Titans owner sacks idea of Texans wearing Oilers jerseys

J.J. Watt and DeAndre Hopkins have been vocal about the Texans wearing the old Houston Oilers jerseys, but that idea may have died with the franchise.

If you grew up in Houston, you probably have fond memories of a team called the Houston Oilers. Long before the Texans were a thought, you grew up with players like Warren Moon and Earl Campbell. And you certainly remember the original color scheme for the jerseys, giving us the famous moniker of Luv Ya Blue.

But it seems like those memories will stay right where they are, according to the Tennessee Titans.

The Oilers were in existence from 1960-96 before they relocated to Tennessee. Oilers fans were irate for a number of reasons, with one of them being that the likeness of the Oilers, including the jerseys, would go with Tennessee. After the Oilers left town, Houston wouldn’t see another team until 2002 when the Texans came to be.

A rivalry was born, partially due to the old team being known as the Tennessee Oilers during their inaugural 1997 season. Over the last year, current Texans stars J.J. Watt and DeAndre Hopkins have expressed interest in having the Texans bring back  the Oilers jerseys. And everybody seems to be on board with that. Except for the Titans.

As seen above, Hopkins posted to his Instagram account an image of him wearing the classic Oilers threads. Fans and other NFL players seemed to be in support of it.

But the Titans hold the ownership to all branding of the Oilers. That includes the logos, the jerseys, the name, etc. Writer Paul Kuharsky, who once covered the Titans for ESPN and now runs PaulKuharsky.com, interviewed Tennessee owner Amy Adams Strunk recently. The topic of the Texans’ interest was brought up to her.

To say that the Oilers have nothing to do with the Texans is technically true. The Texans are a post-Oilers franchise and are a separate entity. And as stated, the Titans do have the rights to everything Oilers. But do the fans have an argument for the city of Houston, considering that’s where the team originated?

If you’re a Texans fan, or even an Oilers fan, where do you stand on the Titans holding the Oilers the rights instead of the city of Houston? Should the Texans get at least one Sunday to wear the infamous colors? Some feel that those uniforms are much better than the current “color rush” jerseys we see on Thursday nights around the league.