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

[_DietDrPepper_]

2 hours ago, DNAsports said:

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.

St. Paul Saints in the American Association. 

Also the St. Paul Saints old hockey team. But yeah outside of those saints is one of the most unique names in the NFL, I don't think many high schools or colleges have it either

[WideRight]

On 5/12/2020 at 8:42 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.

The Copperheads design that fans were pushing was really solid.  Loved the copper helmets with the dark green jerseys.   Sorry, could not find a better image. 

[chcarlson23]

3 hours ago, _DietDrPepper_ said:

St. Paul Saints in the American Association. 

Also the St. Paul Saints old hockey team. But yeah outside of those saints is one of the most unique names in the NFL, I don't think many high schools or colleges have it either

Saints is somewhat generic, but it fits really well with New Orleans.

 

And that person who made up the list put Vikings on the generic list? How is that generic?

[Brian in Boston]

10 hours ago, DNAsports said:

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

I think you'd find that the Saints nickname is pretty evenly distributed throughout the country. After all, it's bound to be attached to the athletic teams at a fair amount of religious-affiliated high schools, colleges, and universities - and that's regardless of where said institutions are located.

I know that the athletic teams at Emmanuel College in Boston are nicknamed the Saints. My niece went to Marymount University in Arlington, Virginia and their sports teams are the Saints. There are the Saint Lawrence University Saints and Siena College Saints in New York. Holy Cross College in South Bend, Indiana - founded and operated by the same religious order as the University of Notre Dame - is home to Saints athletic teams. Mike Thibault - former Bucks, Bulls and Lakers assistant coach, as well the winningest head coach in WNBA history - was a student-coach of the Saint Martin's University Saints in the State of Washington.

Beyond school sports teams...

* As _DietDrPepper_ pointed out, St. Paul, Minnesota is currently home to the Saints of independent minor pro baseball's American Association. That franchise is but the latest in a string of baseball and hockey teams that have borne the Saints name while representing St. Paul and/or Minnesota in various leagues dating back to the 1800s. This includes, amongst others, the Saints baseball club in the Triple A American Association and the Fighting Saints of the World Hockey Association.
 
* In junior hockey, there have been two different Dubuque Fighting Saints teams with a combined history that spans decades.

* Sal LoCascio, who was a four-time lacrosse All-American at UMass, went on to play for the New York Saints of the National Lacrosse League. They played out of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum for a pretty lengthy chunk of time, because I believe LoCascio was with them for at least nine or ten seasons.

* While in college, I remember going to see the American Hockey League's Springfield Indians play host to the St. Catherine's Saints, the top affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

* I have a friend whose son plays for the Arroyo Seco Saints, a Pasadena, CA-based team that competes in the California Collegiate League.

My point being, I don't know that Saints is necessarily as region-specific a name as you believe it to be.

[DCarp1231]

Honestly, if you really think about it, every professional sports team (outside of a select few), not just NFL, has a family tree of other establishments using names. No matter how you look at it, every team name is relatively generic. “How generic is it?” is a different question.

[monkeypower]

23 hours ago, SFGiants58 said:

Heh. I’ve got a better idea:

 

 

[The_Admiral]

13 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

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...

 

 

[LogoFan]

13 hours ago, Brian in Boston said:

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.
 

 

One of my best friends who's lived in Nashville almost 40 years said he and a lot of people he knew were hoping for "Tornadoes", especially after the tornado of 98 that went through downtown Nashville.  I think it would've been a good choice, too.  But maybe "Moonshiners" should be on that list.  LOL

[WSU151]

10 hours ago, DNAsports said:

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

 

Vancouver Giants

 

St. Paul Saints. 

[FiddySicks]

On 5/13/2020 at 12:19 PM, 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.

You May have been incorrect about them having a “Greek theme”, but you’re absolutely right about the second part of that. If that’s supposed to be a Greek theme, they represent it pretty terribly. And it’s a shame, too. There are so many subtle little things they could do to really get that across, yet instead they make the shoulders of their jerseys look like huge sword blades. It’s really terrible.

