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


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Oh man...there's so many ways I can go with this.

 

On the field, up until two years ago, the Titans' brand identity definitely wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but it was definitely unique. (By the way, regarding that former shoulder yoke, I'm pretty positive that was to evoke the fly of the Nashville city flag, just in luv-ya blue (or Titans Blue as they call it now) rather than yellow. And I *unpopular opinion alert* actually applaud the Titans for not going the predictable route and splattering Greek patterns onto their uniforms.  (That said, I cringe to think what kay happen if the cats in Beaverton were to get their claws on that idea come the next Titans update in a few years-or so i hope.) I also don't share the angst for the flaming thumbtack that others do--i believe it was inspired by the flame of Prometheus, and it is if nothing else instantly recognizable (other than the Miami Heat, are there any other pro sports logos that resemble a fireball?). 

 

That said...the thing i could never and still can't figure out is why they don't prominently feature their supposed-to-be-signature color in and around their stadium and on their signage. Even going back to the days of Adelphia Coliseum, they barely used it--the stadium itself was most bare concrete and red. Two or three years back they painted some of the bare exterior navy and swapped out the entire upper bowl of seats, which were all red, with navy ones, so now even the sets are navy and red. The only place their Titans blue is prominent is in their pro shop (which let me tell you if you like that color, it will catch your attention FAST). Of course now that they've all but cast their supposed-to-be signature color into obsidian oblivion, it halfway doesn't even matter now--especially now that the Chargers are about to make their light blue even more prominent than the team thats supposed to own light blue in the NFL! But whatever.

 

Some have said they'd like to see what their primary logo would look like on a [Titans] blue helmet. I'm sure there are some mocks somewhere, but here it is on a flag...

 

SPORTS-TT-2.jpg

 

It can work, but it very obviously wasn't designed to work on a light blue helmet (because you'd lose the light blue flames in the logo otherwise). IF Tennessee was to ever double down on their light blue (and I actually hope that one day they do), that logo would have to be retooled to suit--wouldn't take a lot of work, but they'd have to be smart about it. These images show that a heavily columbia-and-white identity can work...

 

14970295292_e96eae5702_o.jpg

 

Bu4Nq4FCIAAm2uw.jpg

 

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Of course the Titans themselves did a pretty good job of making this work at one point themselves...

 

usa_today_10288310.0.jpg

 

Titans_Jaguars_Football.JPG.jpg

 

848531264.jpg.jpg

 

Titans.jpg

 

dbeb5b56effb1bc1be606deca23a7d01_crop_ex

 

BN-WD095_3eBz5_M_20171114135035.jpg

 

Sometimes you really don't know what you miss until it ain't here no more. I grew pretty fond of these uniforms during the time I lived in Nashville, and now, looking at these versus what they have now...it's rough.

*Disclaimer: I am not an authoritative expert on stuff...I just do a lot of reading and research and keep in close connect with a bunch of people who are authoritative experts on stuff. 😁

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1 hour ago, Buc said:

 

Some have said they'd like to see what their primary logo would look like on a [Titans] blue helmet. I'm sure there are some mocks somewhere, but here it is on a flag...

 

SPORTS-TT-2.jpg

 

It can work, but it very obviously wasn't designed to work on a light blue helmet (because you'd lose the light blue flames in the logo otherwise).

 

usa_today_10288310.0.jpg

 

I disagree that you would need to re-color the Columbia blue flames. You don't lose the half white T on a white helmet. You wouldn't lose the Columbia blue flames, either. 

It's where I sit.

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38 minutes ago, Sec19Row53 said:

I disagree that you would need to re-color the Columbia blue flames. You don't lose the half white T on a white helmet. You wouldn't lose the Columbia blue flames, either. 

 

To be clear, I didn't say that the columbia blue flames would necessarily need to be recolored, but I do think would need to be retooled/readjusted (i.e.reduced in size or something along that line).  My apologies for the confusion.

*Disclaimer: I am not an authoritative expert on stuff...I just do a lot of reading and research and keep in close connect with a bunch of people who are authoritative experts on stuff. 😁

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6 minutes ago, Buc said:

 

To be clear, I didn't say that the columbia blue flames would necessarily need to be recolored, but I do think would need to be retooled/readjusted (i.e.reduced in size or something along that line).  My apologies for the confusion.

I gotcha. I'm just not sure I agree.

 

Just my two rusty Lincolns 🤣🤣🤣

It's where I sit.

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On 5/13/2020 at 6:23 AM, 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

 

Cardinals: state bird of Illinois and the color of the faded University of Chicago uniforms they received

Falcons

Panthers

Bears: "Bigger" Chicago Cubs

Cowboys: Clearly a reference to Texas.......

Broncos: ranches in Colorado

Lions

Chiefs: Native American dominance over the region centuries ago

Rams: along the foothills of Southern Cal

Vikings: massive Scandinavian desecent in Minnesota region

Raiders

Eagles

 

 

Next! 

