Tennessee Titans Celebrate Ten Years of a Bad Name and Logo - FanHouse - AOL Sports Blog

1. Personally, I think their logo is younger and more hip. Their jerseys can not be uglier than the Browns. And don't think they are the only company/organization to use the name "titan" for one of their products. Think Nissan Titan, a pickup that is suppoused to embody strength, toughness, etc. Too many people rag on these cool/hip logos and fail to see their appeal to a younger perspective like mine. I think this is a waste of an article as this has little to do with football and the Tennessee Titans are not the only one commiting this "mistake."

Posted at 1:34AM on Apr 7th 2008 by Will

2. Agreed Will, and the animosity is just kinda petty... I figured Houston fans would be happy about getting an owner that's not the despised Bud Adams.

And Stephanie, the Titans and their fans are more than OK with forgetting the rough first few years in transition... kind of hard to remember them after the '99 Music City Miracle and the ensuing Super Bowl run.

Ah well. I guess ya know you're doing something right when they're hatin' on you.

Posted at 1:35AM on Apr 7th 2008 by August West

3. @1 Japanese pickups are also a mistake.

You said that logo is hip???? It's a flaming meatball or flying thumbtack, take your pick. From a graphic arts perspective it is just awful. Most reasonable Titan fans will even admit that.

@2 Petty animosity is fun! Tell me how much you would like Bud Adams after he moves your team to a smaller city while your city is still paying off the renovations he extorted years ago.

I like Bud Adams and his team as much as Browns fans like Art Modell and the Ravens. (a team with also a silly name and logo, but at least Ravens don't have anything to do with really ugly Greek myths).

IMO, he is an evil man and he picked a stupid name and logo for his team. And now he is celebrating 10 years of a stupid name. The end.

Thanks for reading and commenting,
Steph

Posted at 1:49AM on Apr 7th 2008 by Stephanie Stradley

4. While I think 'Titans' is sort of a 50's name, old now...off hand, Toronto's - 'Raptor's name from that short era of J-park movies came out, and all 10 year boys love the D's. Some teams will have changed cities and no longer make sense in their new home, i.e. 'Utah Jazz' the Grizzlies, Lakers ( from Minn. , originally )I thought the Titans incorportating some of the 'light blue' of the old Oilers years, was smart, classy at the time.

Posted at 1:55AM on Apr 7th 2008 by Lex

5. It is hard to believe that the Titans have been there for 10 years. I still want to call them the Oilers.

Posted at 2:05AM on Apr 7th 2008 by GBG liquid vitamins

6. Titans rule, Texans suck. The End.

Posted at 8:33AM on Apr 7th 2008 by T

7. The Texans is the least imaginative name I've ever heard. It sucks. Worst name ever.

Yeah, this is a stupid, petty article. It got some site hits, though, right?

Posted at 8:33AM on Apr 7th 2008 by T

8. Now really!

I actully like the Titans name. Texans??? Are you serious?

Ravens fan here.

Posted at 8:34AM on Apr 7th 2008 by TEXANS!!?!?!

9. Back in the day, when Jerry Glanville was running things, I hated the Oilers with a passion. Then again, I'm a Bengals fan. I root for the Titans on Sunday, but only when they are not playing the Bengals and Colts.

Posted at 9:12AM on Apr 7th 2008 by Chris F.

10. @7-8:

How long did it take you to think that up? Personally, I thinking the rule/drool variant of what you wrote is much more sophisticated due to the combination of rhyme and meter.

I have no earthly idea how many page hits this received because the software doesn't tell us. But you have to admit that you would find this pretty funny if it was clowning some team other than your favorite one.

The reason why you aren't disputing the video is because it is truthful.

@8 You are just sore that you have a stolen team too, and I said your favorite team's name and logo are silly.

It's okay to admit that your teams' names and logos are awful. I know better than most how poor fans can't pick their owners, and can't control the bad taste that they have. It's not your fault that the founders of your teams are no-taste vulgarians.

Thanks for reading and commenting,
Steph

Posted at 9:42AM on Apr 7th 2008 by Stephanie Stradley

11. I wonder if Vince Young can spell Tennessee?

Posted at 10:35AM on Apr 7th 2008 by Big Sam

12. I made this point when you first posted your article (thanks for bringing it up again), but you're really reaching to say the the qualities most attribute to Titans are eating children and incest.

No offense to typical sports fans, but I'm fairly certain most of them think titans=big and strong waaaay before they think about a relatively obscure greek myth (even within greek mythology).

But I understand you're a Texans fan (and God, I think we've already visited and revisted how stupid everyone but Texans fans thinks that name is) and you've got an outlet on a major blog to voice your opinions. You keep doing that and we'll keep hurting your QBs, dominating your lines and keeping you in the bottom of the AFC South.

Posted at 10:35AM on Apr 7th 2008 by Jackson

13. @ Steph:

The name is authoritative, the logo is good enough and the team wipes the floor on the regular with that arena league squad you guys call the Texans.

