You know some things never heal
Last year Laila and I went to a Titan's game in Nashville vs. the Indianapolis Colts. It was in October and it was hotter than any October day I ever remember. Now anyone who knows the history of the Titans realize they used to be the Houston Oilers. I remember walking beneath the stands and seeing Fathers with their sons all decked out in Titan's jerseys. I remember thinking at the time that I had always envisioned my son being an Oiler's fan and imagined taking him to the Astrodome to see a game. It saddened me that it would never happen. I remember seeing a bunch of morons painted in Titan's colors and thinking that they never give it a thought that they had stolen MY team. I also thought these people don't know what it means to be a true fan of a team, they hadn't suffered enough. They hadn't lived through the blown call of the Mike Renfro catch in the end zone in the AFC championship game against Pittsburgh (this was the play that caused the NFL to institute instant replay), they hadn't lived through the misery of the debacle in Buffalo. It reminded me of the time I spent in Denver and saw the Avalanche lift the cup in the their fourth year in Denver. I remember seeing all these so called fans celebrating and thinking, they just don't understand, they haven't suffered.
Finally sometime in the third quarter I realized I hate these guys and I would never, ever forgive Bud Adams for moving them. That combined with the fact I was sweating my hiney off made me leave the game. It wasn't a lack of fan support that made the Oilers move. The dome was always full until Bud announced his intentions to move if a new stadium was not built for him using public money. It wasn't about support, there was plenty of fans. It was about money.
Now the scab gets picked again. How can a team that Warren Moon never played for retire his number as if he was one of them? The Cleveland Browns got to keep their history and their records, why not the Oiler's? Bud stole the team, many a fan's heart and now their history.
He'll never steal my memories though. I'll always remember Pastorini, Campbell, Bethea, and Moon as Oilers. They can rewrite it anyway they want, it just doesn't make it the truth.
Leave a Reply