The Worst Heist in Houston History Still Requires Justice

by Jake on Jan 31, 2009 3:59 PM CST in News

Hello BRB faithful, just wanted to introduce myself. My name is Jake, which was a screen name taken on SB Nation, so I chose the name TransientTexan instead because I’m in the Marine Corps and therefore I’ve had to be a Texans fan from a distance. I joined BRB because where I live now I am the only Texans fan I know, so I love to get on the site and BS about our team. I posted a couple of FanPosts that I hope some of you have read and enjoyed, and recently Tim invited me to be a regular contributor. I was completely floored that he would ask me, and I’m absolutely psyched to be writing for the site.

I wasn’t going to introduce myself until my first article, which I am working on now, but something I just saw on NFL Network as I was writing galled me. Let me explain. I lived in Houston until I was 18, and my father raised me right, or in other words, I was an Oilers fan. It was a tradition for the two of us every Sunday to watch the games together. Then in 1997, the unthinkable happened, and Bud Adams moved the team to Tennessee. I was 15 at the time, so I didn’t understand all of the financial aspects of professional sports teams and I was shocked. I didn’t jump on the Dallas bandwagon as many of my friends did, so until the expansion franchise was awarded to Houston I was without a team. My father respected and rooted for the Texans, but I don’t think he ever really got over the loss of the Oilers.

A press conference was just held to declare the newest selections to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I wish I could tell you who they were, but I have no idea. As I was watching, Rich Eisen announced that the Tennessee Titans and the Buffalo Bills will be playing in the annual Hall of Fame Game, which is a pre-season game held annually to coincide with the Hall of Fame inductions in Canton, OH. I didn't really take notice until he stated that the Titans will be wearing the uniforms of the HOUSTON OILERS.

This is one thing I’ve never understood. When Art Model and the old Cleveland Browns Franchise left for Baltimore in 1996, the city of Cleveland made sure that the Franchise records to include Hall of Fame players and uniforms would remain in Cleveland. When an expansion franchise was awarded to Cleveland, the new team automatically inherited said records. Why didn’t this happen in Houston? Does the NFL actually think that anyone in Tennessee deserves or cares about the Oilers' records?

I wish my first post could have been a more upbeat one, but this is unnerving. I guarantee that I will not watch that game, and even though the Titans fans or the players had nothing to do with this decision, it makes me hate the team that much more and I can’t wait to play them next season. At least we all know who the tradition of the Oilers belongs to--the City of Houston.

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i am excited about the uniforms.

i too was raised the right way and i rooted for the oilers. i was born on the texas coast near port o’connor and my family were huge cowboy fans except for me and my dad and my uncle. we sported our colors and loved defending them at every corner. Im 27 now, and i still remember the playoff game with the bills, i can still remember the dogfights that we had with bernie kosar and the cleveland browns. i loved the run ’n shoot and all that came with team. When the franchise was beginning to crumble, i had so much invested into steve “air” mcnair, blaine bishop, lamaar lathon, and eddie george that i adopted the titans franchise along with my pops and uncle. I cheered for these guys in the super bowl and felt a little redemption in the music city miracle when the titans played the bills. Dont get me wrong, i love my texans and they come first and foremost, but i never grew a hatred for the titans. So seeing those jerseys out on the field will be special and something that i personally will enjoy seeing. I will also be singing that song i remember singing in the astrodome.

‘Cause we’re the Houston Oilers, Houston Oilers,
Houston Oilers, Number One – Five – Seven – Eight,
We’re the best from the Lone Star State!
Houston Oilers, Houston Oilers,
Houston Oilers, Number One.

by kcc28 on Jan 31, 2009 4:31 PM CST reply actions

The Cleveland deal should be SOP when a franchise moves

but to my knowledge, it is the only such provision in modern professional team sports. The Browns had a long and storied history in the NFL and the city of Cleveland negotiated with the NFL in 1996 to retain the rights to the uniforms and records.

From Sportsecycolpedia:
1996: Immediately after Art Modell announced his move, the city of Cleveland began to fight him and the NFL in an attempt to keep the Browns in Cleveland. The NFL had taken up battles with owners who were attempting to relocate before, only to come up the loser in court. However, the NFL wanted the Browns to remain in Cleveland, and eventually get a new stadium. It was then that a unique compromise was made. Art Modell would be allowed to move the team to Baltimore, but he would not be allowed to take the Browns history with him. The deal also stipulated that Cleveland would get a new NFL franchise in 1999 that would take up the history of the Browns. While Modell’s team that was renamed the Ravens would be regarded as a new team.

Could the city of Houston done the same in 1997? I don’t know that any attempt was made to do so. Certainly the NFL did not have the same affection for the Oilers and Houston that it did for the Browns. The NFL did not fight to place a new franchise in Houston. Quite the opposite. They pleaded with the city of Los Angeles for several years to set up the financing for a new stadium to replace the Coliseum. They badly wanted a team in the nations 2nd largest media market. LA couldn’t get it done. Bob McNair lined up the funds to build our current home, and the rest is history. God Bless Bob McNair. Without him, we still have no NFL franchise.

Modell and Bud moved their franchises for the same reason, money. More specifically a better stadium which would generate more revenue for the owner. Blame then Houston mayor Bob Lanier, the Harris county commissioner and judge for the Oilers move to Tennessee. Bud Adams made his pleas for a new stadium for many years before he was more or less forced to move to get a new stadium. I am not trying to defend Bud. I hate Bud, but I hate the mayor etc. more.

by oiler-texan diehard on Jan 31, 2009 6:13 PM CST reply actions

"but to my knowledge, it is the only such provision in modern professional team sports."

Actually, there are a few teams/cities that have this. Any new NBA franchise in Seattle will claim the Soncis’ legacy (though they also have a strange setup where OKC gets it, too), and I know the Minnesota Twins have signed an agreement saying that, should they ever move, they leave the name, colors, records, etc. behind.

As for whom to blaim, I see it this way.

Obviously, Bud Adams is the asswipe who deserves virtually all the blame for the move. I don’t think Lanier should be blamed at all. He did what every city leader should do when confronted with a sports team seeking to use tax money to build a new stadium. The problem is that other cities are entirely willing to use that money (Nashville, in this case), and that means doing the right thing will end up in the loss of the team. It’s the prisoner’s dilemma – everyone would be better off if nobody built new stadiums using taxpayer money, but everyone has an incentive to do otherwise. So I think the city of Nashville deserves the next-most blame.

The judges who ruled against Houston’s lawsuits did the right thing. It was Bud’s team, and it was his right to move it. So I don’t think we can reasonably blame them.

Lastly, I blame Commissioner Tagliabue. He presided over an unprecedented period of franchise relocation in the 1980s and 90s. What’s more, these relocations were unlike any seen before – they were from areas with large, intact fanbases to less economically viable areas (it honestly makes no sense to move from Houston – the 6th largest market area in the country – to Nashville – where I’m not entirely sure they have paved roads). And, instead of granting new franchises to LA, St. Louis, or Baltimore, he placed new franchises in Carolina and Jacksonville. That only exacerbated problems. Then, he granted Bud’s wish and “retired” the Oilers name, so that Houston could never revive the franchise. The whole era was horribly mishandled.

by Only_A_Lad on Jan 31, 2009 6:33 PM CST up reply actions

I did not know about the future provisions in place for a team that just moved this year;

the Sonics now the OKC Thunder, and one that has not yet moved, the Twins. That said I am aware of no team currently operating that has inherited the legacy and uniforms of a previous franchise.

Minute Maid is 68% publicly financed.
Public financing: $180 million, or 68 percent, from a 2 percent hotel tax and a 5 percent rental-car tax
Private financing: $52 million, or 20 percent, from Astros owners; $33 million, or 12 percent, from no-interest loan. Construction began in 1997. Oilers announced their move to Tennessee in 1996.

Reliant stadium is 43% publicly financed.
Public Financing: 43% at $194million
Private Financing: 57% at $256million

The Toyota Center is 100% publicly financed.
Cost of Construction $202 million

Renovation of Astrodome was 100% publicly funded. Cost $67 million. The renovation was done as a response to Bud’s threat to move the Oilers to Jacksonville unless seating capacity was expanded.

Later in 1993 Adams offered to pony up the 1st $85 million towards the construction of a new stadium. No deal to finance the balance with public funding could be reached. Bottom line the leadership of Houston thought he was bluffing. He had threatened to move to Washington DC and Florida. He was a successful businessman with deep roots in Houston. He wasn’t going anywhere, or so they thought. The subsequent actions of Houston’s leadership to allocate public funding for new baseball, basketball & football arenas only prove that Bud was right and Bob Lanier was a very bad poker player. The leadership of the city of Houston and Harris County are entirely to blame for the exodus of the Oilers. Bud was simply trying to level the playing field. The Dome was a substandard NFL stadium in many ways, but the one that mattered most was it’s relative lack of luxury suites that put $$$ directly into the owner’s pockets. Had Lanier et al fully analyzed the situation with a comparative analysis of all NFL facilities, we likely wouldn’t be having this discussion. They thought that the money they had spent to add ~15,000 regular seats was sufficient and that Bud was just being greedy. They did not do their homework, and the NFL fans of Houston not only suffered, but paid the price too; almost $200 million in public financing for Reliant. Would have been much more sensible to deal with Bud in 1996. Uncle D, Leslie & Bob all jumped in and played the hand they were dealt. All 3 came up winners, as did Bud, eventually.

by oiler-texan diehard on Jan 31, 2009 9:51 PM CST up reply actions

Dickie J's article today is on topic

and he states :

"Look at the teams that play in the Super Bowl,’’ he said. "For the most part, those are the teams with the stadiums that generate the revenues to compete.’’

I know that Dickie gets regularly panned here but he is on point. Thank goodness we NOW have a facility which is an asset not an obstacle. I’m sure that Bud’s reaction would be, “I tried to tell them that 15 years ago, but they just wouldn’t listen”. Better late than never.

by oiler-texan diehard on Feb 1, 2009 1:07 PM CST up reply actions

My bad, I screwed up the link

here it is.

by oiler-texan diehard on Feb 1, 2009 1:10 PM CST up reply actions

So I've always wondered this,

if (and I seriously doubt this would ever happen, thanks to both Bud’s hatred for this city and the name’s retirement) the Texans had the opportunity to take the name and records back, would you want them? Would you want just the records?

I was nine when they left, and the Oilers had been effectively dead for a while, so I don’t remember much, honestly. But there seems to be something tainted about the legacy now. I think I’d come down on the side of “take them back,” but it seems more complex than that. Any thoughts?

And do you think the Texans should do something similar to what the Ravens have done, and include the Oilers legends in the “ring of honor?”

by Only_A_Lad on Jan 31, 2009 6:40 PM CST reply actions

The Texans have one home game each year when they honor former NFL players

They always invite a host of former Oilers. They are well received. The fans here still love the Oilers.

OAL, you are too young to have experienced the Oilers at their finest. They were in the playoffs from 1978 – 1980, Earl Campbell’s 1st 3 years. I am biased, but I honestly think that Earl Campbell was the RB with the best combination of both power and speed ever in the league. He was a joy to watch. He played to win every play. His flame burned brightly, but sadly the reckless abandon with which he ran contributed to his somewhat shortened career. Had he chosen to shy away from contact like Franco Harris, and so many other RB’s of his era, he would have put up some MORE awesome career totals. As it is his numbers are great.

Playoffs again 7 straight seasons from 1987 – 93. Division champions in 1991 & 1993. Going way way back, they won back to back AFL championships in the 1st two years of the new league. 37 years in Houston. A ton of great memories for the baby boomer fans like me. Hell yes I want the records here in Houston, and an Oilers legends ring of honor is a fabulous idea.

by oiler-texan diehard on Jan 31, 2009 10:08 PM CST up reply actions

Hell Yes

I would want the Oilers legacy. I would give my next couple of pay checks to make tha happen. I’m with OT Diehard, I have some amazing memories of the Oilers, and I’m not that much older than you. It’s not just the good memories I savor, but the bitter ones as well. I remember the Buffalo game which gets brought up every post season whenever someone seems to be making a comeback against an insurmountable lead. I remember losing to Elway’s Broncos a couple of different times in the playoffs, just to see them lose to whoever they played.

I not only want the right for the Texans and Houston to be associated with the great memories that OTD noted, I want them all. Because win or lose they were always our team, and the only thing that could ever change that was them leaving. But really, who do people view as the expansion franchise? Houston, who had a great tradition of supporting great, mediocre and terrible football teams? Or Tennessee, who had no professional football tradition at all?

Let's get a better fight song.

by Jake on Jan 31, 2009 10:25 PM CST up reply actions

Memories of painful defeats, being an Oilers fan from the early 60's I have many.

I was too young to appreciate their 1st two AFL championships or even their loss in the 3rd AFL championship. My first vivid painful memory was the 1967 AFL championship where the Oilers were absolutely destroyed by the Oakland Raiders 40-7. Just a few weeks earlier in Houston, Oakland had won, but only 19-7. That was the FIRST time in history that the Oilers were just one game a way from the Super Bowl (even if it was then called the AFL-NFL championship game). There would be two more in 1978-79 when Earl Campbell was as close to unstoppable as any RB ever has been. Pittsburgh stopped us twice, the second being the famed Renfro game that led to the advent of the instant replay review.

In 1987 I was lucky enough to get a ticket to the Wildcard game OT victory over Seattle. Elway & Denver beat us the following week. The Oilers again won playoff games in 1988 & 1991, only to lose again the next week. 1992 was the epic painful collapse at Buffalo. All Oiler fans will take the memory of that loss to their graves. The next year was not much better. We started the season 1-4, before reeling of 11 consecutive victories to take the division title, first round bye and homefield for the divisional playoff round. We faced KC led by an aging QB named Montana. Oilers led 10-0 at halftime, 10-7 after 3 quarters. Houston upped the lead to 13-7, before Montana took over throwing 2 4th quarter TD’s to lead KC to a 28-20 victory in the last ever Houston Oilers playoff game.

Houston fans are hungry for playoff football. It’s been a long time, and hopefully the wait will soon be over. Arizona is preparing for a Super Bowl game today. Is it crazy to think that the Texans will be in the playoffs next year? Hell no. GO TEXANS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

by oiler-texan diehard on Feb 1, 2009 9:49 AM CST up reply actions

The answer....

to the question is BUD ADAMS is an asshole.

My lovely spouse and I were married the day before the Buffalo, loss and we spent our 1st anniverssary at the Dome watching the Oilers win thier 11th game in a row.

I here tale that there is an Oiler “historical shrine” outside of the Tennessee stadium, Ike screwed me out of a chance to actual see it though. But my point is , those folks in Titanville, do not have a clue as to the Pain that Buffalo game caused. Hell their new team went to the freaking superbowl 3 years in. I wonder if any fan of the Titans…not the oilers, could tell you who Bucky Richardson is or Cody Carlson or Warren Moon even.

The Oilers uniforms will be cool to see though.

GO TEXANS!!!!

www.houstonsportsrule.blogspot.com

by Texanmaniac on Feb 1, 2009 5:20 AM CST reply actions

I really think

…that if the Buffalo playoff choke hadn’t happened, the Oilers might still have stayed in Houston.

Does anybody remember that rally that somebody tried to hold to show support for keeping the Oilers in Houston? Like 15 people showed up.

A lot of people were fed up with Bud by that time and wanted the drama to be over with. People were tired of getting toyed with. I’ve always thought that the Luv Ya Blue fervor of the 80’s was greater than the House of Pain era. It seemed like more people were fired up back then than they were in the 90s (although there was a lot of support for the 90s-era Oilers). It just seemed that fan support died a little when Earl and Bum left.

Yet for all that, as much as I hate Bud Adams and the Tits, I still have very fond memories of watching the Oilers play. Even watching old NFL films stuff of the Oilers is pretty cool.

But fuck Bud Adams.

When I'm on the mic, I'm like global warming, you can't ignore me.

by tehGrindCrusher on Feb 2, 2009 8:41 AM CST up reply actions

I agree.....

that old Oiler footage brings a smile to my face. I used to wish that when the Titans went to the super bowl they would’ve still been the Oilers, It would’ve been really cool to see the derek helmets in the Bowl.

But I’m over that now, I miss the days of the Oilers, but I’m in love with my Texans and can’t wait to see them in the playoffs and eventuallly in the superbowl.

GO TEXANS!!!!

www.houstonsportsrule.blogspot.com

by Texanmaniac on Feb 2, 2009 10:17 AM CST up reply actions

As a Baltimore fan

You have my support in this quixotic quest. If by some miracle you manage to succeed in retrieving your colors from Tennessee, do you think you could manage to get Baltimore the Horseshoe and the records of Johnny Unitas and company, plus Superbowl 5 and the 1958 and 1959 NFL championships?

I agree that the way Art Modell’s move to Baltimore was managed was absolutely the right way to do it, but it also has not usually happened that way.

by math_geek on Feb 1, 2009 2:10 PM CST reply actions