Tennessee Titans

They weren’t always Titans. The franchise began life as the Houston Oilers in 1960, playing in the AFL under owner Bud Adams. They moved to Tennessee in 1997, first as the Tennessee Oilers, but the name felt out of place in Nashville. Oil belonged to Texas; Tennessee needed something different. After consultation with fans, the team rebranded in 1999 as the Tennessee Titans.

Why “Titans”? The name evoked strength, power, and myth — the ancient gods of Greece who ruled before Olympus itself. It was also a nod to Nashville’s nickname, the “Athens of the South.” Since the late 19th century, the city has prided itself on education and culture, capped by its full-scale replica of the Parthenon, built in 1897 for Tennessee’s Centennial Exposition. Standing proudly in Centennial Park, the Parthenon symbolises Nashville’s classical aspirations — a Southern city presenting itself as a centre of learning and art. Naming the team the Titans drew directly from that imagery: gods of old given new life in a city that already saw itself as a modern Athens. The new badge — a flaming silver-and-blue shield with a bold “T” and three stars (a nod to the Tennessee state flag) — sealed the look.

On the field, the Titans made an immediate impact. In their very first season under the new name, they stormed to the Super Bowl in 1999 (XXXIV). That game produced one of the most dramatic endings in football history: “The Tackle,” when Kevin Dyson was stopped just one yard short of the goal line as time expired, sealing victory for the St. Louis Rams. The heartbreak cemented the Titans’ reputation as fighters who went down swinging.

The franchise’s legacy blends innovation and grit. Under quarterback Steve McNair and running back Eddie George, they became one of the AFC’s toughest sides in the early 2000s. Later, Chris Johnson’s blazing 2,006-yard season in 2009 gave fans the thrill of “CJ2K.” More recently, under coach Mike Vrabel, the Titans have leaned on Derrick Henry, a running back built like a Titan himself, whose stiff-arms and long runs have become the stuff of legend.

Tennessee is a land of frontiersmen and Civil War battlefields, of country music stages in Nashville and the mighty Mississippi in Memphis. The Parthenon gives it a classical echo, while the Titans’ badge ties in state pride with its three stars. Together, the myth of Titans and the grit of Tennessee form one identity: a team reborn from the Oilers’ past, rooted in culture and history, and driven to stand taller than the rest.