A Brief History of … Houston and the Super Bowl

Tag: Houston Oilers
Posted on in A Brief History of....

A Brief History of … Houston and the Super Bowl

“When you’re talking Houston, you’re talking Super Bowl” – a paraphrased quote from the “Houston Oilers #1,” fight song of the late-1970s, aptly describes this week as Super Bowl 51 descends upon the Bayou City. Super Bowls and Houston have rarely walked hand-in-hand. The Oilers won the first two American Football League championships before the AFL/NFL merger agreed upon in 1966 birthed the first Super Bowl. The Oilers lost the 1967 AFL Championship Game to the Oakland Raiders, missing out on a trip to Super Bowl 2. Houston’s football team couldn’t provide the city with a Super Bowl, but the NFL awarded Super Bowl 8 to Rice Stadium in Houston, the first Super Bowl ever played in Houston. The Miami Dolphins pounded the Minnesota Viking 24-7. In The Game before the Money: Voices of the Men Who Built the NFL, Dolphin quarterback Bob Griese stated he thought the Dolphins team that won Super Bowl 8 was even better than the […]

by The Game Before the Money
Posted on in A Brief History of....

A Brief History of…: The 1970s Pittsburgh Steelers vs Houston Oilers Rivalry

  The privilege of working with the Luv Ya Blue era Oilers for We Were the Oilers led to a lot of research and subsequently much thinking. If memory serves me correctly, a lot of the talk around the Dan Pastorini for Ken Stabler trade between the Oilers and Raiders pointed out that “Stabler’s beaten the Steelers, Pastorini’s lost two years in a row.” Over time, a generally accepted theory has been that Pastorini and the Oilers simply couldn’t beat the Steelers. There’s hinting that perhaps if the Oilers had a better quarterback, maybe they would have won. Looking back as objectively as I can, here is my own new theory about this. First, the Steelers lost only 1 home game between 1978 and 79 – a Monday Night Football loss to – Dan Pastorini and the Houston Oilers. Second, the Steelers only lost 6 games total in 78 and 79. Who was the only team to beat them twice? […]

by The Game Before the Money
Posted on in Current News and Commentary, Events

“We Were the Oilers, Luv Ya Blue!” — film to celebrate 1978-79 Houston Oilers

We are excited to announce our first video documentary, We Were the Oilers — Luv Ya Blue! Filming began last weekend, and former Oilers Dan Pastorini, Willie Alexander, Billy Johnson (aka Billy “White Shoes” Johnson), Robert Brazile, Andy Dorris, Gregg Bingham, Mike Barber, and Ed Biles were interviewed. The film looks to run as a one-hour episode on Fox Sports Southwest in the weeks leading up to Super Bowl 51 in Houston. We’re also exploring ways to get sponsors involved and make the documentary available to fans in other mediums. Stay tuned for more info.   Discussing the Oilers playoff years with Dan Pastorini ORDER “THE GAME BEFORE THE MONEY: VOICES OF THE MEN WHO BUILT THE NFL” ON AMAZON.COM

by The Game Before the Money
Posted on in This Might Surprise You

This Might Surprise You: Steve Largent

Several players held the NFL’s all-time reception mark after 1970. Don Maynard, Charley Taylor, Charlie Joiner and Art Monk are among the names who claimed the title before Jerry Rice. Steve Largent is another receiver who held that distinction. OLD SCHOOL THINKING Largent played his entire career with the Seattle Seahawks. He told Seahawks.com he appreciated his accomplishments on the gridiron, “But the thing I’m most proud of from my career in Seattle was that I played my entire career in Seattle….It gave me a special connection with the city and the people and the team that you just don’t find very often with professional athletes today.” IT ALMOST NEVER HAPPENED Largent made his way to the Seahawks by happenstance. The Houston Oilers drafted Largent in the fourth round of the 1976 NFL Draft. He didn’t impress the Oilers, and found himself on a bus headed home to Oklahoma after four preseason games. He thought his football career was over. Jerry Rhome, a […]

by The Game Before the Money
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