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03-29-2009, 10:57 AM
Commentary: Titans to don Oilers jerseys
By JOHN McCLAIN Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
March 24, 2009, 11:30PM
Based on your comments on my blog at chron.com, many of you are infuriated that the Tennessee Titans will wear the original Oilers uniform three times next season as part of the NFL’s tribute to the 50th anniversary of the American Football League.
Last season, I told you about the league’s plans to honor the golden anniversary of the AFL by having the eight teams wear throwback jerseys. It became official during the NFL meetings on Tuesday, so read it and weep.
If you want to see an Oilers uniform for the first time since 1996, when they played their last game in the Astrodome, you’ll have three chances.
The first will be on Aug. 9, when NBC televises the Hall of Fame Game between the Titans and Buffalo Bills. The Titans will wear the Oilers’ 1960 blue and white jersey that has red accents. They’ll wear blue helmets with the oil derrick logo.
“I’m honored to be part of the Oilers’ tradition, and we’ll wear the uniforms with pride,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. “This is a great opportunity to share Oilers history with players and fans who aren’t familiar with it.”
Throwbacks in ’09
Fisher was the last Oilers head coach. He coached two full seasons in Houston before owner Bud Adams moved the franchise to Tennessee in 1997 and renamed it the Titans in 1999.
“It’s a privilege to be part of the 50-year celebration, because I was a small part of it before,” Fisher said. “The Hall of Fame Game is going to be special to me because it means I’ve managed to stay in this game long enough to be part of this tribute that begins in Canton.”
Two more times — both during the regular season — the Titans will wear the Oilers uniform when they play against original AFL teams — once at LP Field in Nashville and once on the road.
“I was a big Oiler fan growing up,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. “I know I’ve told this story a lot of times, but I was at the Astrodome when the Oilers came back from Pittsburgh (after losing the AFC Championship Game after the 1978 and ’79 seasons), and I’ve never seen anything like it. And I’ll never forget it.
“I think it’s going to be pretty cool that the Oilers are going to be remembered again.”
Since I found out last season that the Titans were going to wear the throwback uniforms, I’ve asked a lot of former Oilers players and coaches what they think about it. Just about all of them have told me they like the idea.
Don’t blame Bud
They say they don’t want fans to forget the Oilers. If having the Titans wear their 1960 uniform is the best way for fans to remember a franchise that spent 36 years in Houston, so be it.
It’s going to be strange, but before you start blasting Adams, he had nothing to do with it. This is an NFL-mandated commemoration of a monumental time during the history of pro football.
Adams played a crucial role in helping Lamar Hunt found the AFL. Their original announcement was made in Adams’ office. If you’re not a student of AFL history, the Oilers won the first two championships in 1960 and 1961 and lost the title game to Hunt’s Dallas Texans in 1962.
Adams, 86, and Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson, 90, are the last survivors of the eight-member Foolish Club, so called because each of the eight invested $25,000 to compete against the established NFL.
Next season, the NFL is paying tribute to an important time in the game’s evolution. A lot of Oilers fans don’t like the idea of the Titans wearing the uniforms. A lot of Texans fans want to forget about the Oilers because they’re gone.
Well, there’s a lot of us out there who’ll never forget the Oilers as long as we’re on this side of the grass, so deal with it.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/mcclain/6339102.html
This does not sit well with me. :mad:
By JOHN McCLAIN Copyright 2009 Houston Chronicle
March 24, 2009, 11:30PM
Based on your comments on my blog at chron.com, many of you are infuriated that the Tennessee Titans will wear the original Oilers uniform three times next season as part of the NFL’s tribute to the 50th anniversary of the American Football League.
Last season, I told you about the league’s plans to honor the golden anniversary of the AFL by having the eight teams wear throwback jerseys. It became official during the NFL meetings on Tuesday, so read it and weep.
If you want to see an Oilers uniform for the first time since 1996, when they played their last game in the Astrodome, you’ll have three chances.
The first will be on Aug. 9, when NBC televises the Hall of Fame Game between the Titans and Buffalo Bills. The Titans will wear the Oilers’ 1960 blue and white jersey that has red accents. They’ll wear blue helmets with the oil derrick logo.
“I’m honored to be part of the Oilers’ tradition, and we’ll wear the uniforms with pride,” Titans coach Jeff Fisher said. “This is a great opportunity to share Oilers history with players and fans who aren’t familiar with it.”
Throwbacks in ’09
Fisher was the last Oilers head coach. He coached two full seasons in Houston before owner Bud Adams moved the franchise to Tennessee in 1997 and renamed it the Titans in 1999.
“It’s a privilege to be part of the 50-year celebration, because I was a small part of it before,” Fisher said. “The Hall of Fame Game is going to be special to me because it means I’ve managed to stay in this game long enough to be part of this tribute that begins in Canton.”
Two more times — both during the regular season — the Titans will wear the Oilers uniform when they play against original AFL teams — once at LP Field in Nashville and once on the road.
“I was a big Oiler fan growing up,” Texans coach Gary Kubiak said. “I know I’ve told this story a lot of times, but I was at the Astrodome when the Oilers came back from Pittsburgh (after losing the AFC Championship Game after the 1978 and ’79 seasons), and I’ve never seen anything like it. And I’ll never forget it.
“I think it’s going to be pretty cool that the Oilers are going to be remembered again.”
Since I found out last season that the Titans were going to wear the throwback uniforms, I’ve asked a lot of former Oilers players and coaches what they think about it. Just about all of them have told me they like the idea.
Don’t blame Bud
They say they don’t want fans to forget the Oilers. If having the Titans wear their 1960 uniform is the best way for fans to remember a franchise that spent 36 years in Houston, so be it.
It’s going to be strange, but before you start blasting Adams, he had nothing to do with it. This is an NFL-mandated commemoration of a monumental time during the history of pro football.
Adams played a crucial role in helping Lamar Hunt found the AFL. Their original announcement was made in Adams’ office. If you’re not a student of AFL history, the Oilers won the first two championships in 1960 and 1961 and lost the title game to Hunt’s Dallas Texans in 1962.
Adams, 86, and Buffalo owner Ralph Wilson, 90, are the last survivors of the eight-member Foolish Club, so called because each of the eight invested $25,000 to compete against the established NFL.
Next season, the NFL is paying tribute to an important time in the game’s evolution. A lot of Oilers fans don’t like the idea of the Titans wearing the uniforms. A lot of Texans fans want to forget about the Oilers because they’re gone.
Well, there’s a lot of us out there who’ll never forget the Oilers as long as we’re on this side of the grass, so deal with it.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/mcclain/6339102.html
This does not sit well with me. :mad: