Texas is a football state. The Houston Oilers may not have had the nationwide appeal that the Dallas Cowboys do, but fans were less than pleased to see them leave Space City for Tennessee after the 1996 season.
The franchise kept its nickname for two years before rebranding as the Tennessee Titans. It is paying tribute to those days with a new throwback uniform set.
Social media was filled with praise. Fans noted the uniqueness of the team’s old color scheme and oil derrick logo. All of that goodwill had one thing in common though – none of it was coming from Houston.
Instead, that city was indignant. It was evident in the way local sports talk hosts reacted to the Titans posting the first images of the Oilers throwbacks on Twitter.
Sports Radio 610’s John McClain took an opposite approach. He says the outrage on display in the city rings hollow. After all, this is a team that drew less than 50 fans to rally designed to show how much the city values the NFL.
McClain’s colleagues on In the Loop were not happy with his tweet and took to social media to refute the reporter’s claims.
