Gamblers>texans

[jgiff17]

Ok since the oilers name was "retired" why wasn't the gamblers name an option? Texans was not only an afl nickname but also a world league name from a previous team in Houston (with packer colors)...so what rule kept the gambler nickname and logos from being an option? The gambler set was just as strong as the oilers in my opinion.

Found this on google

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/420312577693152651/. What could have been

[mafiaman]

The USFL had a number of nicknames and logos that were absolutely fantastic. The Gamblers were one of the best.

[Burmy]

Now that Bud Adams has gone to the big Astrodome in the sky, I think the Texans should see about taking back the Oilers name...we've seen how successful the new Charlotte Hornets have been thus far from a business standpoint with that!

[HailGoldPants]

Maybe the NFL didn't like the name since it's very anti-betting? Just a guess. I agree that Gamblers is a better name.

[TBGKon]

Quoted from the last oaragraph of the intro on the following Wiki link. The Oilers name and logo are retired and never to be used again.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Houston_Oilers

Owner Bud Adams relocated the Oilers to Nashville, Tennessee, where they were known as the Tennessee Oilers for the 1997 and 1998 seasons. In 1999, Adams changed the team name to the Tennessee Titans, and the color scheme from Columbia Blue, Red and White to Titans Blue, Navy, and White. The new Titans franchise retained the Oilers' team history and records, while the team name and colors were officially retired by then NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue.

[goforbroke]

I think texans is a great name-- it has some history and it's different than most teams named after an animal or mascot or something. And (although wishful thinking given how popular the cowboys are) it gives them a way to connect with. Basically ALL of Texas outside of Dallas. So you can split the fandom in Texas by Dallas and everyone else with a name like texans. Again that's wishful thinking because of how established and popular the cowboys are... But maybe one day.

Finally, in my opinion they have the best logo in the NFL. It's modern enough but has a timeless quality to it, very understated for a logo made in around 2000. And represents the brand perfectly. Navy and red is way overused in sports but that's one of the teams it's 100% perfect for.

[OnWis97]

I don't think "Gamblers" passes the "smell-test" of appropriateness for a team in a big-time pro sports league that wishes to distance itself from appearing to have direct involvement in gambling. Sure, fantasy football and other gambling keep a big chunk of its fanbase interested, but the idea of NFL personnel gambling on the NFL would be the biggest blow to the integrity of the game imaginable. Would naming the team "Gamblers" cause that to happen? No. But it could lead to perception issues and I don't think it's worth it to trot out that old name.

I don't love "Texans" but I do feel their visual identity is stronger than the Gamblers was anyway. I would be OK with "Texans" if they were not the 2nd team in the state.

I would not be surprised if they pulled a Hornets and got back the old name/logos/history and made the Tennesee TItans an 1997 expansion team that, for no apparent reason, was called the "Oilers" for the first couple years while the Houston Oilers (1960-1996, 2002-present) took a few years off.

[tigerslionspistonshabs]

I think they're a bit different than the Bobcats/Hornets. People in Houston got behind the Texans, and they were somewhat successful as of late with the exception of last year.

No one cared about the Bobcats and it seemed they needed something to recharge the desire for Charlotte basketball. Switching to the Hornets did that.

[WSU151]

I don't think "Gamblers" passes the "smell-test" of appropriateness for a team in a big-time pro sports league that wishes to distance itself from appearing to have direct involvement in gambling. Sure, fantasy football and other gambling keep a big chunk of its fanbase interested, but the idea of NFL personnel gambling on the NFL would be the biggest blow to the integrity of the game imaginable. Would naming the team "Gamblers" cause that to happen? No. But it could lead to perception issues and I don't think it's worth it to trot out that old name.

I don't love "Texans" but I do feel their visual identity is stronger than the Gamblers was anyway. I would be OK with "Texans" if they were not the 2nd team in the state.

I would not be surprised if they pulled a Hornets and got back the old name/logos/history and made the Tennesee TItans an 1997 expansion team that, for no apparent reason, was called the "Oilers" for the first couple years while the Houston Oilers (1960-1996, 2002-present) took a few years off.

