Report: Tennessee Titans Were Originally Nicknamed 'Pioneers' Before Leak

[SFGiants58]

If Houston can't have the Oilers, nobody can have the Oilers.

[DCarp1231]

The entire Titans identity is far and beyond from generic. If anything, their previous uniforms were more generic than the current set, but still nowhere near stone cold generic.

 

In my eyes, the two most “generic” identities in the NFL are the Cardinals and Raiders. Both for different reasons.

 

With the Cardinals, their uniform set is straight up Reebok catalog cookie cutter. 

 

With the Raiders, their uniform set is just flat out the most generic you could get. Two colors. That’s all you got. Two stripes on the entire uniform. Nothing more.

 

(For the record, I’d also like to say that the Raiders uniforms are flawless in every way)

[Red Comet]

27 minutes ago, Ark said:

"Be difficult?" By stating the underlying problem in all of this? That the Oilers identity is better, and that the Titans actually had the Oilers identity at one point but decided to change from it?

 

Well I'm wrong, their team does have an Ancient Greek theme. I don't think it's done very well though, the sword and flame in the logo could refer to anything. And about the generic theme argument, there is a difference between generic and classic. Even if the difference can be subjective.

 

Keeping the name "Tennessee Oilers" after the transition period from moving out of Houston to a new stadium in Nashville makes about as much sense as Lamar Hunt deciding that this team he has moving from Dallas to Kansas City, Missouri should stay the Texans. And that was something he was strongly considering too. So, its not like your kind of opinion comes from nowhere. The Oilers identity was great but like another great dead identity in the Washington Bullets, I wish them good luck naming the team that now and not getting flack for it.

[B-Rich]

39 minutes ago, Ark said:

...That the Oilers identity is better, and that the Titans actually had the Oilers identity at one point but decided to change from it?

 

The Houston Oilers' identity was fantastic. The Tennessee Oilers' identity was stupid.

The New Orleans Jazz' identity was terrific. The Utah Jazz' identity is stupid. 

The Minneapolis Lakers' identity was great.  The Los Angeles Lakers' identity, over fifty years and numerous championships later, is still pretty dumb. 

 

[SFGiants58]

8 minutes ago, B-Rich said:

 

The Houston Oilers' identity was fantastic. The Tennessee Oilers' identity was stupid.

The New Orleans Jazz' identity was terrific. The Utah Jazz' identity is stupid. 

The Minneapolis Lakers' identity was great.  The Los Angeles Lakers' identity, over fifty years and numerous championships later, is still pretty dumb. 

 

 

The Giants and Dodgers would make way more sense if they flipped cities.

[Ark]

9 minutes ago, B-Rich said:

 

The Houston Oilers' identity was fantastic. The Tennessee Oilers' identity was stupid.

The New Orleans Jazz' identity was terrific. The Utah Jazz' identity is stupid. 

The Minneapolis Lakers' identity was great.  The Los Angeles Lakers' identity, over fifty years and numerous championships later, is still pretty dumb. 

 

 

These are both pretty bad examples because the LA Laskers' identity is GREAT and the reason why the Utah Jazz's identity isn't that on the Lakers level (despite it sounding really good) is that the Jazz haven't won much (although they have had several playoff runs) and they keep changing their uniforms. The Stockton-Malone era have been enough to solidify the Utah Jazz identity, though. All this really does is show that it doesn't matter at all if a team's identity seemingly doesn't belong in the geographical area, all that matters is team success. it also helps to have great uniforms, which the Oilers had and the Lakers really only had when they moved to the Forum and switched to purple and gold. 

 

And as the poster above mentioned, the LA Dodgers and the SF Giants. Both are fantastic, timeless identities to this day even though both teams moved and the names would make more sense if they switched cities. 

[IceCap]

1 hour ago, SFGiants58 said:

If Houston can't have the Oilers, nobody can have the Oilers.

I'm going to win the lottery and buy the team just to prove you wrong 

[monkeypower]

1 hour ago, SFGiants58 said:

If Houston can't have the Oilers, nobody can have the Oilers.

 

[Quillz]

2 hours ago, Ark said:

 

This is true but

 

- A lot of these teams are original to either the NFL or AFL, which basically gives them exemptions for having generic names.

- The Titans, on the other hand, were created in the late 90s.

- If the Titans had an Ancient Greek theme it would be totally different, but no, their theme is arguably the most generic in the league.

- Despite there being no oil in Tennessee, Tennessee Oilers is a better identity in every way than Tennessee Titans.

