to the test. One of 30 men and 30 women chosen from thousands of applicants to participate in a combine in Burbank, California, Weaver made it on to the show (16 men and 16 women were selected) despite the fact that he pulled his hamstring during the final tryout process.
“I was kind of at their will. They were going to start filming in three weeks, did they really want damaged goods for the show?” Weaver told the Owensboro Times. “I told them I would do everything in my power to get the best therapy done so I could be ready. About a week later they gave me a call and said I had made it on and to be ready to film in three weeks. So, it all went pretty fast after that.”
His episode aired Monday and featured former NFL offensive lineman Joe Thomas. It also included a cameo from the Titans’ cartoonish mascot, T-Rac. He was beaten by another competitor in a best-of-three challenge.
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, who is a world-renowned businessman, actor, producer and retired professional wrestler, hosts the show. Weaver said that Johnson, one of his idols, personally selected him to be on the show.
“It was a pretty surreal experience,” Weaver, who works full-time as a Kentucky State Patrolman, told the Times. “I was messing with a water bottle and (The Rock) just grabs me by the trap and told me he was proud of me and how hard I’ve worked, all the things you want your idol to tell you. We actually talked for 10-15 minutes about working out.”
Weaver’s appearance came months after he partially completed an application to be on Season One. He finished all of the required paperwork last year but decided not to move forward when he had to produce a video explaining why he wanted to be on the show.
This time around, Weaver felt more determined to get it done. His experience as Hyperion – among other things – in the interim may have given him a leg up. In the last year, he also signed a professional contract with Major League Eating
“Basically, I made a video and compiled everything crazy that I’ve (done recently),” he said. “I just told them, ‘Basically I’m already a Titan, I should be on the show.’”
