A Passionate View on the Houston Texans

People will probably laugh at me when I note that I'm a Texans fan. Fact is, not everyone is a fan of only the big-name teams. Like... how many NBA fans do you know are fans of either the Los Angeles Lakers or Cleveland Cavaliers? How many MLB fans do you know are fans of the New York Yankees or Boston Red Sox? The reason why I'm a Texans fan is because I think we have a talented team even if we're not an elite team. The fact is, not many people are really willing to give a team a chance.

For my Texans, their loss is more like the University of Connecticut Huskies' football team this season- a lot of close losses. Close doesn't mean anything. You have to win, not keep it close- WIN. Many people have given up on the Texans, thinking the Texans are not a team that will ever truly recognize their potential and will never contend.




--- The Anatomy of Losing ---
Here is a descriptive view of what goes on in my mind after this:

Seeing the Texans not making any noise in the AFC South or AFC Wild Card is kind of like a 30°F day with freezing rain, withering trees, dark and rainy clouds, saturated and muddy grounds... and just an overall gloomy air. Imagine a steady and persistent rain in cold temperatures, lasting for days, weeks, and almost a month. That's what it feels like when the Houston Texans lose. Or really, that's how it feels when any team loses.



--- Give Up on Hope? ---
And if you want an idea as to a team doing poorly before rising up better than ever, look at college football schools like Rutgers and (recently) Temple. For almost a quarter of a century, Rutgers never made a Bowl game or never had any great winning record. But it wasn't until a few years ago when the Scarlet Knights would rise up and really become one of the better Big East teams. And look at Temple. Temple has been a joke for years and years. They had a fail-tastic campaign in the Big East before going back to Independent status, then finding their stride in the MAC.

What to take away from this is that when many fans give up on teams, they will someday become contenders. Or here's a basketball example... non-football school, the Beavers of non-football school, the California Institute of Technology (or CalTech) snapped a very long losing streak to Division 3 opponents and a long time of losing in their conference (SCIAC, the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference). They broke the losing skid, didn't they? CalTech could have dropped basketball. CalTech could have dropped down to NAIA. But what did they do? They kept on keeping on, knowing that they'd one day end their losing ways, even if just for one game. Fans need reason for teams to believe. A sports team's performance gives fans reason to believe. But when fans think they can be at a much better position than where they are at currently, and don't work towards reaching that next level, then fans stop believing and caring. I've never stopped believing in the Texans, and nor will I. It's not like we're the Cleveland Browns or anything.



--- We're THAT Bad? Really? ---
The one thing I hate most in sports is when people look at my teams and think they are the absolute worst. For example, take my Houston Astros. Yeah, we're bad, but not as bad as the Washington Nationals. But some think we're just THAT bad. Never mind the talent, just the fact that we fail against teams like the Cubs and the Cardinals in our division (NL Central), we're the worst. Or let's go back to the Texans. Not many people give my Texans a chance. Even fewer actually believe they can contend in the AFC, let alone the brutal AFC South. Hell, even I thought we'd be playing for the AFC Wild Card. It may take years before we win the AFC South. That means we'd have to beat powerhouses Indianapolis and Tennessee. Our only real competition is Jacksonville. And speaking of the team formerly known as the Houston Oilers, I still feel disappointed that people talk about Houston's own Vince Young coming back to Houston as the Texans are trying to salvage their season. With all due respect to Vince Young (and I am a fan of his), the old Oilers call Nashville home now. The Love 'Ya Blue of these days wears deep steel blue and have bulls on the side of their helmets. People give up on a present home team in favor of a team that no longer calls Houston home. My cousin even hates to see the Titans win the Super Bowl simply because they couldn't get it done in Houston. I think when you believe in something, you stick with it, even when times are tough. It takes and love and commitment and passion to make something work. Without these three, no one can prosper in any field.

As of right now, the Texans hopes of making the AFC Wild Card are pretty much sleeping with the fishes. Many people want Gary Kubiak fired. Many people want Texans to start moving elsewhere if we don't have the talent to actually WIN (not contend) in our conference. We need a running game. We need some better defenders and offensive line support. The Texans have talked about not being of elite status yet. Well look at it like this- I'm not an elite blogger or YouTube channel director. And I'm working with what I have, just like the Texans are with their team.

People grow impatient when a team is doing terribly, and much fewer actually believe their favorite (or would-be favorite) teams can actually turn the corner and make magic happen when it seems like all is lost. Fact is, the Texans are nowhere near elite or contenders. However, they have every legitimiate chance to really rise up and become champions as much as the other 31 teams. Every season is different. Every team is different. You can prognosticate who all will make the playoffs and whom else will fall on their faces and look dumbfounded.





Having said all of this, I'm still a Texans fan because I still think there's hope they'll one day make the playoffs and even go far into the playoffs. Maybe the Texans will be like the NFL equivalent of the 2005 Houston Astros, who won the Wild Card in the National League to go all the way to the World Series. Too many people have given up on the Texans, but I haven't. Even if we don't make the playoffs (which is likely), I still want them to at least get their first winning season. I haven't given up on what I love, and neither should anyone else.