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My biggest memory of Earl Campbell and the Houston Oilers
- Thread starter Buckeye Homer
- Start date
The Luv ya blue era was only 3 years out of a pretty dismal 26 year stay in Houston. The run n shoot era was as long. So other than 6 of 24 seasons after their second AFL championship, the Oilers pretty much sucked.
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.
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.
I did not mean to imply that they were adequate much less great. I was just posting their record. As a kid I even went through a phase where I was a Cowboys fan because the Oilers sucked so bad.
Between the Astros & Oilers is was damn hard to be a sports fan growing up in Houston. IMO that's why the short lived Bum & Earl days were so good. For the first time since I could remember I wasn't embarrassed to wear an Oilers jersey.
I've been a die-hard football fan as long as I can remember & the fact that I did not shed a single tear when the Oilers left town shows just how bad they were.
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.
My dad took me to my first Oilers game there!
As an aside he took me to my first MLB game at Colt's 45 stadium
God, I wish this town had a football team worthy of its fans
Those were the days..
Dejaview
Wahoo Sabi
Yeah those Skoal Brother ads were my favorites. Unfortunately the only time I tried the stuff was in the Coast Guard when I put a wad of it in my mouth just as we were clearing the last jetty buoy in Galveston into the chop of a big storm. I can’t even stand the smell of spearmint to this day.
Any former subscribers to Oiler News? Without internet forums or Oilers related BBS or the NFL Network, Oiler News was a must have weekly magazine to keep up with our favorite team.
i remember that play like it was yesterday. Jim Brown was the color commentator for that game, and he just couldn’t get over how impressed he was with Earl, as Brown was a pretty decent running back himself back in the day.
Holy smokes, I just got reminded how old I am. I remember watching Jim Brown in his very first game of his rookie season.
i remember that play like it was yesterday. Jim Brown was the color commentator for that game, and he just couldn’t get over how impressed he was with Earl, as Brown was a pretty decent running back himself back in the day.
Holy smokes, I just got reminded how old I am. I remember watching Jim Brown in his very first game of his rookie season.
Aw man, it was just a day or two ago when I did that post. And now I just learned he died this morning.
Toro Bravo
Rookie
For those that don't remember or were too young, this was the reception the 1980 Oilers received back home after losing to Pittsburgh in the AFC championship game, again;
Bum Phillips Kick that SOB in/Higlights Houston Oilers Pep Rally 1980 - YouTube
Talk about good fans! Bum had the greatest quote of all time.
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ShinobiMusashi
Waterboy
I like to think I did a good job of moving on. I love the Texans, am in the minority that really loves our uniforms and colors/logo/name(though those red helmets looked like ass to me last year). But at the same time I'm not going to ignore and forget my favorite team from when I was a kid for any weirdo psychological reasons, I don't see anything wrong with loving or appreciating the Oilers history. Houston should fight for the Oilers that is ours not Tennessee's. I enjoy watching the old games on Youtube. Just like any form of entertainment I guess it would be far easier to forget the past if everything in the present didn't suck so bad.
ArmyBengal
Retired Army Medical NCO
Picture it... Cincinnati... 1979...
The Oilers playing my Bengals in then Riverfront Stadium and my first time seeing Earl Campbell in person.
I was 9 years old and went to the game with my father, back in the days of the old AFC Central Division.
While I liked football and went to many games with my father, I didn't know the players quite as well as I do today.
So admittedly, I did not know who Early Campbell was at the time. Most older fans should remember this game vividly.
The Bengals jumped out to a 24-0 lead in the first half, with Houston closing it to 24-10 at halftime.
Earl, in those great blue jerseys, ran for 158 yards and a TD, with the Oilers winning in OT 30-27.
I left the game with two things on my mind and recall talking to my dad on the way home in the car.
"How the heck did they lose that game" and "Who the heck was number 34" ??
The first part didn't really matter, but even at 9 years old I knew what great looked like on a football field.
One of my favorite memories from a losing game and grateful my father took me to the game that day.
Many years later, when I was in the Army, I was introduced to Earl Campbell Hot Links, but that's a different story...
The Oilers playing my Bengals in then Riverfront Stadium and my first time seeing Earl Campbell in person.
I was 9 years old and went to the game with my father, back in the days of the old AFC Central Division.
While I liked football and went to many games with my father, I didn't know the players quite as well as I do today.
So admittedly, I did not know who Early Campbell was at the time. Most older fans should remember this game vividly.
The Bengals jumped out to a 24-0 lead in the first half, with Houston closing it to 24-10 at halftime.
Earl, in those great blue jerseys, ran for 158 yards and a TD, with the Oilers winning in OT 30-27.
I left the game with two things on my mind and recall talking to my dad on the way home in the car.
"How the heck did they lose that game" and "Who the heck was number 34" ??
The first part didn't really matter, but even at 9 years old I knew what great looked like on a football field.
One of my favorite memories from a losing game and grateful my father took me to the game that day.
Many years later, when I was in the Army, I was introduced to Earl Campbell Hot Links, but that's a different story...
I rewatched this about a month or so ago. What stood out to me is the impact the rule changes have had over the years. One of the most notable was how they took the kickoff from being a dynamic part of the game to being almost meaningless.