The Oilers were in Houston from 1960 - 1996. A total of 37 seasons. 10 in the AFL & 27 in the NFL. They made the playoffs 15 of those seasons.
List of Oilers playoff appearances.
--AFL--
1960 - Won AFL Championship (Chargers) 24–16
1961 - Won AFL Championship (at Chargers) 10–3
1962 - Lost AFL Championship (Dallas Texans) 17–20 (2 OT)
1967 - Lost AFL Championship (at Raiders) 7–40
1969 - Lost Divisional playoffs (at Raiders) 7–56
--NFL--
Love ya blue
1978 - Lost AFC Championship (at Steelers) 5–34
1979 - Lost AFC Championship (at Steelers) 13–27
1980 - Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Raiders) 7–27
Glanville
1987 - Lost Divisional playoffs (at Broncos) 10–34
1988 - Lost Divisional playoffs (at Bills) 10–17
1989 - Lost Wild Card playoffs (Steelers) 23–26 (OT)
Pardee (true Run & Shoot)
1990 - Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Bengals) 14–41
1991 - Lost Divisional playoffs (at Broncos) 24–26
1992 - Lost Wild Card playoffs (at Bills) 38–41 (OT)
1993 - Lost Divisional playoffs (Chiefs) 20–28
The seven playoff appearances from 1987-1993 ties for #9 on the most consecutive playoffs list.
AFL years were before my time. My dad and uncles would always reminisce about them. I've still got the game programs from Jeppesen Stadium that they handed down to me. Pretty cool, really.
Luv Ya Blue hit when I was 11-12, and it was an amazing time to be in Houston. They were a cast of characters, and very much felt like a team of the people. Earl was a super hero to me. Bum was such a likeable figure. I vividly remember that goofy Oilers fight song, along with Carl Mauck's Oiler Cannonball song.
My mom had the Luv Ya Blue placard hanging in our living room and some Columbia blue pom poms with it that we had gotten from a game. She even put up a poster of Earl. It was magical. Heartbreaking when my Cowboys buddy got to celebrate all the time and I never did, but I still look back with fond memories.
In the run & shoot era, I was a grown man and really followed them closely. It was obviously before the internet, so between talk radio at the Houston Chronicle and Houston Post, me and my buddy would look for any information about the Oilers. I lived and breathed it as a fan. Until 35-3, of course. That game taught me a very valuable lesson that Jerry Seinfeld later stated perfectly when he saw a fan yelling
"we won! we won!". His reply was
"no, they won and you watched!". That pretty much nailed my mentality going forward, along with his other joke about we root for laundry. lol
But, they were certainly entertaining, and that's really what it's all about in the end. I've got some great memories with my family and friends around those games. The shared celebration and heartbreak were things we just experience as fans. That said, like everyone else, I really want to experience rooting for a football team that wins a championship at least once in my life.