When the late Bud Adams packed up the Houston Oilers and took them to Tennessee back in the mid-’90s, he took EVERYTHING Oiler-related with him — the then current roster, the history of the team, and indeed, he took the team logo and colors. It all belonged to him, and he was sharing with nobody who had a 713 area code (and eventually a 281 or 832 area code).
Eventually, Adams passed away, and the zombie Oilers, now known as the Tennessee Titans, are run by his daughter Amy Adams Strunk, who for years has been sitting on an intellectual property nuclear bomb in the Oiler colors and uniform scheme. The Titans won them, but have never used them — until now.
Rumblings began this offseason that 2023 would finally be the year when the Adams family dusts off the old Oiler uniforms, and in the process giving Houstonians a dose of football-PTSD that can only be matched by Frank Reich and Jack Easterby. Those rumblings turned into reality over the weekend, beginning with the changing of the team’s avatar on Twitter:
By Sunday night, the tease turned into a full fledged unveiling:
So after nearly three decades in Tennessee, the Adams family is pointing its nuclear weapons right at the longtime Houston fans, and pressing the red button. How much of the timing has to do with the Texans reportedly looking to add a lighter blue to their jersey scheme in the pending new Texan uniforms is unknown, but has certainly made for some juicy speculation.
As Houston fans lost their collective mind on social media on Sunday night — and kudos to the Titans’ social media team, whose listed mission was probably “Make Houston fans lose their minds” — many speculated as to whether Titan fans have nearly the hunger to play in these uniforms as the Adams family themselves. In a piece on the team’s website, we were reminded of Strunk, last year, trying to sell that the Oilers history runs quite deep in Tennessee, even though they’ve been the Titans since 1999:
“Oilers history is Titans history,” Strunk said last year. “We know our fans feel passionately about showcasing that legacy on game day, and we’re actively working on making throwback jerseys possible in the near future. Stay tuned!”
Additionally, Surf Melendez, the team’s Vice President and Executive Creative Director, claims that legendary former Oilers are in love with this idea:
“They loved them,” Melendez said of the current Titans. “They really loved them.”
Former Oilers have also seen them – Warren Moon, Robert Brazile and Elvin Bethea were given a sneak peek when they were in Nashville for an alumni event last year.
“They loooooved them, and it took them back,” Melendez said of the former Oilers. “The guys who wore the uniform, it took them back. And they were able to speak to the significance of wearing that uniform. This was an original AFL team, so there’s a rich tradition there and now people are going to see this, and they are going to be reminded of this rich history.”
I’m curious how much of the former Oilers’ zest for the jerseys is courtesy to Strunk, as opposed to genuine enthusiasm. Aside from the unveiling itself, all we know is that the team will wear these uniforms in two Titans’ home games this season. Worth noting, the Titans play the Texans at home in December in Week 15, so there could be a second nuclear bomb coming from the Titans in the coming days. Stay tuned.
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This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