I have to admit, that if Nashville lost its team due to suckiness, ownership issues and a lack of community support (like less than 50 people showing up at a Save The Oilers rally), then had that same team come back and beat the holy hell out of our new team twice a year, I'd start whining too.

Posted at 10:35AM on Apr 7th 2008 by August West

14. Hey Big Sam:
Scoreboard, bitch.

Posted at 10:36AM on Apr 7th 2008 by August West

15. @12 I didn't say that most people attribute the qualities of incest, inbreeding, child-eating and defeatedness to the Titans. But I also think that a lot of people are ignorant, and basically the Titans are banking on the fact that most people are morons.

I like to educate readers about things they may not have already known. I will admit to finding it really funny seeing this video being posted on message boards around the league right before the Titans face those teams.

Interesting to read your theory about how informing people about the origins of the Titans name affects things on the field.

@13 Yup, your team has played well against the Texans. Some day that might not be the case, but your team will always be named poorly. (Though maybe someday they will get rid of that nasty logo).

By the way, your discussion of the Save the Oilers stuff is revisionist history. By the time it was made public that the Oilers were gone, it was a done deal. There is nothing that the public could have done to keep the team at that point.

In the end, it worked out for the best for the city of Houston because they got a great facility for both the team and the rodeo, perpetual sellouts, some of the best tailgating in the league (wasn't allowed under Bud) and they jettisoned their vulgarian owner. It turned out to be a win for Houston and a win for Nashville, so it is all good (except for your team's goofy name, logo and colors which can only be accounted for due to Bud's bad taste and indifference to Greek history).

It is much easier to be a fan of a team when your owner isn't absolutely awful. Some day you may find that you get sick of Adams' stuff too, and you will be resigned to rooting for a team whose owner sickens you. I actually feel badly for Tennessee fans having to have that guy as your owner as the only way you could get a team.

Thanks for reading and commenting,
Steph

Posted at 10:56AM on Apr 7th 2008 by Stephanie Stradley

16. When the highlight of your season is Sage Rosenflfalan staging a comeback that almost (but not quite) beats those baby eating Titans, it's understandable that you might be a little bitter.

Posted at 10:56AM on Apr 7th 2008 by vince_u_mah_boi_dot_com_semicolon_texans_suck

17. Why did Bud Adams move the Oilers to a smaller city? Maybe he likes to see the sun during games and breathe clean air. Who knows?

I have to admit though that I was blown away by your observation that the Titans logo looks like a flying thumbtack or a flaming meatball. You're right! It looks exactly like those two things. I never noticed it before! By the way, what's up with the Dolphins logo being a dolphin on a thumbtack emitting light? Also, I can't believe the Steelers made their logo a meatball with three stars on it. And why in the world did the Redskins make their logo a thumbtack with feathers hanging off the side? Weird.

Posted at 12:00PM on Apr 7th 2008 by Matthew

18. @ Matthew

Thanks for making that point... I've posted the same stuff for Big Sam, but he just gets his jollies off by hammering VY in the most knuckle-dragging manner possible.

Posted at 1:32PM on Apr 7th 2008 by August West

19. Okay, I've heard criticism about the Titans name and logo for years, partly based on a general cluelessness about its meaning.

Doesn't anyone get the reason for the name and the logo? Nashville is called the "Athens of the South," given that name over 100 years ago for its large quantity of universities and emphasis on education. We also have the recreation of the Parthenon. In fact, there is a longstanding tradition of Greek influence and reference in our city. The Titans were characters in Greek mythology (warriors who ruled before the gods of Olympus). They were strong, powerful, ruthless.

Also, the logo, which has been much reviled, has a similar significance. The T inside the circle resembles a sword, referencing the war-hungry Titans. And the fire around the circle can be seen as an allusion to the most well-known Titan, Prometheus, who stole fire from the gods to give to the humans.

I know this is heady stuff for a football name and logo, but the reference should be evident to anyone with even a little understanding of Nashville and Greek culture.

I think the incorporation of the Tennessee flag with the stars in the circle is what really makes the actually design of the logo cross over into tackiness. But I think the name of the team and the meaning of the logo work extremely well.

And it sure beats a bull's head.

Posted at 1:32PM on Apr 7th 2008 by wriggles

20. Why did Bud Adams move the Oilers to a smaller city? Maybe he likes to see the sun during games and breathe clean air. Who knows?

I have to admit though that I was blown away by your observation that the Titans logo looks like a flying thumbtack or a flaming meatball. You're right! It looks exactly like those two things. I never noticed it before! By the way, what's up with the Dolphins logo being a dolphin on a thumbtack emitting light? Also, I can't believe the Steelers made their logo a meatball with three stars on it. And why in the world did the Redskins make their logo a thumbtack with feathers hanging off the side? Weird.

Posted at 1:32PM on Apr 7th 2008 by Everything's Bigger in Texas