Why Do Some Houstonians Continue To Root For The Tennessee Titans?

In a nutshell, I have no idea why some fans in the Houston area cheer for the Tennessee Titans.  It makes no sense to me and it even kind of annoys me.  But, if we left it at that, this would be a really short and worthless article. 

(Photo caption: Bud Adams, Titans owner and Public Enemy Number One in Houston even ahead of Albert Pujols.)

Let's jump right into a little history, shall we?  Bud Adams founded and owned the Houston Oilers.  The Oilers played in the Houston Astrodome.  There were some good years and some bad years for the Oilers in Houston.  Some winning seasons and some AFL championships in the 1960s. 

In the 1990s, the Oilers were a good team that couldn't quite get over the hump.  There were some good times and bad times; the Run and Shoot,  Warren Moon,  Buddy Ryan slugging Kein Gilbride on the sideline.  I don't want to bring up the Buffalo Bills epic comeback for those of you who were Oilers fans back then.

But, in 1995, Adams announced he wanted a new stadium in Houston and threatened to leave if he didn't get a publicly funded facility.  Well, the city of Houston refused to be held hostage and didn't build ole Bud a stadium.  So, Adams, making good on his ransom ultimatum, announced he was leaving for Tennessee after the 1996 season.

The 1996 season saw the Oilers play well and finish 8-8.  But, after announcing the team was leaving Texas, Houstonians stopped caring. The cavernous Astrodome was mostly empty as fans did not support the lame duck team. 

Can you blame those fans?  Would you go watch a team that just announced it was leaving for Memphis of all places?

We all know the history of the team now known as the Titans, they left Houston for Tennessee. 

It's like a girlfriend breaking up with a lawyer and immediately starting to date a guy who is on the watch list for buying too many bottles of cough syrup at the drug store. 

Leaving Houston to end up in Tennessee? 

This isn't meant to be a slight to Tennessee (well, maybe a little), but let's be honest here; Houston is the fourth largest city in the United States.  Adams' move was a straight money grab and he showed no loyalty to the city. This move continues to baffle my mind.

But, that does not baffle me quite as much as the Houstonians who still support the Titans.  I won't name any names, but a few years ago, I was lucky enough to watch a Titans game from a suite at Reliant Stadium with some friends.  One of my best friends was openly rooting for the Titans.  It still to this day makes no sense and this was many seasons ago.

Hello, Houstonians, the Titans left Houston for another city.  Why are you still supporting them?  Do you hope free agents who defect to another team play well?  Do you hope the girlfriend who dumped you for some loser wins the lottery?  Where is your sense of civic pride?  I just don't get it.

Well, a lot of Longhorns play for the Titans.  Yeah, I've heard some of you say that.  Vince Young, Bo Scaife, Mike Griffin, and Ahmard Hall play for the Titans.  The fact that those are former Texas standouts may be reason to continue cheering for them on an individual basis, but not for their team especially when that team betrayed Houston.

Where was this UT pride when Corey Redding and Shawn Rogers played for the Lions?  Or when Derek Johnson and Priest Holmes played for the Chiefs?  There are 43 Longhorns currently in the NFL, where is the love for those teams?  You can't have it both ways.

Let's explore some of this Vince Young phenomenon.

Disclaimer:  I'm a huge Texas fan and my memory of Vince Young scampering for the winning score against USC is one of my best sports memories of all time.  The best sporting event I ever attended was the 2005 Rose Bowl when VY ran all over USC.  I still watch my Rose Bowl DVD and youtube highlights.  In short, I think Vince Young is the best college player I've ever seen.

When he wasn't drafted by the Texans back in 2006, many Texans' fans and Houstonians in general were shocked.  The team didn't take Reggie Bush or Vince Young and took a young defensive end from NC State.  Well, in the end, it's clear Houston made the right pick and we don't need to debate this.

But, some of you are still convinced Vince Young is the second coming of Joe Montana combined with hyper-athletism. 

Let's face reality, however.  Young's career passer rating is 70.1  Sure, he's won some games and has even been to the playoffs,  but don't you think the Titans defense then and Chris Johnson now are the reason the Titans were good?  I sure do and I know I'm not alone.

I understand it would have been a great story for Young to star in his hometown after leading UT to a BCS Championship,  but he's not on the Texans nor is he a great quarterback.  He's Trent Dilfer with legs and let's face reality;  Young is a Titan (for now) and not a Texan.

Well, some of you say, the Texans never gave us anything to cheer for before the past few seasons.  David Carr is a bum and  the defense couldn't stop a high school team.  So many draft picks were wasted,but those aren't reasons to give up on your hometown team. (Granted, that glove wearing ninny David Carr truly is a bum.) 

But, where is the fun in rooting for only the best teams?  Is that what fandom is all about?  I don't think so.  You pick a team and you stick with them. Look how happy Saints fans have been recently.  They've had one of the worst histories in pro sports, but they're on top of the world now. That's real fandom.

Look, this is America and we're lucky enough to be able to live wherever we want and to do whatever we want.  If you want to live in Houston and root for the Titans, go ahead.  But don't do it twice a year.  Don't root for the Titans only when they play the Texans.  For those of you in the vocal minority who root for the Titans twice a year: pick a team and stick with them because your lack of loyalty is making us real fans sick.