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The Texans logo is one of the more recognizable brands in the NFL
Remember a decade ago (or so) when we didn't have Matt Schaub's health or run-defense to worry about and everyone was consumed in debates over names like Bobcats or Wildcatters?
In hindsight, I'd like to offer a resounding thank you to the organization for not going there...
Yeah ... that has a ring to it. Nice choice Mr. McNair. I think it worked. Color scheme, logo, brand, everything.
Here we are ten years later and all you need to do is take a look at the current Texans roster and you'll find justification for the name,
There's no fewer than 15 players and coaches on the Texans roster that are from Texas, plus one more who was born out of state but went to college here. Here's a list:
- Kris Brown K, Southlake
- James Casey TE, Azle
- Jonathan Evans FB, Duncanville
- Anthony Hill TE, Houston
- Johnny Holland LB Coach, Hempstead
- Adrian Jones G, Dallas
- Mike Jones WR, Sugar Land
- Gary Kubiak Head Coach, Houston
- Brice McCain CB, Terrell
- Ryan Moats RB, Dallas
- Frank Okam DT, Dallas
- Ray Rhodes Sr. Def. Asst., Mexia
- Mark Simmons WR, DeSoto
- Chaun Thompson LB Mount Pleasant
- Eric Winston T, Midland
- Kasey Studdard G, University of Texas
So the next time someone from Minnesota, Indiana, Tennessee or New York tries to pull that silly Los Angeles Californians stuff on you (not that I've heard any of that lately), ask them how many players and coaches they have on their roster from their home state.
Better yet, ask them how many are Texans.
Comments
I was living in Oregon when Houston got it's new team. I was never an Oiler fan. I rooted for one of their rivals in their hey day because as a child I thought that this teams uniforms were unique. While in Oregon I was subjected to 49ers and Seahawks games. I had given up on the dysfunctional franchise that I rooted for for over a decade. I would have to wake up at 9 in the morning to watch the "noon" games and I felt very detached from the NFL. I didn't have a team. I heard that Mr. McNair had payed for a new team in Houston and that it would be called the "Texans". Born and raised here in Texas to say that I could identify with the brand is a massive understatement.
To think that as it turns out, the organization stands for all the things I believe in. Like being a slow growing team that focuses on developement and long term results, modestly, honesty, character and loyalty in an age when most teams are built on nothing of the sort was a dream come true. Go Texans. Thank you Bo
I couldn't disagree more about the name "Texans": it's a really dumb name, a cop-out, a vanilla name that really says nothing meaningful about the city it represents which is a business town, and international city, a coastal city, a city with a can-do attitide which happens to be in the state of Texas. How would you like it if Packers were called the Green Bay Wisconsians, or the Dolphins were called the Miami Floridians, or the Chiefs the Kansas City Missourians ? Pretty silly.
Oilers was a great name for the long-departed now Nashville-based Titans, even if today it might be a bit politically incorrect to many (fossil-fuels is out you know, though certainly not to me), and Houston may only be the nations energy capital and not worlds energy capital (The O&G companies are moving to Dubai and Geneva if you haven't heard ?).
On the other hand I'm now used to it and resigned to the name with it's total lack of originality and uniqueness and meaningful identity.
I agree Don. Why weren't they named the Enroners, or Compaqters? How about the Third Ward Hit Squad? Maybe the "Failed Businesses of Webster Due to NASA Cutbacks"?
Those all sure resonate and represent true parts of our greater Houston community.
I like the Texans. That to me stands for strength, courage, integrity, and character. A team, and community that helps its neighbors when they suffer from a hurricane. A community that bands together and survives its own hurricane. A mindset that there's nothing we can't accomplish, if we all work together.
That's why we're Texans.
Don,
The reason teams like the Packers aren't called Wisconsians or The Miami Floridians is because it doesn't mean anything. There are two (maybe three) states that demand enough respect as an entire state that the could be personified as an adjective as well as a noun. It actually does mean something to be a "Texan". It means more than just being from a state called Texas. "New Yorker" also carries that same attachment.
I don't see how you could possibly find it "boring" to be a Texan. If you've ever lived anywhere outside of Texas then you will appreciate what it means to be one. I'm proud as hell to be one. I love Houston's football team too.
Go Texans.
I'm a 7th generation Texan, so yeah, I'm pretty cool with the name.
First off guys, don't get all defensive, all bent-out-of-shape with my remarks about the "Texans" nickname. I'm a native Midwesterner, but one who's been here quite awhile now but who's primary allegiance, sentiments, loyalties, what have you are with the city and not the state. In other words I consider myself a Houstonian first and a Texas citizen secondarily and would have preferred a nickname that uniquely identifies the city, not one that fits any and all of the thousands of other municipalities of the state, large and small. That's all I'm saying.
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