There are Tennessee Titans fans. And then there are the super fans.
The team has featured several of them in a series of promotional videos.
These football aficionados take their love for the team to a different level. They have elaborate costumes, like Titan Man, who commissioned a professional armorist to create his game day get-up.
They also have heaps of Titans gear. One super fan, who calls himself the Collector, has boxes of Titans cards dating back to 1999, 24 game-worn helmets and “enough jerseys to dress the 53-man roster seven times over.”
Plus, there are the super fan alter egos: Titanos, Macho Titan, Titanista.
Yolanda Dixon calls herself the Titan Goddess.
Dixon says she fell in love with the team the first time she went to a game about 15 years ago, after moving to Tennessee. Now, she shows up to Nissan Stadium in head-to-toe Titans swag, from her bright blue wig and flowing cape to her Titans high-top sneakers.
The look gets Dixon plenty of attention. She says people always want to take pictures — kids, fellow fans, even the rival teams.
“It’s fun,” Dixon says. “You get to bring people together and you have all the fans and we’re hype and the energy is something you can’t really explain.”
This season has been a nail-biter for her.
“There’s so many, ‘Oh my gosh’, moments. But then there’s so many, ‘Yes!’, moments,” Dixon says, shouting the “yes” as if the Titans have just scored a touchdown. “So, they balance each other out.”
There have been injuries and COVID scares. A few tough losses. Don’t even talk to her about the Jets game.
“But we’re still here,” she says.
Dixon says rooting for this team is not for the weak.
“You have to be strong,” she says. “You have to be willing to go on this rollercoaster ride.”
On Saturday, the Titans will face the Cincinnati Bengals in a playoff game.
The team finished the regular season at the top of their conference and a favorite to go to the Super Bowl. Dixon hopes this year the rollercoaster will take the Titans all the way to the Super Bowl.
“Every time I think about it, I get all teary eyed, because, it’s like, we’ve been ignored and stuff for so long,” she says. “In order to become a part of the club, you have to, you know, get a Super Bowl win. We know that.”
The Titan Goddess doesn’t have tickets for Saturday’s game. But she’ll be outside at the tailgate, cheering as loud as she can.
Adam McMillin, also known as Titan Man, will be there, too. The Nashville native has been rooting for the Titans since they were the Tennessee Oilers (formerly the Houston Oilers) back in the late 1990s. He was devastated when the team made it to the Super Bowl in 2000, only to fall one yard short in the final play of the game.
Courtesy Adam McMillin Adam McMillin, the Titan Man, comes to Titans game in a gladiator helmet and armor suit.
After about a decade of moderate-to-extreme fandom, McMillin started painting his beard blue. Then he got a spiky metal helmet. Slowly but surely, he transformed into a full-on super fan.
McMillin started to bring his nephew to the games when he was “a little bitty guy.” He became Titan Man’s sidekick, taking photos, cheering on the team and eventually donning his own flaming Titans wig.
“I guess I brainwashed him,” McMillin says. “He didn’t have a choice. He was going to be a Titans fan whether he wanted to or not.”
A few years ago, McMillin’s nephew died in a car crash. But since then, he’s still accompanied his uncle to every game, cheering on the Titans in a picture frame.
McMillin says his nephew will be with him on Saturday’s playoff game. Saturday is his birthday, and he’s hoping for a birthday present from the team.
“What better way to spend a big birthday than going to a big Titans game?” McMillin says. “For a big fan like me, the stars aligned.”
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