 

 

Speaking of that, with all of the teams who were modernized by Nike jumping ship back to more simple looks, how long until the Titans join them? Their last set had become a bit stale, but I think it was still good, and if anything had some pretty promising elements. The current set is an absolute train wreck. I’d go so far to say that it’s now the worst look in the league (yes, worse than the Rams and Falcons).

[OnWis97]

On 5/13/2020 at 4:16 PM, Quillz said:

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.

Actually, that's not too far off.  A lot of names picked back in the day would never fly now, particularly, original NL/AL teams:  Athletics, Phillies, Red/White Sox, Reds. There are a few others: Packers, Browns.  Then again, Texans did fly today.

 

I think Titans is kind of generic...then again, unique gives us "Wild" and "Heat."  I actually think Pioneers would have been better.  I'm also a fan of keeping names (Colts, Raiders, Rams) and would have preferred Oilers...at least their uniform history would probably be better.

[FinsUp1214]

I’m still debating if they’ve got the worst now, but in my opinion the Titans have a bad look that is at the very least the cheesiest look in the league right now. “SWORDS EVERYWHERE” is a terrible theme, they look like if the Excalibur in Las Vegas fielded a football team. I wouldn’t have minded shoulder yokes that are shaped like a blade and filled in with one single color (preferably powder blue), but giving it a gray shadow and highlight to look like a real sword is WAY over the top and something I’m frankly stunned got the green light. That an experienced designer came up with that, shared it, and didn’t get a “you effing kidding me?” from whoever was calling the shots baffles me. 

Also, the side panels are very “thrown on” and purposeless. I’ve seen some people say here, “oh chill, you can’t even see them half the time”. Well, what’s the point of them then if I can’t see them half the time? I guess it shouldn’t have been there at all in the first place.

[Brian in Boston]

Poochie went from being a Kung Fu Hippie in Gangster City to an Elvis impersonator in Bluff City. Tragic. 

[SFGiants58]

I like the Houndogs’ logo design, for a minor-league hockey team in Memphis. The template is still pretty decent and would translate well to modern cuts.

[gosioux76]

2 hours ago, OnWis97 said:

Actually, that's not too far off.  A lot of names picked back in the day would never fly now, particularly, original NL/AL teams:  Athletics, Phillies, Red/White Sox, Reds. There are a few others: Packers, Browns.  Then again, Texans did fly today.

 

I think Titans is kind of generic...then again, unique gives us "Wild" and "Heat."  I actually think Pioneers would have been better.  I'm also a fan of keeping names (Colts, Raiders, Rams) and would have preferred Oilers...at least their uniform history would probably be better.

It's interesting what some of us consider as generic. I actually think Pioneers sounds more generic than Titans. And I'd probably flip that had Tennessee chosen Pioneers all those years ago and left Titans on the cutting room floor.

 

To me, Pioneers is a video game create-a-team name. It's one of those names feels as if it's been on so many teams' lists of potential names, but is never strong enough to win out.  I think the closest it has ever come to becoming a big-league moniker is in Portland, where it was the preferred choice for the Trail Blazers before getting discarded since it was also used by Lewis & Clark College. 

[Brian in Boston]

18 minutes ago, SFGiants58 said:

I like the Houndogs’ logo design, for a minor-league hockey team in Memphis.

Exactly! ECHL team? Yes. NFL franchise? Hard no. 

[kimball]

1 hour ago, SFGiants58 said:

I like the Houndogs’ logo design, for a minor-league hockey team in Memphis. The template is still pretty decent and would translate well to modern cuts.

 

Same. You have to wonder how that look would have progressed over the past 25 years if they were awarded a franchise.

[lahaye7]

On 5/13/2020 at 7:54 AM, henburg said:

 

I think I remember Presidents, Tuxedos I'm not sure of. I also think that I vaguely remember Generals or Commanders as one of the higher choices as well.

 

 

dang, now I want to see a Tennessee Tuxedos concept 

[Chromatic]

Maybe this is unpopular, but I like the current Titans identity as far as their name, logo and colours. I just think their uniforms are a horrible misstep.

[neo_prankster]

On 5/14/2020 at 4:23 AM, DNAsports said:

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.

 

St. Paul Saints baseball in Minnesota?