One of the most controversial uniform topics in the NFL is the Tennessee Titans wearing Houston Oilers throwback uniforms. The team started doing that in 2023, wearing them for games against the Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons, and they’re doing so again this season for their season finale against the Texans.
But that move has sparked a lot of criticism from Texans’ fans in particular considering the team’s acrimonious move from that city to Tennessee in 1996. And some of that’s also shown up from national figures. Former NFL safety Brock Vereen, an analyst on CBS Sports Network’s That Other Pregame Show since 2021, had some of the harshest lines there yet from a national analyst Sunday:
“Today we are all Texans!”@brockvereen has some words for the Titans wearing the Oilers uniform today 👀 pic.twitter.com/e7qm08d0GE
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 5, 2025
“We try to remain neutral around here, but I’ll be as frank as possible. I hope the Titans lose by 1,000 points today. The audacity, the gall to wear the Oilers uniforms, representing the team that you decided to stop being, and wearing them versus the city you abandoned.
“This is like if an ex packed up and fled in the middle of the night, but still sent you a holiday card once a year. C.J. Stroud, you may not be playing the whole game, but I speak for every Houstonian, and every fan of sport with any decency, any couth, when I say ‘Destroy them.’ Today, we are all Texans.”
Of course, Vereen is far from alone in his stance here. There have been plenty of other criticisms of this. But a lot of them have been from acknowledged Texans’ fans. One prominent fan and blogger there, Stephanie Stradley, outlined the many issues with this move on X earlier this week (the full tweet is worth a read):
The funny thing is seeing the comments from fans that reflect how vulgar and awkward this whole thing is. (I feel bad for Titans admin but at least pity engagement is still engagement and that is more important than supporting their brand abomination)
The uni comments come in a… https://t.co/vChxcDDBmA
— Stephanie Stradley (@StephStradley) January 2, 2025
And there have been a lot of other criticisms of this move from Texans’ fans, and from other NFL fans. But fans’ comments are one thing, and seeing that from a national pregame show analyst (and one who doesn’t have obvious personal connections here; Vereen is from California, lives there currently, played his college football at Minnesota, and didn’t play for either of these teams) is a different matter. And while a That Other Pregame Show roasting alone is unlikely to change the Titans’ plans on wearing these throwbacks going forward, it is remarkable to see them bashed this hard for this on national TV.
[NFL on CBS on X]
