Titans fans, enjoy.
For the first time in decades plural, the Tennessee Titans are legitimate Super Bowl contenders. Enjoy the ride.
Who knows how long it’ll be until we’re here again. The Titans are in the beginning of a 3-5 year window of serious contention for deep playoff runs, and yes, that means Super Bowls too.
This roster on paper is probably the most complete this team has been since it moved here in 1996. Media expectations are still low. This feels set up for a lot of arguments on Titans Twitter™ right?
I hope not. In this year of all years, this team needs its fanbase. Please for the love of everything good, don’t spend the whole year arguing over whether or not [insert player] is performing at the level we need. This doesn’t have to be a stressful experience.
For each of the three main forms of Titans’ social media, I’m going to give you special words to yourselves.
At the end of the day, we’re all wearing the same colors and jersey numbers, but Twitter, Reddit, and Facebook are three different beasts that must be spoken to individually. Consider these next slides to be open letters of sorts.
Titans Twitter, I have a love-hate relationship with you.
On one hand, Titans Twitter is a gold mine of memes. Even our media members are heavily involved in the Twitter fanbase.
Most days, Titans Twitter is perfectly fine and honestly pretty enjoyable to participate in. But once there’s anything that splits opinion, mentions get flooded with absolute vitriol.
For however long this season lasts, be it one game or all 16, please just remember to try not to have such huge knee jerk reactions. I can already see the character limit length tweets about how Darrynton Evans is a bust because his first carry on a third-down is a loss of two yards.
Take some notes from our new friends at Nashville SC, and our fanbase on Twitter, and just have fun. Spam other teams with memes on game weeks, crank the sarcasm up as much as possible and stop engaging with people who clearly don’t understand this team.
I know how difficult it is to not dunk on every ignorant Indianapolis Colts fan, or really any Jacksonville Jaguars fan, or every Houston Texans fan who wants to pretend like they have any claim to the Oilers legacy, but show restraint. They’re not worth any of the 240 characters you’d spend on them.
Titans Reddit, you’re often the least reactionary of us, keep it up please.
I’ll always hold a special place in my heart for you, Titans Reddit. You introduced me to Titans fan culture, some of my best online friends through the subreddit discord, and most importantly, you are how I became acquainted with the very best member of our fanbase, Matt Neely.
I guess you could say Matt had just as big an impact on Titans Twitter, but Reddit is where I first became acquainted with him. [Editor’s note: As a Matt Neely fan myself, let me say that as someone who has never been to Titans Reddit, it is hard for me to imagine a place where he was more loved and enjoyed than Titans Twitter. -Will Lomas]
It’s by far the best policed of all three major platforms of Titans fandom, thanks to an absolutely amazing mod team.
This isn’t to say that there isn’t reactionary content in /r/tennesseetitans, because there is, both in submissions, and mostly in game day threads, but because there’s a group of mods who care, a lot less passes through the filter.
It takes a lot more effort to make a post on the subreddit than to tweet or post on Facebook, so Titans Reddit is typically a great place for discussion. Keep it up, guys.
Titans Facebook, to quote the great Aragorn, you are beyond my skill to heal.
Titans Facebook, in my opinion, you are the most reactionary segment of our fanbase and that means that you are probably the group that I agree with the least.
I honestly don’t know why you are constantly looking to drum up trouble and conflict, and in the words of Michael Scott speaking to Toby Flenderson, “Why are you the way that you are…what gives you the right”.
I don’t believe there’s anything I can do to convince you to do some self-reflection, Titans Facebook, but I can at least attempt to do so.
I have a couple requests for you, please at least think about them, because even as flawed as the other two segments of the are there is a lot more harmony and fewer issues that have nothing to do with football there.
- Dial back the on judging a fan’s opinion based on anything that doesn’t anything to do with how much they know or love this team, okay? This group has a vocal minority that says some crazy things that make the group as a whole look bad, which is a shame.
- Use the brains you were all gifted upon your birth. I genuinely believe many of you to be reasonably intelligent people, especially when it comes to football, so please act accordingly and don’t resort to being petty and angry.
Now that that’s out of the way, I’m fully expecting to see absolutely nothing change with you, Titans Facebook, but maybe I am wrong and this is the first step towards a more harmonious relationship.