So if I literally called my football team "Football Team." but it was created in 1920, it would not be generic? And a name that has zero relevance to the region it's in is better than a name that actually does tie in to the region? (There was a link to the Tennessee Parthenon). I mean you are certainly entitled your opinion but these are some odds ones to have.

[SFGiants58]

33 minutes ago, IceCap said:

I'm going to win the lottery and buy the team just to prove you wrong 

Heh. I’ve got a better idea:

 

 

Also, I totally forgot about Edmonton. But heck, if Edmonton can’t have the hockey Oilers, nobody can have the hockey Oilers.

[sky1324]

1 hour ago, Ark said:

 

These are both pretty bad examples because the LA Laskers' identity is GREAT and the reason why the Utah Jazz's identity isn't that on the Lakers level (despite it sounding really good) is that the Jazz haven't won much (although they have had several playoff runs) and they keep changing their uniforms. The Stockton-Malone era have been enough to solidify the Utah Jazz identity, though. All this really does is show that it doesn't matter at all if a team's identity seemingly doesn't belong in the geographical area, all that matters is team success. it also helps to have great uniforms, which the Oilers had and the Lakers really only had when they moved to the Forum and switched to purple and gold. 

 

And as the poster above mentioned, the LA Dodgers and the SF Giants. Both are fantastic, timeless identities to this day even though both teams moved and the names would make more sense if they switched cities. 

I disagree, I think the Lakers look ok at best and have plenty of things that need updating. The reason they've stuck around is absolutely because of the championships. The Jazz name has become somewhat iconic as an infamous example of sports names not matching their location but I actually think they look better than the Lakers. I think all three names here (Oilers, Jazz, Lakers) make a very, very strong case for almost always changing the name upon a move (I'll throw the NOLA Hornets into this pile as well) and that success is a major factor in keeping a misnomer around, like you said. 

[infrared41]

3 hours ago, Ark said:

Despite there being no oil in Tennessee,

 

Yeah, about that...

 

 

[guest23]

48 minutes ago, infrared41 said:

 

Yeah, about that...

 

 

 

End of discussion.

[McCall]

4 hours ago, infrared41 said:

 

Yeah, about that...

 

 

They were from Arkansas.

[infrared41]

47 minutes ago, McCall said:

They were from Arkansas.

Granny was from Tennessee. Also, according to the guy who created the show, they were from the Ozarks in Missouri. That aside, https://www.hornetcorp.com/post/largest-producing-well-in-tn-history so my point still stands. There is, in fact, oil in Tennessee. 

[chakfu]

On 5/12/2020 at 10:42 PM, henburg said:

I had always heard that the finalists were Titans, Pioneers, Wolves, Blitz, and Copperheads, although I think that Copperheads may have just been a fan movement and not an actual consideration from within ownership. 

 

Side note, I can't believe that they're allowed to post like a thirty-word fun fact and call it an article, but that's sorta Bleacher Report's thing I guess.

 

I remember the site being awful like that in the beginning but thought that in recent years (or decade) it was actually surprisingly good. Was there another decline?  Because yes, this is a glorified funfact clickbait "article" like I remember from old days.

[kimball]

9 hours ago, Red Comet said:

Keeping the name "Tennessee Oilers" after the transition period from moving out of Houston to a new stadium in Nashville makes about as much sense as Lamar Hunt deciding that this team he has moving from Dallas to Kansas City, Missouri should stay the Texans.

That’s a horrible take. Maybe I’m on edge today because people over in the Rams’ thread are acting like their look is the worst thing ever (it’s eh), but the two aren’t comparable. There’s oil in Tennessee (some, but obviously not as popular in Texas), but people from Missouri aren’t Texans.

 

I think Tennessee could have kept the Oilers name and everything would have been fine. Especially after their Super Bowl run their first season as the Titans. Even with that said I don’t mind their current logo. The new jerseys are too much. They really should have kept the white helmet and simplified the look. 

 

[neo_prankster]

18 hours ago, DNAsports said:

If you think Titans is a generic name, wait until you learn about:

 

Cardinals

Falcons

Panthers

Bears

Cowboys

Broncos

Lions

Chiefs 

Rams

Vikings

Raiders

Eagles

Add to that list:

Bengals

Giants

Patriots

Saints

 

Right?

[Brian in Boston]

When you think about the names that were reportedly under consideration, Tennessee Titans was a terrific choice. After all, what else on this list truly jumps out at anyone?