From what I understand, there's very minimal concern that the NFL and its players are invading, raiding or pirating anything even though team names would suggest otherwise.

[29texan]

The Houston Texans have a great identity. There's no need to get rid of it...

[jc...]

Houston Gamblers doesn't even make sense.

I would have preferred Oilers over anything else. But of the names they were looking at, I would have chosen Apollos if it was up to me.

[wonderbread]

Now that Bud Adams has gone to the big Astrodome in the sky, I think the Texans should see about taking back the Oilers name...we've seen how successful the new Charlotte Hornets have been thus far from a business standpoint with that!

The Titans still own the name, the ownership doesn't just vanish because he died. Did the Titans or Bills disappear because their owners died no.

[TheOldRoman]

I don't think "Gamblers" passes the "smell-test" of appropriateness for a team in a big-time pro sports league that wishes to distance itself from appearing to have direct involvement in gambling. Sure, fantasy football and other gambling keep a big chunk of its fanbase interested, but the idea of NFL personnel gambling on the NFL would be the biggest blow to the integrity of the game imaginable. Would naming the team "Gamblers" cause that to happen? No. But it could lead to perception issues and I don't think it's worth it to trot out that old name.

I don't love "Texans" but I do feel their visual identity is stronger than the Gamblers was anyway. I would be OK with "Texans" if they were not the 2nd team in the state.

I would not be surprised if they pulled a Hornets and got back the old name/logos/history and made the Tennesee TItans an 1997 expansion team that, for no apparent reason, was called the "Oilers" for the first couple years while the Houston Oilers (1960-1996, 2002-present) took a few years off.

From what I understand, there's very minimal concern that the NFL and its players are invading, raiding or pirating anything even though team names would suggest otherwise.

Okay, but he's right. And there's something whimsical about pirates. There's nothing whimsical about degenerates losing their kid's college fund because they felt they were due. More importantly, the NFL knows that its popularity is probably 80% due to gambling, and it still shrouds that at every turn. With the history of fixing in sports (baseball, football and obviously boxing), nobody is going anywhere near gambling references with teams in legitimate pro leagues.

[WideRight]

Houston Gamblers made sense for the USFL because Kenny Rogers was a co-owner of the franchise, just like Burt Reynolds being a minority owner of the Tampa Bay Bandits gave that team its name. It does not make sense otherwise, and someone still owned the rights to the USFL team names at the time the Houston Texans were born, so Gamblers was not an option without buying out that owner.

[jc...]

Thanks for clearing that up. I never knew that about Kenny Rogers.

[IceCap]

The Gamblers were also a team in a failed league. Not the sort of history an expansion team wants to latch onto.

[jgiff17]

Did not know about Kenny good stuff. The texans name was a part of a surrender to the cowboys organization in Dallas and a failed league in Houston. Either way I do love the logo and identity of the texans although the oilers being lost in all this is horrible. and maybe there will be a spring league that can bring back this great look of the gamblers.

[Spearhead]

As someone who was an Oilers fan and attended a number of Gamblers games, I never liked the name Gamblers. I loved the Oilers name, identity and colors but they will never make a comeback. Bud Adams was never very popular here because of his meddlesome ways and vast ego. The Texans are one of the most valuable franchises in professional sports and it has a terrific identity. If they returned to the Oilers name, logos and colors, folks 'round here would raise unholy hell. The Oilers are spoken of as something that had a cursed life and tainted forever more. For many Houston fans, the Texans are the anti-Oilers they have done what Adams only dreamed of: made inroads across the state with people that would normally be Cowboys fans.

Oilers > Gamblers

[tubby34]

Now that Bud Adams has gone to the big Astrodome in the sky, I think the Texans should see about taking back the Oilers name...we've seen how successful the new Charlotte Hornets have been thus far from a business standpoint with that!

The Titans still own the name, the ownership doesn't just vanish because he died. Did the Titans or Bills disappear because their owners died no.

Depends how you look at Bon Jovi.

[mafiaman]

The Gamblers were also a team in a failed league. Not the sort of history an expansion team wants to latch onto.

As opposed to the first version of the Dallas Texans?