NASHVILLE – The Titans will wear their Oilers throwback uniforms in home games against Houston and Atlanta in 2023, and former Oilers are happy about it.
In fact, when Hall of Famer Robert Brazile saw the uniform reveal over the weekend, he woke his wife up as he reacted.
"I was in tears when I saw these uniforms, because I was so excited," Brazile said. "My wife heard me and woke up, and said: 'Robert, is everything OK?' And I said: 'Brenda, it's finally going to happen! It's going to really, really happen! My colors, my Luv 'Ya Blue, it's coming alive again.' And it makes me, and it makes everybody that played with the Oilers know, 'We're not dead. We're alive. The Oilers are alive.'
"I don't think you can really understand it unless you were an Oiler. But I gave my heart and soul to that organization – it's the only organization I ever played for – and for Amy (Adams Strunk) and the team to keep our memory alive, it's heartwarming. Every time the Titans wear those Oilers jerseys, I don't care where they are at, I want to be at that stadium."
After announcing the return of the Oilers throwbacks over the weekend, the Titans on Thursday announced the games they'll wear them:
-vs the Atlanta Falcons, on October 29 at Nissan Stadium. The game will serve as Oilers/Titans Alumni Weekend, a tradition the team started several years ago.
-vs the Houston Texans, on December 17 at Nissan Stadium.
While there's still an outside chance the team could have an opportunity to wear them once on the road, the games against the Falcons and Texans are now confirmed.
Brazile, who played linebacker from 1975-84 with the Oilers and earned the nickname "Dr. Doom", can't understand why the folks in Houston have taken offense to the Titans bringing back the throwback uniforms. Brazile said the Titans deserve to wear them, and he thinks it's great they're wearing them against the Texans.
Other former Oilers agree.
"I am going to make this as plain and simple as I can for anyone who has any doubts about this: The Oilers are Titans history, not Texans history," Brazile said. "Look at the Titans Ring of Honor, and how many Oilers are in there? It's a good number (10). How many Oilers are in the Texans Ring of Honor? The answer is zero.
"I was born an Oiler and I'm going to die a Titan."
In 2023, the Titans will wear the same uniforms the Oilers wore for decades in Houston, until 1998, when the franchise also wore them as the Tennessee Oilers.
Tennessee's Oilers throwbacks will feature Columbia Blue jerseys with red around white on the numbers, and names on the back, with a red, white and light blue band on the sleeves.
They'll also feature white helmets, with the famed oil derrick, with red facemasks and red stripes outside of a thicker light blue stripe on the top. They'll include white pants, or britches, with red stripes on each side of a thicker light blue stripe down the side, along with red and white stripes on light blue and white socks.
The words 'Luv Ya Blue" will be on the back neckline of the jerseys.
"It's been a long time coming," said Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon, who played from 1994-2003 with the Oilers. "I've been talking to Amy about this for two years now and she's been wanting to do this for a long time, and I am glad it is going to happen.
"I would love to see them wear those Oilers both times against the Texans – once in Houston, so the Houston fans can see it, and of course in Tennessee so the fans there can see the uniforms."
The Oilers left Houston for Tennessee after the 1996 season and played a year in Memphis, in 1997, before playing in Nashville at Vanderbilt Stadium in 1998. The Tennessee Oilers became the Tennessee Titans in time for the 1999 season.
"I know this is a very sensitive subject in Houston, but the Texans never really reached out to any of the (former Oilers) and never made it feel like they wanted anything to do with the Oilers," Moon said. "They wanted to just create their own identity. And since Amy has taken over, she has really had a passion for the Houston Oilers – she wanted to bring everybody into one family, Oilers and Titans, and that's why she's had these alumni weekends, and been doing that for the last five years.
"Now all the Oilers feel really comfortable going to Nashville every year for their reunion, and they never had a reunion before Amy came aboard. I know my number is retired in the stadium in Nashville, and it's where I'm in the Ring of Honor, and that's what I identify with now."
Bud Adams, father of Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk, was the owner when Brazile and Moon played for the Oilers.
Former Oilers receiver Billy "White Shoes" Johnson, who played in Houston from 1974-1980, said he appreciates the Titans keeping the memory of the Oilers alive.
Amy Adams Strunk has repeatedly said she wants to pay homage to the franchise's history. The organization has honored Houston Oilers players at alumni events in years past, and Strunk was behind the efforts to bring back the Oilers uniforms.
This fall, the throwback Oilers uniforms will be in full display.
"When the Titans come out in those uniforms, it's going to bring back memories, all kinds of memories," Johnson said. "And I can't thank Amy enough – she's done a great job keeping the Oilers and the memory of the Oilers alive, and I know all the former players appreciate it.
"And when you look at it, the Titans are the Oilers and the Oilers are the Titans. People forget the Tennessee Oilers wore these uniforms, too, so it just seems right. I can't wait to see them on the field again."
