It was one thing for the Tennessee Titans to wear Oilers throwback uniforms in Week 8 against the Atlanta Falcons, a game that they won 28-23. After all, the Titans franchise owns the history of the Oilers, so from a technical sense, they can choose to do whatever they want with that history.
However, while owner Amy Adams Strunk, the daughter of the late Bud Adams, and the Titans are the successors to the Oilers, there should be a line.
The Oilers called Houston home from their inception in 1960 through the 1996 campaign. While the franchise was called 'the Tennessee Oilers' from 1997-1998, they rebranded to the Titans in 1999. For all intents and purposes, the history of the Oilers took place in Houston.
So that makes the decision for the Titans to wear Oilers throwback uniforms again this week against the Houston Texans -- the expansion team awarded to the city six years after the Oilers left town -- feel extremely inappropriate. Again, yes, the Titans can choose do whatever they please with the history of the Oilers, because they own it. But making Houston football fans watch their current team playing against a division-rival who is wearing the Oilers uniforms feels unnecessarily cruel.
The Titans say they are wearing the Oilers uniforms to coincide with Billy "White Shoes" Johnson being inducted into the team's Ring of Honor, which pays tribute to to legends who have played for the franchise in Tennessee and/or Houston. No one is suggesting Johnson -- one of the great kick/punt returners in NFL history -- isn't deserving of this honor.
But the game isn't taking place in Houston and said ceremony will not be televised.
Perhaps a brief mention of Johnson's induction will be made on the telecast, but the takeaway from older fans in Houston will still be the bizarre reality of watching the team that currently represents the city, playing against the iconic "Luv Ya Blue" jerseys that are so synonymous with the Astrodome.
There's a case to be made that once you relocate a team to another city -- particularly when you ultimately choose to retire the nickname -- you shouldn't wear the previous city's uniforms ever again, even if you own that history. But at the very least, most would agree you shouldn't wear those uniforms against the city that you took the team away from.
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