Kaye Jernigan, a longtime member of the Murfreesboro community, was met with the surprise of her year when she was announced as the 2025 Tennessee Titans Fan of the Year.
In November, members of the Titans’ organization came to her workplace at Middle Tennessee State University with the big announcement.
“They showed up here at work and gave me the news,” Jernigan said. “I was really in shock and disbelief.”
Since then, Jernigan has attended multiple Titans home games and has had some memorable experiences on the field.
“I had some passes to go down on the field,” Jernigan said. “I got a chance to go where T-Rac’s den is and meet him there and ride out onto the field.”
She also had the chance to run out of the tunnel alongside Titans players during their final home game of the season against the New Orleans Saints.
Jernigan has been a devoted Titans fan ever since the team moved from Houston to Tennessee in 1997.
“When they talked about coming here, of course, we were just overjoyed to have them,” she said.
Jernigan’s devotion to the Titans has been unwavering since the beginning, having traveled out to Memphis in 1997 and Vanderbilt in 1998 for home games the first two years after the NFL franchise—long known as the Houston Oilers—relocated to Tennessee.
The Titans have had a profound impact on Jernigan’s family, and have created lasted memories for them this season.
“The Titans have been nothing but great to my family this entire year,” Jernigan said.
This impact is especially true with how it shaped her bond with her late father.
“Me and my dad always watched football together for as long as I can remember,” she said. “I wish my dad was still here to take him.”
Jernigan is a retired assistant chief of the Murfreesboro Fire Department, having served the community for 33 years with that department. Now, she is the Emergency Operations Manager at Middle Tennessee State University.
The NFL Fan of the Year program aims to honor fans of each team who display “exceptional passion for the team, community service and unwavering love of football.”
Jernigan applied to be the Titans Fan of the Year with the help of her niece during a 2025 preseason game. Fans interested in applying to be next year’s Titans Fan of the Year can do so during August and September 2026, the time period of the preseason and the first month of the NFL regular season.
