The Tennessee Titans’ true fan base is weathered — to put it lightly.

It’s been difficult, watching a team struggle for years, only to see them slightly improve and post an overall record of 9-7 for the past three consecutive seasons.

But the faithful continue to stand beside them, making their voices heard through social media, spending the money and making the trip to watch Tennessee in Nissan Stadium on Sundays, knowing it may leave a bad taste in their mouths.

Longtime fan Matt Neely is one of these people, and he’s been more than rewarded for his loyalty by being hired onto the staff of Taylor Lewan and Will Compton’s “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast to focus in primarily on social media and advertising.

The opportunity came about for Neely when Compton, currently a free agent, took to Twitter looking for someone to help he and Lewan to create and grow the podcast.

“I saw Will Compton had posted it on Twitter, and then I decided to get creative,” Neely says. “In the past, I was unemployed, and I used the hashtag ‘Hire Matt Neely’ and then it just kind of organically came back up. So, it just kind of seemed like a perfect landing spot. So I made a video for them, submitted my resume. And then I interviewed, and I didn’t mess that up.”

Anyone who follows the Titans and their fan base on social media is plenty familiar with Neely for his sense of humor, memes and videos he creates on the team.

After all, it’s kind of hard to forget a man who refers to Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk as his “mom.”

If there’s anyone capable of appealing to those interested in the team and creating worthwhile content, it’s Neely. It didn’t take long for him to feel the position Compton was offering was a great fit.

“When I went in for the interview, I felt confident, like this was something I had worked for without knowing. It really seemed like a perfect spot for my skill set, working with social media and closely watching all the Barstool stuff. The content I was making seemed like a perfect match. I felt more confident then than I feel most of the time in my life.”

Since joining Compton and Lewan on the bus, Neely has changed his perspective on a lot of things. From the way he conducts himself as an avid fan on social media platforms, to the way he views the players in general, there are some difference.

“For one, you realize that you can’t just talk a lot of trash on the internet. You’ve kind of got to watch what you say. But I’ve had a lot of good experiences, gaining a couple new friends. I feel like one thing Will and Taylor have both been a really good inspiration. They’re good people who are respectful and have a lot to offer and I really feel like I’m in a family, like we can create something great.”

He also feels like a more happy and positive person in general, moving forward in life with a sense of purpose.

“If you know me, you know that I’m kind of a pessimist about a lot of things, but I feel like I’ve been a happier person overall since I started doing this. It feels like I’ve got more of a purpose now, just being an internet person, and hopefully I can spread some of the things they’ve taught me about being positive and good work ethic. It’s been really cool hanging out with people I thought were the funniest people I’d ever seen.”

It’s also given him a closer look at a player he didn’t necessarily know much about before, as well as cause him to look at the big picture in life.

“I liked Will from the day he got to the Titans, but I didn’t know much about him. Seeing his professional drive has been really impressive. Seeing Taylor, I get a different side of him, how he’s a family guy. I’ve never truly wanted a family or anything like that, but seeing how happy he is with that has definitely turned my views on such a thing around. For me, just watching him with his family shows me that there’s more to life than just being alone. There are so many more important things to life than just the right now. They both plan ahead really well. Will is more business focused, while Taylor is more family focused.”

Already, Neely has been through some trying events with his newfound friends. One of these is the four-game suspension Lewan faces this season after violating the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy.

When Lewan went to Twitter with an emotional video insisting upon his innocence in the situation, Neely was one of many who took it seriously and backed Lewan.

“Anything Taylor says, I trust 100 percent. I know he didn’t do this on purpose. But for me, as a fan, outside of this show, I appreciate him going to extra lengths to prove to me that he wouldn’t do something to cheat the game,” he explained.

“Knowing him as a person, I can’t see it being a thing he would do, and I really hope the rest of the Titans fans feel the same way, and kind of understand this is a weird place in rulings like this in regards to the drug testing, all that stuff. He’s not going to take something for his body — this guy is like, three hundred something pounds. He’s a freak of nature. He’s not going to cheat the game, and he’s worked super hard over his career, and put other things behind him he allegedly did in college. I know for a fact that his message to the fans was heartfelt and it came from a good place — not someone trying to get off.”

Getting in the position to work with the Pro Bowl left tackle and free agent linebacker didn’t come easy, though.

Related 5 takeaways from Day 5 of Titans training camp practice

Neely spent years climbing the ranks, meeting people through social media, the Titans’ subreddit and RunPassOpinion.com, or “RPO” for helping him extend his influence.

He specifically referenced Reddit users u/cowboydan and u/sekular as people who supported him right out of the gate.

“I started working with Photoshop and I started making memes and I found a community in the Titans subreddit. These people are the best Titans fans, they are the most loyal, and they were looking for something to entertain them. So what we all did as a group was start making memes and entertaining each other during a down season.

When we got the number one pick, that’s when things really started to take off. I would be a fool not to give them all the credit in the world for helping me get in audience. And with that audience, we moved it to Twitter and I just feel like I’ve met so many people there. The online community, they’re really the people who helped me get this job in the first place.”

The next episode of BWTB is set to be released on Monday at 9 p.m. CT. Those interested in following along with the podcast can also find it on Twitter @BussinWTB.