Sure it's nice thinking about the Oilers. But I'm one of the fans that wanted a new start. Bud ruined any remaining love I had for the oilers when they skipped town. RIP Oilers. GO TEXANS! (We need to wear Battle Red Jerseys more often! They are the best! )
you recall incorrectly. the tennessee fans did not want bud to maintain the name; it had no connection to his new home. he steadfastly refused to change; it was his name, his franchise. lines were drawn, sides chosen. the nfl eventually stepped in and leaned on bud to change it. he did, on the condition the nfl would retire the oiler name, which they did. bud then did what only bud could do - he selected a replacement name that had even less connection to tennessee than the oilers had.
Fan interest is something cultivated as a child, living and dying after school each day with each win and loss of the hometown club. You get attached to the players who were on those clubs, and you idolize those guys in a way that you just don't as an adult. Like Max, I grew up with the Run-and-Shoot. Both the Oilers (Warren Moon and his crew of smurf receivers) and the Cougars (Klingler, Ware) saw their greatest successes with that system, and it was alot of fun to watch, even if it was fundamentally flawed as an offensive philosophy. My first sports love was the Oilers, and I watched them religiously, even when they broke my heart time and again. As an adult, I just can't build up the same level of passion for the Texans, although I hope they succeed.
That's why it made soooo much sense to honor Warren Moon there on Saturday. Nice going, bud. Wasn't there a little controversy with the name Titans because it was the name of an officer (or whatever) in the KKK? Nice going, bud.
I actually thought the Titans were in relation to Nashville being the "athens of the south", with that replica of the parthenon being there.
This is an exercise in historical revisionism: the Luv Ya Blue era was a blip on a radarscreen of decades of football futility. Overall, the Oilers were one of the most awful, heartbreaking teams in the history of the NFL. When you look up the word "jackass" in the dictionary, Bud Adams picture is there. The first years and the Luv Ya Blue era is all that I want to remember. No I don't want to remember the Warren Moon era because images of Buffalo keep coming up. We need to always remember, sports is not about the fans, it is about our money.
The years of heartbreak, though, were part of our history and connection with the team. When we lost the team, we lost all the things that made us a fan for all those years. Honestly, I do think that most people in the area wanted a fresh start, and if I were Bob McNair, I'm sure I would've wanted a new name/image, too, especially since the Oilers name was so tied to Bud Adams (whereas the Browns name seemed to be easy for Cleveland fans to separate from Modell). But I do miss the Oilers a good bit, and the new name, etc. has made it that much more difficult for me to connect to the Texans, even though I like the name and love the logo/uniforms of the Texans. But I think it's great that Houston was able to get a new team as quickly as they did and didn't have to go and poach some other city's team.
the cubs and red sox were all about years of heartache. i promise you, neither chicago nor boston would be happy to see those teams go.
But they're a bunch of idiots though. If an Astro fan caught a foul ball in a playoff game, I don't think he's have to be escorted out of the stadium and then have his whole life ruined because of it. We also don't burn our city down when our team wins a championship.
I could have sworn the city of Houston or somebody offered a bunch of monety to buy the Oilers name and colors but Bud refused.
possible. they didn't change their name until 1999. but it was never going to happen. oilers meant more to adams than anyone. cleveland organized - they threatened lawsuits that would have cost the nfl MILLIONS; all the league had to do was leave the browns name, colors, et al, alone. the nfl caved. houston mounted no such obstacle.
And judging from what I'm seeing in the Nashville press, ol' Bud's act has started wearing real thing on the Titan's fans as well. Once an a-hole - always an a-hole...
I think so too . Maybe we could use the Steel Blue as our alternate and the red as our regular home jersey . Would that take league approval ? I also think that we should have a "Steel Blue Day" and wear solid steel blue , jerseys , pants the whole nine .
The Oilers will ALWAYS be my favorite football team.They represented our city with class,no matter the score.So active in civic affairs,just a bunch of good ole boys,forever a part of Houston.We lived and died with them..The Oilers brought our city together.And yes a wonderful reminder of childhood.Memories of the games,pep rallies,Earl,Bum,and all those characters throughout the years. For a long time I hated Bud,but as I've grown older my feelings have softened and I remember the good times and appreciate what he's done for our city and the NFL.
