Does anyone remember when the Houston Texans used to be called something else? Probably not, as most will tell you that the Houston Texans are nothing like the former football team that used to be the darling sports team of Houston. Yes, I will mention them here just for ol' time sake. They were the Houston Oilers and not only were they a good team, they had a pretty good dance line too - called the Derrick Dolls (isn't that name fitting?)
Anyway, getting back to here and now, the fact that Houston has another great football team is absolutely wonderful in my opinion.
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the US and has had a professional football team since 1959 (just one year before Dallas got their Cowboys). In 1997 the owner of the Houston Oilers got the go-ahead to move his team to Tennessee and all of a sudden, the rabid football fans in one of the largest cities in Texas found themselves with no home pro football team to root for. As a matter of fact, Bud Adams had to pay a lot of money for the privilege of moving out of state. But that did not deter him in the least and Houstonians had to face the fact that they might be in for a long dry spell without a pro football game at home to attend.
As fate would have it however, Houston fans were is for a big surprise. Bob McNair was in the mood to bring a pro hockey team to town n 1997 and that didn't work out. So being the brilliant man that he is credited for, he set his sights on bringing another pro football team to town. By using strong local community support from the citizens of Houston, coupled with the partial promise of a new domed stadium to house the team's games, Houston was in the running for a new football team to replace the sorely missed Houston Oilers.
However, In 1998 Cleveland received their expansion franchise and then the next franchise would be awarded to Los Angeles (or so it seemed). LA couldn't get their act together so the NFL owners turned to Houston and decided to give that city a serious look. So the league's expansion committee told McNair and the other Houston official to attend the October 6, 1999 NFL Owner's meeting in Atlanta. And on the morning of that same day, the NFL owners voted 29-0 to award the 32nd franchise and also the 2004 Super Bowl to Houston. WOW, is all anyone can really say to that. Houston really wanted a team back at home.
After that, things started to move fast for the future team. They didn't have a name yet but that did not really matter to the fanatical fans of Houston. All they cared about was that they had been starved for a home team now for a number of years and were ready to have one once again. By 2000, things were really on a roll with the new Reliant stadium groundbreaking occurring. The state-of-the-art facility would have 69,500 seats and would become the NFL's first stadium with a retractable roof. Quite a feat in anyone's stretch of the imagination.
Also in 2000, the worst kept secret in Houston history became reality and the team was named the Houston Texans. The next year saw Dom Capers announced as the club's first head coach and his first task was to fill out the rest of his staff. Play began in the 2002 season. The Texans first game saw them up against the Dallas Cowboys at their own Reliant Stadium. History was made as the Houston Texans were just the second expansion team to ever win their first game. They beat their intrastate rivals 19-10 and even though they lost their next five games, the Texans had won the hearts and minds of their home town.
Writer and editor, Freddie Brister, is a former high school football coach of 25 years. His love of the game of football is reflected in his words and memories of growing up in the South and playing football in the back yard with his brother, cousins and neighborhood friends. His biggest thrill is watching former high school players he has coached play at the college level. His favorite pastime is watching NFL football on tv and attending the games in person every chance he gets. Freddie Brister is a huge fan of the NFL and the Houston Texans. Check out his Houston Texans Lamp or his Kansas City Watch
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