If it's Tuesday, it must be Texans player appearance day

Eric Winston with Rich and Matt at the Seabrook Hooters 

Tuesday is an off-day for NFL players but you couldn't tell that by all the player appearances going on around town.

There were several players out and about today. 

• Matt Schaub and Mike Brisiel were at the Verizon Wireless store in Pasadena this morning along with Sports Radio 610's Marc Vandermeer and Andre Ware.
• Jacoby Jones appeared at a local Whataburger to receive a community service award
• Eric Winston was at the Hooters in Seabrook from 4:30 - 6:00 doing live radio with Matt and Rich from Sports Radio 610.
• Andre Davis was at the Texans Store at Reliant this evening

If you're like most fans and like to meet players, get their autograph, or sit in on a live radio broadcast, these appearances are designed for you and I highly recommend them.  I'm not an autograph hound, but I enjoy getting out and talking to the players and fans who attend these events.

And by the way, please excuse the poor photo quality above.  I took it with my cell phone.

In many cases, such as the Eric Winston show which rotates at various Hooters around the city, the atmosphere is very relaxed and you can talk with the player during breaks or get their autograph or take pictures or do whatever you like to do. 

You might also get lucky and win an autographed football or tickets to a Texans game like two fans at the Seabrook Hooters.

Those of us down in the Seabrook event kicked back with a cold beverage or two and some hot appetizers as we listened to Eric discuss a myriad of subjects from college football to what he might do after his playing career is over. 

That's what I like about Eric.  He's deep and isn't a cliche machine.  He says what's on his mind and it's always an interesting conversation when you get him in the room.

I jokingly asked Eric if he was the designated mover of the pile for Steve Slaton on Sunday (if you watched the game replay you know what I mean).  I also talked to him a bit about Jevon Kearse, and asked how they guard against letdown against Oakland.  He got a chuckle out of that for some reason.

We heard Eric talk about the enjoyment of how the Texans won games in different ways over the past few weeks, and how he wished the season was just now starting considering the current momentum and winning streak.

We also heard Eric talk about how surprised he was to see all those empty seats in the Club section on Sunday and how anyone in the lower bowl who sells their tickets to people who wear an opponents jerseys needs to be whooped upside the head (paraphrasing now).

Yes, players notice.

Anyway, the bottom line here is to listen to your favorite local sports talk radio station or hit houstontexans.com to find out when and where these events occur.  They are always a lot of fun, and in addition to meeting the players, you get the opportunity to mix and mingle with other Texans fans who are just as passionate about this team as you are.

I spoke with a Texans fan tonight who drove more than 60 miles just to sit in on the radio broadcast. 

We have some great fans - and like Winston, some great guys playing football for us.