Before the Texans, before the Rockets, before even the Astros, there were the Oilers.
Upon their inception in 1960, the Houston Oilers were their home city's first big-league professional sports team. They were an instant success, going a combined 20-7-1 and winning the AFL title in each of their first two seasons.
The Oilers persevered for 37 years before moving to Memphis in 1997. Two years later, they jumped again to Nashville and became the Titans.
Now, the Titans are resurrecting the Oilers' image for throwback uniforms to be worn against the Falcons on Sunday.
That doesn't sit well with former Texans defensive end J.J. Watt, who in the 2010s took the "face of Houston professional football" title abdicated by Oilers stars of years past.
"Having lived in Houston for 10 years and the people there and the connection that they have to Earl Campbell, to Warren Moon, to these guys that wore those," Watt said on Wednesday's edition of The Pat McAfee Show. "These guys that wore those uniforms and what that meant when they played at the Astrodome. It hurts to not have been able to wear those in Houston and it hurts to see them being worn somewhere else."
"I lived and played in Houston and I wanted to wear those jerseys very badly" ~ @JJWatt #PMSLive https://t.co/TKvgZulKGO pic.twitter.com/WLT0kmCTKd
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 25, 2023
Tennessee will also wear the uniforms against the Texans on Dec. 17, a game Watt labeled a must-win for his former team.
"The winner of that game should get the uniforms," he said.
