Even as NFL beefs go, the bad blood between the Titans and Texans is unique. No other organization in the NFL decides to still wear the jerseys of the team they used to be, before their owner moved them to a new city for … reasons.
But, sure enough, once or twice a year, the Titans decide to remind fans that they used to be the Oilers, and that the Oilers used to have way nicer jerseys than the Titans currently do. It rubs a lot of people the wrong way – including, apparently, the owners of Houston’s actual football team.
While doing an interview with local media recently, Cal and Hannah McNair were asked about beating the Titans last year, and what it felt like to see them in Oilers jerseys while doing so. Cal McNair side-stepped around the question a half-dozen ways, but Hannah went straight for the kill.
Hannah McNair calls out the Titans over Houston Oilers throwbacks
“I think Houston liked that game a lot,” she said. “Especially winning that game there while they were wearing something that Houston takes a lot of pride in. And you know, Tennessee doesn’t care as much. It’s not as meaningful to their fans as we saw in a survey 20 or so years ago when they did change to the Titans. The Oilers didn’t mean as much to the Titans fans. So to win there meant a lot to Houston as they were shoving that in our face.”
On one hand, that was like 20 years ago. On the other, it’s not exactly surprising that the owners of Houston’s current football team don’t love people dressing up as Houston’s former football team. If the Titans don’t respond by exclusively wearing these jersey for the two games a year they play the Texans, what are we even doing here? This is how iconic NFL rivalries are formed.
