The word Titan has been used for many things. For example, the famous ship, the Titanic, was named after the Greek Titans for being large and strong deities. The ship was large and strong, supposedly unsinkable; that’s why they named it the Titanic… Of course, things didn’t turn out well. The name, though, is powerful. Football fans and residents of Tennessee all know the name, Titan, as their NFL team is the Tennessee Titans, but do fans know the origin of the name choice?
The Houston Oilers
The Tennessee Titans franchise was originally founded in Houston, Texas. They were one of eight teams in the old American Football League (AFL). The team was known as the Houston Oilers.
Oilers Tribute Week ⚔️ #WallpaperWednesday pic.twitter.com/SYuLFjgjoR
— Tennessee Titans (@Titans) September 22, 2021
The Houston Oilers were founded in 1960, and by 1970 they became a part of the NFL from the AFL-NFL merger. The Oilers would play in Houston until 1997 when the franchise moved to Tennessee. The Houston Oilers won two AFL championships in the AFL, but they’ve never won a Super Bowl in the NFL. Will their move to Tennessee bring the franchise good luck?
The Tennessee Oilers
The Houston Oilers now became the Tennessee Oilers, and their plan was to play home games in Nashville. The problem was their stadium was being built and wouldn’t be ready until 1999. So, the Oilers played their games in Knoxville at the University of Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium. At first, many fans weren’t too thrilled with the team’s presence in Tennessee.
Fans from Nashville weren’t too keen on driving from Nashville to Knoxville, which is more than 200 miles apart. The fans in Knoxville weren’t too happy since they knew they’d be losing the team in 1999. This put the team at a crossroads. Hope for the franchise wouldn’t be all lost because in 1999, once moved to Nashville, the fans would come out.
Tennessee Titans
The fans in Nashville were happy when the team started to play in Nashville. These fans became happy even before the team officially moved, thanks to a name change. The fans that were going to call this Tennessee football team theirs weren’t too excited about the name, ‘Oilers’. They wanted a new, fresh name, and the owner, Bud Adams, appointed an advisory committee that would be responsible for coming up with a new name.
This advisory committee wanted a name that represents strength, power, and leadership. So, this is how they decided on the name, ‘Titans’. Once fans found out about the name change, they were ecstatic. Fans loved saying the Tennessee Titans, and it has a ring to it that sounds original. The franchise was now officially Tennessee’s.
In their first season, the Titans didn’t disappoint. The Titans recorded their best record in franchise history when they went 13-3. In the postseason, the Titans made it to their first and only Super Bowl in Super Bowl XXXIV. The Titans, unfortunately, lost on a play that has become iconic in Super Bowl history.
Titans’ wide receiver, Kevin Dyson, caught the ball but was tackled at the one-yard line by St. Louis Rams’ linebacker, Mike Jones. Dyson famously reached his arm out, trying to score the touchdown, but his efforts came up short.
The Titans lost 23-16 to the Rams. While this may have been the only Super Bowl appearance for the Tennessee Titans, fans in Tennessee and Titan fans across the world hope to see their team back in a Super Bowl in the near future.
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