Tennessee Ambush                              Tennessee Marauders                              
Tennessee Bandits                               Tennessee Pioneers
Tennessee Blitz                                     Tennessee Power
Tennessee Bobcats                               Tennessee Presidents                        
Tennessee Commanders                       Tennessee Rampage
Tennessee Commandos                        Tennessee Rapids
Tennessee Conquerors                          Tennessee Rattlers                   
Tennessee Copperheads                       Tennessee Rattlesnakes                       
Tennessee Cougars                               Tennessee Renegades
Tennessee Fury                                      Tennessee River Bandits
Tennessee Generals                               Tennessee Siege 
Tennessee Hornets                                 Tennessee Thunder 
Tennessee Knight Hawks                       Tennessee Tornadoes                         
Tennessee Legends                                Tennessee Vipers

Personally, I could possibly see going with Copperheads, Generals, or Vipers. Maybe Renegades, but you'd have to steer well clear of Native American imagery.

Frankly, given that Nashville's commitment to higher education earned it the sobriquet "The Athens of the South", as well as the fact that the city has been home to the world's only full-scale replica of the Parthenon since it was built for the Tennessee Centennial and International Exposition in 1897, Titans - a name drawn from Greek myth - was perfectly apropos. It was also nicely alliterative alongside the Tennessee place name.

To my mind, the name wasn't - indeed, isn't - the problem with the Tennessee Titans identity. Rather, it's what the team has elected to do with its visual branding that's been a disappointment. I've always felt that of the logos the Titans employed from launch in 1999, they would have been better served by using this...



... as the centerpiece of their brand, rather than the "Flaming Thumbtack". For instance, I think it would have been a much better logo on the helmet than the "FT". I've had people push back and say, "No, that mark would have been too tall to make a good helmet logo." That's nonsense. The "T-Sword" is no more vertically aligned than the oil derrick primary that the  Houston/Tennessee Oilers had sported on their helmets for 39 seasons. 

Now, I'm not saying the Titans couldn't have improved upon their visual branding package. For starters, I feel that the "T-Sword" would have been helped a great deal by replacing the Silver elements in the logo with the franchise's traditional Columbia (Titans) Blue. I think the pale blue would work just as well in terms of adding shading and depth to the logo as the Silver did. I understand introducing Navy into the team's color scheme, because alongside Red it ties into the State of Tennessee's flag. That said, I'd be looking for every opportunity to fit the team's traditional light blue into the logos whenever possible. 

I also think that when it came to putting together a logo package, rather than going in the direction of a fairly nondescript mark like the "FT", the Titans should have embraced more obvious martial imagery. For instance, something akin to what the Arena Football League's Albany Conquest utilized. Namely...

  

I'm not saying exactly in this style, which may strike some as a bit too cartoon-like in execution. Rather, I would simply like to see the Titans use imagery that is more evocative of ancient Greece and ancient Greek warfare. More swords, shields, and warriors/Titans. For instance, picture three white, five-pointed stars replacing the "A" in the center of the Conquest's shield-and-swords logo. Further, imagine the scrolling Gold meandros pattern on said shield being rendered in Red and pushed out to the very edge of the shield, effectively replacing the Red line that's already there. Lastly, visualize the logo's Gold key line and the Gold highlights on the swords being replaced by Columbia Blue. The result would be a pretty clever way to render the center device from the Tennessee state flag as the decoration on a depiction of an ancient Greek shield.       

I also think that a Greek meandros pattern such as the one in the Conquest's logo package would be a terrific addition to the Titans' identity system. I could see a pattern similar to this...

 

... being used as the traditional front-to-back center stripe on the team's helmets, as well as striping on the sleeves of the jersey and down the sides of the legs of the pants. Such an application of an existing Greek art form would be a much more clever - and, simultaneously, less heavy-handed - means of adding pertinent design detail to the Titans' uniforms than plastering depictions of swords to the top of the helmet and across the shoulder yoke of the jerseys.

Ancient Greek history, art, and myth has the potential to provide the Tennessee Titans with plenty of inspiration for a truly outstanding identity package. They just have to know where to look... and, apparently, that ain't Beaverton, Oregon.
 

[DCarp1231]

5 hours ago, neo_prankster said:

Add to that list:

Bengals

Giants

Patriots

Saints

 

Right?

Eh, I don’t see Bengals as generic. Yeah it’s another name for a tiger, so I’m glad they didn’t go with Cincinnati Tigers.

 

Giants is debatable. I mean, the only instances you ever really hear about the name are New York and San Francisco. Are there any other sports leagues that have a Giants team?

 

I could see Patriots as generic. You’ve got New England and the Atlantic Baseball League Somerset Patriots along with likely hundreds if not thousands of high schools with the nickname.

 

I’d almost feel like Saints is a pretty regional heavy name. I don’t think I’ve heard of “Saints” outside of Louisiana.