Former Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals star defensive end J.J. Watt isn’t a fan of the Tennessee Titans’ choice to wear throwback uniforms on Sunday.
The Titans will pay homage to the franchise’s original roots by donning Houston Oilers uniforms for tomorrow’s Week 8 home contest against the Atlanta Falcons. The Titans even re-designed the Nissan Stadium playing surface to the Oilers’ logo that was used during their time in Houston:
During his appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show” (h/t Patrick Andres of Sports Illustrated), the three-time Defensive Player of the Year explained why he’s unhappy with the Titans’ decision to bring back the Oilers’ throwback jerseys on Sunday:
“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. 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.”
Before relocating to the Music City, the franchise was based in Houston — where they played from 1960 to 1996. The team relocated to Nashville in 1997, and they retained the “Oilers” team name for two years before switching it to “Titans” in 1999.
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The Titans went on to reach their first ever Super Bowl in the 1999 season, where they narrowly dropped a heartbreaker to Kurt Warner’s St. Louis Rams. Houston football fans were left heartbroken until 2002, when the Texans entered the NFL as an expansion franchise.
That same year, the NFL realigned into eight divisions consisting of four teams apiece. The Titans and Texans have, fittingly, resided in the AFC South together with the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars for 21 years now.
The Texans and Titans will meet each other on Dec. 17 and Dec. 31 in Nashville and Houston, respectively.
