J.J. Watt, a former standout defensive end for the Houston Texans and Arizona Cardinals, is not a fan of the Tennessee Titans‘ decision to wear retro clothes on Sunday.
The Titans’ Week 8 home game against the Atlanta Falcons tomorrow will feature them wearing Houston Oilers outfits as a nod to the team’s founding heritage. Even the Nissan Stadium playing field was altered by the Titans to match the Oilers’ old emblem from their Houston days:
“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.”
A work of art 😍 pic.twitter.com/Togo9SI0Tu
— Titans (Oilers Version) (@Titans) October 27, 2023
When the three-time Defensive Player of the Year appeared on “The Pat McAfee Show” (via Patrick Andres of Sports Illustrated), he gave his reasons for disapproving the Titans’ choice to reinstate the Oilers’ throwback uniforms on Sunday.
"I lived and played in Houston and I wanted to wear those jerseys very badly" ~ @JJWatt #PMSLive https://t.co/TKvgZulKGO pic.twitter.com/WLT0kmCTKd
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 25, 2023
Maybe the greatest throwback jersey in the NFL @JJWatt 😂😂 #PMSLive pic.twitter.com/4UbxFnkmIy
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) October 25, 2023
The team was headquartered in Houston from 1960 until 1996, when they moved to Music City. After moving to Nashville in 1997, the team played as the “Oilers” for two years before changing to the “Titans” moniker in 1999.
The 1999 season saw the Titans advance to their first-ever Super Bowl, where they were nearly defeated by Kurt Warner’s St. Louis Rams in a heartbreaking game. Fans of Houston football were devastated until the Texans joined the NFL as an expansion team in 2002.
The NFL restructured into eight divisions with four teams each the same year. As befits their 21-year tenure, the Titans and Texans have shared the AFC South with the Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars.