Watt on podcast: 'The Oilers’ uniforms were phenomenal'

He may have been Wisconsin born and raised, but former Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt has some strong feelings in regard to what’s seemingly a sensitive subject in Houston sports circles – the colors, uniforms, and history of the defunct Houston Oilers National Football League (NFL) franchise. The likely Pro Football Hall of Fame candidate chose not to remain silent when it was announced the Oilers’ descendants, the Tennessee Titans, plan to wear the legendary Luv Ya Blue era uniforms sometime during the 2023 regular season.

"The Oilers’ uniforms were phenomenal,” the 34-year-old Watt said during an Oct. 25 visit to The Pat McAfee Show.

Watt, who played for the Texans from 2011 to 2020, told McAfee that while he acknowledges that Titans fans may take issue with his opinions, living in the fourth-largest city in the country has ingrained in him an understanding of the deep connection Houstonians harbor with their former NFL team. “It hurts not being able to wear those in Houston, and it hurts to see them worn somewhere else,” the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year said on the podcast.

“It hurts not being able to wear those in Houston, and it hurts to see them worn somewhere else,” the three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year said on the podcast.

According to the NFL Football Operations website, the Oilers were founded by oilman Bud Adams in Houston in 1960 and played there until 1996. The first time the Oilers made the playoffs was in the late 1970s, or during the so-called Luv Ya Blue era when the team went to the American Football Conference (AFC) title game more than once, but failed to win it. The website said that Adams moved the Oilers to Tennessee in 1997, and in 1999, changed the team’s identity to its present one, the Titans.

Per the Titans’ website, the team will don the special throwback uniforms in an Oct. 29 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. The Titans said they’ll wear the uniforms again when they face the Texans on Dec. 17. It’s without a doubt there’ll be a whirlwind of emotions from both sides surrounding the pre-Christmas AFC South showdown.