At long last, the homesick Houston Oilers are history! Rising splendidly from the ashes are the revamped and resurgent Tennessee Titans, feet firmly planted in the home turf of the spanking new, state-of-the-art, spare-no-expense Adelphia Coliseum in Nashville. After three years of wandering in the football wilderness, fleeing the indifference of Houston for the further indifference of Memphis, the road-weary warriors have been embraced by Music City in a warm southern welcome.

Home field advantage is a fact of football life, a welcome respite from the road, where stadiums of strangers—hostile, loud, and often downright ugly—provide a second line of defense against your every effort. Imagine the rigors of playing three seasons of nothing but road games! The 8-8 underdog Oilers of seasons past are dead and gone. The resurrected Titans have an impressive 13-3 regular season record, remain unbeaten at home, and boast three stunning playoff wins, including the AFC Championship. Next stop: the Super Bowl. (Editor's note: Courtney's article Jupiter and Upsets in the NFL discusses the chart of the St. Louis Rams coach Dick Vermeil, the Titans' Super Bowl opponent.)

Pluto Brings Transformation

When we start thinking in terms of rebirth or resurrection, we can safely assume that the planet Pluto must be involved somehow. The Roman god of the underworld lives on in his planetary namesake and oversees such deep and transformative processes as death, reincarnation, recycling and renewal. We can trace the planet Pluto’s effects clearly in the chart of the Titans’ head coach Jeff Fisher (February 25, 1958, 11:45 am PST, Culver City, California).

Jeff Fisher’s Prominent Pluto

Fisher’s birth chart features a very prominent Pluto, closely intertwined with not only his Sun and Mercury, but also with the important Midheaven/IC axis. Fisher’s Pluto is exactly on the IC (Imum Coeli), the angle  of the chart that rules home, roots and real estate. His Pisces Sun and Mercury are placed opposite Pluto on the Midheaven, or MC, the angle of the chart that rules career and profession. With these placements Fisher was somewhat predisposed to experiencing profound transformations in both his home and his career.

Pluto Square Pluto

In January of 1995, when Fisher was officially named head coach of the (then) Houston Oilers, Pluto had moved to the point in the zodiac  where it was once again directly affecting these same areas of his chart and his life. At that time, Pluto had just entered Sagittarius  and was exactly square (or forming a 90 degree angle) to his natal  (birth) Pluto and his Midheaven/IC axis. The square is a challenging aspect, which, while not always thwarting success, tends to create obstacles that test one’s determination. So, while Fisher was promoted under the influence of the Pluto square to the high-profile leadership position he was born for, underlying tensions were about to erupt and uproot both him and his team.

Pluto moves very slowly, and it lingered three years in that square, eventually afflicting Fisher’s Pisces Sun and Mercury as the years passed, and undercutting every aspect of his domestic and professional life. The Oilers/Titans bounced back and forth between Texas and Tennessee while waiting for their new home and identity to materialize. Finally, in 1999, the pressure was off. Pluto began to separate from the squares to Fisher’s chart, just as the Titans were settling into their new digs in Nashville.

A Team With Pluto Power

Many of the team’s best players also have strong Pluto alignments in their birth charts, giving them extra power and resilience in difficult situations. Often individuals with a strong Pluto are drawn to more extreme experiences, perhaps as a way of proving themselves or refining their souls.

The Titans' offense relies on the inimitable Eddie George (born September 24, 1973 in Philadephia). A running back with a natal Sun-Pluto conjunction, he combines the grace and elegance of Libra Sun (self) with a Pluto power drive.

Aquarius quarterback Steve McNair (born February 14, 1973 in Mount Olive, Missouri) is as sturdy and unpredictable as his sign—just as likely to run through a defense as to throw. McNair has a natal Mars-Pluto square. With this aspect, Pluto adds extra depth and explosiveness to his formidable Mars (energy, action) in Capricorn.

NFL Defensive Rookie of the year Jevon Kearse (a.k.a. “The Freak”) is one of those rare individuals gifted by nature with extraordinary physical abilities and reflexes. In his first professional season, this skillful Virgo (born September 3, 1976 in Fort Myers, Florida) is redefining the defensive end position, frightening offenses by routinely doing the impossible and heretofore unthinkable. Kearse was born supercharged, with both Mercury (thought, communication) and Mars (action, energy) conjunct Pluto in Libra, taking his competitive drive and dexterity to almost super-human levels.

Rising from the Ashes

The Titans’ winning record is proof that what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger! Fisher has done a remarkable job in not only assembling a good balance of maturity and talent, but also in keeping his players motivated and united through all the upheaval. The Tennessee Titans have arrived, to a man, knowing all too well that there’s no place like home!