Bringing back the Oilers

[Warren]

Legacy lost: Should Titans return "Oilers" to Houston?

The Oiler name had great sentimental value to Bud Adams; the NFL seemingly had to twist his arm to make him follow through on his promise to rename the team once they got to Tennessee.

The Oiler history should be in Houston. The retired jerseys of Norton, Bethea, Campbell, Munchak, Matthews, and Moon should be hanging in NRG (okay, Nashville has a claim to Matthews too). The Texans should be able to break out the Columbia blues once a year. The former Houston Oiler players should be able enjoy the nostalgia in a city where there's actually nostalgia for them. Having the Texans and Oilers share a recordbook just makes sense despite the fact that they're not the same corporate entity. Pro sports try to sell us on the myth that these are "our" teams and this would be one symbolic way of showing that. The Nashville fans couldn't care less.

The Adams family should let this happen with the condition, out of respect for Bud, that the Texans can only wear the uniforms once per year and can only use the name in connection with the throwback stuff. Merchandise revenues from NFL Properties are split evenly among teams so the Titans wouldn't be losing out on any money. They could say they're doing it to help heal old wounds and let bygones be bygones.