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On 5/14/2020 at 11:03 AM, WideRight said:

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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. 

 

Curious, what does Jay Schroeder have to do with any of this?

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5 hours ago, Sec19Row53 said:

I gotcha. I'm just not sure I agree.

 

Just my two rusty Lincolns 🤣🤣🤣

 

LOL!!!! You done got me with my own catchphrase.

 

2 hours ago, Pizzaman7294 said:

 

Cardinals: state bird of Illinois and the color of the faded University of Chicago uniforms they received

Falcons

Panthers

Bears: "Bigger" Chicago Cubs

Cowboys: Clearly a reference to Texas.......

Broncos: ranches in Colorado

Lions

Chiefs: Native American dominance over the region centuries ago

Rams: along the foothills of Southern Cal

Vikings: massive Scandinavian desecent in Minnesota region

Raiders

Eagles

 

 

Next! 

 

Plot twist: the Chiefs--at least as they tell the story--actually weren't even named for Natives...it was in honor of the nickname of a certain civic leader (whose name I don't immediately recall).

*Disclaimer: I am not an authoritative expert on stuff...I just do a lot of reading and research and keep in close connect with a bunch of people who are authoritative experts on stuff. 😁

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2 hours ago, Buc said:

Plot twist: the Chiefs--at least as they tell the story--actually weren't even named for Natives...it was in honor of the nickname of a certain civic leader (whose name I don't immediately recall).


You're thinking of H. Roe "The Chief" Bartle, two-term mayor of Kansas City, Missouri. Prior to his time as mayor, he was an attorney, executive within the Boy Scouts of America, public speaker, president of Missouri Valley College, second national president of the Alpha Phi Omega fraternity, and philanthropist. In addition to the football team, he is the namesake of the Kansas City Convention Center's Bartle Exhibit Hall. 

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On 5/16/2020 at 8:12 PM, Pizzaman7294 said:

Rams: along the foothills of Southern Cal


Isn’t the name from Cleveland and were mostly borrowing from the Fordham Rams who were a strong collegiate team at the time of the NFL team’s formation?


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  • 9 months later...
On 5/14/2020 at 12:50 AM, 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.

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...

cH7sl9nm.png

... 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...

VDmA0gVm.gif h2FoSEHm.gif cyQfGXRm.gif

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...

 

WbZ4C9u.jpg?1

... 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.
 

 

You couldn't be more correct in how the Titans should be branded. Ancient Greece and ancient warfare should be the inspiration . They should have gone with a heavy dose of meandros patterns with their new look. It's powerful and would instantly be attributed to the Titans. The stripe on the helmet, sleeves, pants should have been based on that. It'd look amazing with the two tone blue.

 

My vision for the rebranded home jerse is a light blue helmet,(dark gray facemask) navy blue home jersey with solid light blue numerals with the Titans word-mark font, light blue meandros pattern on sleeves. light blue pants with navy blue meandros pattern on the side. Alt Jersey simply flips the blues.

 

Away- Basically the inverse of the home: white jersey, navy numerals trimmed with light blue, navy pants with light blue meandros pattern on the sides. 

 

I wish I had a program to mock this up.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 5/16/2020 at 10:38 PM, tBBP said:

Plot twist: the Chiefs--at least as they tell the story--actually weren't even named for Natives...it was in honor of the nickname of a certain civic leader (whose name I don't immediately recall).


Even if true, that doesn’t exactly work in the team’s favor. 
 

If anything, it makes it worse. 

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On 5/18/2020 at 10:47 AM, NormMacdonald said:

The only reason they ever gave for naming themselves the Rams is that someone in the organization liked Fordham


Fordham was a dominant college football power at the time.  Maybe even the dominant power. 
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Blocks_of_Granite

 

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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.


Can I get tomorrow’s lottery numbers from you?

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  • 4 weeks later...
On 5/13/2020 at 10:13 AM, SFGiants58 said:

 

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


Oh God. Shut up now. You’re completely right and I HATE it. 

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On 11/19/2012 at 7:23 PM, oldschoolvikings said:
She’s still half convinced “Chris Creamer” is a porn site.)
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  • 2 weeks later...
On 5/14/2020 at 3:50 AM, 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.

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...

cH7sl9nm.png

... 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...

VDmA0gVm.gif h2FoSEHm.gif cyQfGXRm.gif

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...

 

WbZ4C9u.jpg?1

... 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.
 

Nominee for post of the year.  Excellent, all the way around!

 

Also, Titans is a tough, though reasonable name to deal with, especially considering the New York Titans (see: NY Jets) previously existed.

 

Tennessee Thunder wasn't probably going to work, because, well, the NFL generally does not like non-"S", non-plural nicknames.  And I think Blitz was out because of the old Chicago Blitz of the USFL and potential copyright violations.

 

Of those listed, Tennessee Rattlesnakes might have actually worked....(just my 2 cents....)

 

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