A FRESH START
How a branding shake-up could be first domino in wholesale Houston Texans changes
Jan 3, 2023, 6:04 pm
A FRESH START
Last week Houston Texans management announced they were considering changing the team’s uniform colors for 2023, and they were asking for suggestions from fans. The decision actually had been in the works for several months, after owner Cal McNair brought up the idea in an “Ask Me Anything” forum before the season started.
The Texans are saying, you spoke and we listened.
New uniforms? That’s what the Texans heard?
Over the last few days, I’ve heard sports talk hosts and callers clamor for a return to the good old days of the Houston Oilers and Luv Ya Blue – let’s bring back the Oilers’ colors of Columbia Blue, scarlet red and white.
One host agreed, that's a terrific idea. After all, he said, he recently visited an Academy store and it had more Oilers jerseys and gear for sale than Texans stuff.
First, that’s not true, not even close. Academy has a few Oilers items and walls and racks of Texans merchandise.
The host also supported bringing back Oilers colors because those were popular uniforms and the most established and best supported pro teams still wear classic uniforms from years gone by.
Again, not true. This year, the New York Giants and Chicago Bears (established enough for you?) introduced new helmets. The Philadelphia Eagles will have new alternate jerseys next season. NBA and MLB teams have more wardrobe changes than Cher on her 20th annual retirement tour.
Some callers argued, since the Tennessee Titans dropped their Oilers name a few years after the Oilers moved there in 1997, why don’t the Texans make the transition complete and change their name to Oilers?
Is that what Houston fans really want? First, not only do the owners of the Titans retain the rights to the Oilers name and legacy, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue officially retired the name Oilers. He did that to prevent future NFL teams in Houston from calling themselves the Oilers.
If the Texans tried to recapture the energy and “luv” affair between Houston and the Oilers, wouldn’t that be like breaking up with your new girlfriend and drunk calling your old girlfriend at 3 a.m. begging for another chance?
Sure the Luv Ya Blue Oilers of the ‘70s won a bunch of games and had some characters like Bum Phillips, Dan Pastorini and Elvin Bethea, plus a catchy song that you could name in one note.
Noteworthy, when the Oilers closed shop in Houston after the 1996 season, the Astrodome wasn’t exactly covered with Super Bowl or even AFC Championship banners. In fact, none. The closest the Oilers came to the Super Bowl was two appearances in the AFC title game in 1978 and 1979, both times losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Between 1970 when the Oilers joined the NFL to 1996 when they left Houston, the Oilers compiled a 181-199 record. Luvable, yes, for a period.
The Oilers, especially owner Bud Adams, weren’t such local heroes starting in the 1980s. Adams consistently threatened to move the Oilers if Houston wouldn’t build him a new stadium at taxpayer expense. After flirting with Jacksonville, Adams finally got a sweetheart deal with Tennessee. Houston fans felt jilted. Did you see the crowd at the Texans’ game Sunday at NRG Stadium? It was Fan Appreciation Day and maybe 20,000 fans showed up. And that’s a charitable estimate…
That’s what the Astrodome looked like during the Oilers’ last season in Houston. Don’t let the door hit you in the butt, Bud.
Here’s a better idea than going back into the past for the Texans. How about moving forward with a new quarterback, new coach, new management, new … everything? The uniform ain’t the problem. Besides, there’s hundreds of thousands of Houstonians who weren’t even here when Luv Ya Blue owned the city.
Houston’s population in 1980 was 1.6 million. Now it’s 2.3 million. Luv Ya … sorry, who?
You may notice that the Jacksonville Jaguars are in first place in the AFC South. The Jags finished dead last in 2020 and 2021. They got themselves high-up draft picks, took a franchise quarterback and hired a coach with a Super Bowl resume. That’s your ticket, Texans. You know what to do.
Jose Altuve and rookie Jacob Melton drove in three runs each as the Houston Astros jumped on Chris Paddack early and cruised to a 10-3 win over the Minnesota Twins on Friday night.
Paddack (2-6) tied career highs by allowing 12 hits and nine runs — eight earned — in just four innings for his third straight loss.
Houston rookie starter Colton Gordon (2-1) gave up six hits and two runs with five strikeouts in a career-high six innings.
Jeremy Peña tied a season-high with four hits and rookie Cam Smith had two hits and two RBIs as the AL West-leading Astros won their third straight.
Willi Castro, Royce Lewis and Ty France all hit solo homers for the Twins, who were blown out for the third time in four games after losing to Texas 16-4 Tuesday and 16-3 Thursday.
Lewis, who missed the start of the season with a hamstring strain, pulled up as he was running to first base on a single in the ninth inning and was replaced by a pinch-runner. There was no immediate word on his injury.
The Astros got to work early in this one. The bases were loaded with two outs in the first when Smith hit a two-run single to center field to make it 2-0. Melton followed with a single to right field to drive in another run.
There were runners on first and third with one out in the second when Altuve’s double scored two to make it 5-0.
The Twins loaded the bases with two outs in the third but Carlos Correa grounded out to end the threat.
Melton hit a two-run triple with no outs in the bottom of the inning to push the lead to 7-0. A sacrifice fly by Mauricio Dubón made it 8-0.
The Twins got on the board with Castro’s two-out homer in the fourth inning.
Altuve homered to left-center to start the bottom of the inning and make it 9-1.
Smith’s two-RBI single in the first that gave Houston the lead for good.
The Astros had four doubles to give them 15 in their last three games.
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (8-3, 1.82 ERA) opposes Twins RHP Joe Ryan (7-2, 2.96) on Saturday.