The Oilers throwbacks were universally loved this weekend -- we need to fight this in court or if that fails, in the court of public opinion. Put pressure on the NFL to let the Texans negotiate a deal with the Titans to purchase the naming rights. BRING BACK THE OILERS. I strongly suspect that the reason the Titans brought the Oilers jerseys out of retirement this year was because the Texans were moving in the direction of adopting the Oilers' colors. The Titans resurrected the image to show that they still value the rights and are not just sitting on them out of spite. The NFL is unlike the commercial marketplace. With enough pressure from the owners and commissioner, things can get done outside of traditional contract law and commercial practices. Where does the NFL make more money? With the Oilers in Houston or in Nashville? Easy answer -- make the change and bring the Oilers home!
I disagree with your reason why the Titans brought back the Oilers jersey because those jerseys (and colors) ARE their throwback unis and they are free to do as with them as they damn well please. And in WHAT universe do you think that the league and owners will strip a franchise of it's intellectual property simply because the fans in the team's former city are butt-hurt? Just where were all of you "Luv Ya Blue" junkies when Bud was moving the team? Because THAT was the time to force him to leave the Oilers and their intellectual property in Houston (which is what Cleveland did when Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore). No court is going rule in favor of forcing the Titans to relinquish their property and there is literally no public pressure (outside of this board and r/Texans on Reddit) that even gives a sh*t about this. Their ONLY shot at making this happen would be to offer to purchase the Oilers intellectual property from the Titans. Good luck with that.
Because the league and the owners will make more money if the Oilers and the brand are in Houston. Very simple explanation.
If this was Tennessee's current name/color scheme/brand, then I can understand a cease and desist but the Titans moved on from those uniforms 25 years ago. So no team, a non-NFL team at that, can ever use a color scheme that they no longer use except for a rare throwback game?
But why would the Steelers do that? They have actually forged an identity of their own unlike Nashpatch who have failed so epically at distinguishing themselves, what with the third tier arena league clown suits and logos, that after nearly a quarter century after SPECIFICALLY citing the desire to move on from the past realize that it's just easier to steal an identity from a far superior city and fanbase.
Yeah, not gonna happen. There's no way anyone can quantify if this would actually be the case. For as many of you who feel this way, there are many more who were fed up with the Oilers and are glad they no longer exist. This is the NFL you're talking about and the league simply will not go out on a limb and set this kind of precedent particularly for an unknown and dubious financial payday. The time to try to do this was when Bud left because the city had some leverage against the league because of all the money that was sunk into the Astrodome in order to placate Bud. And, as you can see from this morning's news, the league has cracked down on UH trying to pull the ol' H-Town fast one on the Titans which should be an indicator of whose side it would choose.
For the last time: it doesn't matter because the Adams family were allowed to move the Oilers to Tennessee. Even though they renamed the team to Titans, they are the sole owners of all rights to the Oilers intellectual property and they can do whatever they want with them. This was Bud Adams' final F*CK YOU to the city of Houston and all long suffering Oilers fans.
The Titans can be pressured by the NFL into negotiating a deal with the Texans to transfer the ownership of the trademark, name, logo, and colors. This is simple stuff. The NFL has 20 different ways of exerting pressure on a franchise to do things that are in the best financial interest of the owners. There are many examples of this occurring -- the Redskins forced name change is a recent one.
They do not, and I don't see any Oilers logo on those UH uniform. Adams family can go fck themselves.
Reminder: Pancakes John McClain leads the charge year after year to get Bud Adams into the Hall of Fame. Yet, the Titans own beat writer says he doesn't belong: https://www.houstonchronicle.com/sports/article/oilers-titans-owner-bud-adams-dies-at-90-4914917.php NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams is a Hall of Fame candidate who has a case and some support. But the crowd in front of the 90-year old Adams and voters’ understandable propensity to elect players ahead of contributors is likely to keep him out despite the case several voters make for him. “Besides the playoffs, one thing I would like to accomplish is to be considered in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I realize there may be some hard feelings about me moving the team to Nashville, but I truly feel my body of work … “Besides the playoffs, one thing I would like to accomplish is to be considered in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I realize there may be some hard feelings about me moving the team to Nashville, but I truly feel my body of work … “I don’t like tooting my own horn. But at my age, and now being the senior NFL owner, there is no one from back in those days than can really speak up for me now. I really feel this year could be a year I get serious consideration after 53 years. I’m sure hoping that’s the case.” No, you can’t write the history of Pro Football without him. His part in the creation of the AFL and its ultimate combination with the NFL was crucial. But history didn’t stop then, and his contributions to NFL in the 43 years since the merger didn’t do anything to build on those big contributions and don’t warrant a bronze bust in my eyes. A good argument on Adams’ behalf is that if Ralph Wilson is in the Hall, Adams should be. The logical counter argument is that Wilson doesn’t necessarily belong there, and you can’t put the next guy in because the last guy got in. Here are some nuts-and-bolts of a case against Adams: He couldn’t build or maintain a relationship or partnership with Houston mayor Bob Lanier. That created a scenario where he had to break the hearts of a very good AFL/NFL market and move. (That move, I point out in the interest of full disclosure, was very good for my career.) Houston ultimately got an expansion franchise and the stadium Adams so desired. Had he been better at political relationships, the Oilers might still exist and perhaps Nashville would have been an expansion market. In exchange for the league paving his way to Nashville, Adams basically agreed to be a "yes man" for commissioner Paul Tagliabue, and now Roger Goodell, in perpetuity. That means Adams has been a follower since 1996, not any sort of leader during a crucial era in league growth. His best football moves also amount to ancient history. His most recent fingerprints on the franchise were the drafting of Vince Young (a major setback for a team that’s not fully recovered, still) and the foolish firing of beloved Oilers coach Bum Phillips. Another event shouldn’t leave much of a mark. But in the Internet, cable TV age, it showed the degree of his disconnect that an inability to control himself left an indelible, negative imagine behind. On Nov. 15, 2009, after a regular-season win against the Buffalo Bills, he celebrated from his box by extended two middle fingers toward the visiting team. That was without purpose, cost him a $250,000 fine, and is the first thing that comes to mind for some when his name comes up. Is that stuff bad enough to offset the strong part of his resume and his strong role in the early history of the AFL, and the AFL and NFL combining forces? Four of five Hall of Fame voters who Wyatt talked to make a compelling case for Adams, despite it all. I’m glad it’s colleagues and not me deciding. But I’ll have no beef if they put a player in ahead of him, again.
How would Adams belong in the Hall? He never won anything. Never did anything, and in fact, couldn't even keep his team in their town. A town that is football crazy.
