Considering that the Tennessee Titans moved to Nashville from Houston, there has always been a natural rivalry between the franchise and the Houston Texans.
This offseason has seen the animosity between the two AFC South foes get taken to the next level, with the Texans unveiling new uniforms featuring light blue and red accents, reminiscent of the former Houston Oilers uniforms, which are a part of the Titans’ lineage. In fact, the Titans even wore Oilers throwbacks on multiple occasions during the 2023 season — including in a game against Houston.
Appearing on FanDuel’s Up & Adams, Hall of Fame quarterback Warren Moon discussed the ongoing fashion battle. And while Moon spent the bulk of his career playing in Houston for the franchise that’s now known as the Titans, there’s no questioning where his loyalties lie.
“The Tennessee Titans own that uniform, they own the history of the Houston Oilers,” Moon said. “They had a chance to own it themselves and they didn’t want that ownership, they wanted to create their own identity, which makes sense. They’re the Houston Texans coming in, let’s create out own identity. But now because the Houston Oilers uniforms became so popular coming up, they wanted it back. You can’t have it both ways.”
"(Texans) create your own identity… forget about the Houston Oilers and Tennessee Titans."
Former Oiler Warren Moon on the uni drama between the #Texans and #Titans 👀@WMoon1 @heykayadams pic.twitter.com/FIW7y0hjU1
— Up & Adams (@UpAndAdamsShow) May 3, 2024
For what it’s worth, the Texans’ new uniforms are hardly a 1:1 recreation of the Oilers’ uniforms, as they are still primarily navy blue with red numbers and light blue accents. The light blue — which is most associated with the Oilers — is also only featured in the team’s “H-Town” alternate uniforms, with the Texans’ primary home, road and battle red alternate uniforms remaining navy blue, white and red.
Still, it was enough to seemingly irk Moon, who played for the Oilers in Houston from 1984-1993.
“Why can’t they just stay with what they had?” Moon said. “They had a really nice-looking uniform the first time. Why do they have to keep harping on that? I don’t understand it. Have your own identity. You have a really good football team right now that won a playoff game last year, they got a chance to maybe go to a Super Bowl this year, just create your own identity. Forget about the Houston Oilers, forget about the Tennessee Titans. I think if they weren’t in the same division, this wouldn’t be as big a deal.”
About Ben Axelrod
Ben Axelrod is a veteran of the sports media landscape, having most recently worked for NBC's Cleveland affiliate, WKYC. Prior to his time in Cleveland, he covered Ohio State football and the Big Ten for outlets including Cox Media Group, Bleacher Report, Scout and Rivals.