With the help of stars such as Billy "White Shoes" Johnson and Elvin Bethea, the Oilers had their first winning season of the decade in 1975.
Three years later, the Oilers drafted one of the most dominant running backs in college football, Heisman Trophy winner Earl Campbell of the University of Texas.
In order to boost team spirit, the Oilers gave each fan a blue and white pompom before the game.
The sight of over 50,000 fans waving the pompoms inspired the Oilers to a 35-30 victory behind Earl Campbell's 199 rushing yards and four touchdowns.
[2] After that night, blue-clad fans began to bring "Luv Ya Blue" signs to the Astrodome.
Pep rallies were often organized and the Astrodome was regularly sold out as the entire city went wild for the Oilers.
Houston's energy-based economy was also booming at the time due to rising fuel prices, and this gave a large sense of optimism that boosted Oilers fans.
Additionally, many thousands of new Houstonians had recently moved in from other parts of the US due to the surging economy, and the Oilers became a common cause for new and established citizens to feel civic pride.
Then after the ABC Monday Night Football game on December 10, 1979, where 50,000 "Luv Ya Blue" flashcards were distributed and the Houston Oilers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mack Hayes wrote, copyrighted and recorded his song, Luv ya Blue.
Shortly after the game ended, amidst disagreements with Adams over having three head coaches split offensive duties rather than one coordinator, Phillips was fired.