In 1995, word came down that the Houston Oilers might be leaving the Lone Star State and headed to Nashville. It was met with a lot of “what in the world?” Then the ball started rolling and Nashville held a vote for the Oilers to move to town and it passed, if I recall 59-41 percent. Team moved to Nashville in 1997 and in 1999, they became the Titans and moved into then, Adelphia Coliseum.
A love affair started immediately, capped by an appearance in the Super Bowl that season. It was the most amazing start and the city and all of middle Tennessee was just captivated by them. Although, the team has not gotten back to the Super Bowl, there have been some really good seasons where Nissan Stadium was electric and the team was competitive.
1999, 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021 were all fantastic seasons where the team reached the playoffs. In 2021, they were the number one seed in the AFC, but lost to the Bengals at home. 2022 season started out promising but the firing of General Manager Jon Robinson in early December, the team lost every game after that.
Since the beginning of the 2023 season, the Tennessee Titans are 12-46 and as the time I am writing this, they are 0-5. Then recently, the team fired some high level, non-football decision making, management. The lady over the re-branding was let go and two others as well. It shows ineptitude at almost every level.
I ask, has the shine worn off? Are the fans tired of said ineptitude? Are the tired of watching every Sunday a football team that is not just bad, but could be one of the worst of all time? Are they tired of an owner who runs the team the same way her father did? Are the tired of what seems is a franchise just doing circles all the time and not really going anywhere?
I do a sports talk show on ESPN Nashville 102.5 The Game, every weekday with Chase McCabe, and in the last two weeks, the frustration is not there anymore. It is complete apathy. At least from our sample size, most fans are done with the team. The owner and everything and everyone involved. I haven’t gotten into the $2 billion dollar stadium that you and I won’t be able to afford tickets to. That is not what this is about.
It might not be on the majority side, but it is growing. I see it; I hear it; I watch it everyday on our show as the calls and texts go from anger to laughter. Laughing at the team, not with it. It is most palpable in every way possible.
There is only one way out from a mess such as this and it is one thing. Winning. That is it. No one cares about the new stadium or the Super Bowl coming in three and half years. No fan wants to hear we are “rebuilding.” They just want to know that you, from the owner to the last man on the roster, are giving everything you have to make this a respectable franchise.
As of now, the only hope that this team has is that the season will eventually come to an end. It cannot come soon enough.
