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Rivalry riles up fans in Houston
By David Barron- Houston Chronicle
Web Posted: 09/27/2010 12:00 CDT
San Antonio’s Pamela Gonzalez (right) taunts Texans fan Amanda Loucks, of Houston, while tailgating. KAREN WARREN/HOUSTON CHRONICLE
HOUSTON — Texans fans arrived early Sunday at Reliant Stadium, lining up at 6 a.m. for a morning of tailgating and taking care to be in their seats, not on the freeways, for a high noon kickoff against the Dallas Cowboys. A lot of them left early, too.
As optimism turned into resignation after three turnovers, five penalties and ineffective red zone offense by the Texans, fans began streaming toward the exits midway through the fourth quarter of a 27-13 defeat.
It was the Texans' first loss of the 2010 season, breaking a six-game winning streak dating to last year, and it put a damper on what has been and still promises to be the best start in the nine-year history of the franchise.
“I'm going back to tailgate,” said Texans fan Stephen Lacy, a charter season ticket holder, as he walked toward the stadium exit. “I had hoped for better today. But my faith is not destroyed. None of this matters until we get to the Super Bowl between these teams.”
It was only the third regular-season meeting between the Texas teams and the first in Houston since the Texans' inaugural game in 2002. As such, it had something of the big-game feel that has become routine when longtime NFL powers like the Cowboys visit rivals in New York and Washington or when the Texans take on Indianapolis.
“I promise you that if they have a good season, it's going to be a blowout like this for the fans every game for the rest of the season,” said Pete Duarte with the Raging Bull Tailgaters. “People are realizing this is where it's at. We've had phenomenal crowds starting with the preseason games, and every week I see people I've never seen before.”
Duarte said about 600 people came through the Raging Bull tent, double the total for a normal week. The challenge, he said, is for fans to keep following the Texans so scenes like Sunday’s become the norm.
Crowd noise hit 117 decibels during the second quarter, just eight decibels below the pain threshold, and the intensity of the atmosphere did not go unnoticed among Texans players, said offensive lineman Eric Winston.
“It's what you want as a player,” he said. “We're putting people in the seats. That's what it's all about, and it's what we will continue to do this season. We will fight to get a win in Oakland, and if you can start the season 3-1, that's a successful run.
“This is our house, and we have to play better here. We have to give the fans a win, and we didn't get that done today.”
Even while the stands emptied, tailgaters lingered on the parking lots more than two hours after the game ended, with Texans and Cowboys fans exchanging slightly barbed, vaguely inebriated pleasantries.
“You win, you lose, you take it like a man,” said Eric Verdusco of Lake Jackson, who wore his red Brian Cushing jersey. “But I've never seen a team (the Cowboys) get so excited about being 1-2. The Texans are 2-1, baby.”
David Castillo of Lake Jackson, wearing a blue Cowboys jersey, smiled and nodded at his friend's words.
“This is just about bragging rights until the next game,” Castillo said. “I'm not going to rub it in.”
Castillo's charitable nature, however, was unshared by Bill “Cowboy” Lamza, former president of the Dallas Cowboys Fan Club and diminutive scourge of two generations of Houston sports fans.
“I am prepared to rub it in,” Lamza said. “I have a truck of salt being delivered from Waller for that very purpose. The only thing that disappoints me is that Houston scored. I always feel that every time a team from Houston scores, an angel loses his wings.”
“These are the Dallas Cowboys we're talking about, and the Cowboys are not going to come in and lose to a gaggle of hayseeds. The only way they could have won was to drink the blood of a unicorn, and I have the only one left stashed out here under guard. So I was confident.”
Steven Cardona of Rosenberg paraded around the parking lot after the game wearing a blue and silver flag with the words “This is Cowboys Country.”
“I flew it all the way down Highway 59 from Rosenberg to Reliant Stadium, and I'm flying it all the way back,” Cardona said.
The 70,000-plus fans inside the stadium were joined by thousands of fans who came to the stadium to tailgate and, elsewhere, by hundreds of fans at sports bars across town.
At SRO Sports Bar & Café, a packed house of mostly Texans fans sat quietly as the game shifted in favor of the Cowboys.
Gerald Luckadue, a Cowboys fan wearing a personalized jersey (“Just in case they need me to go in,” he said), stood and cheered after the Cowboys' first touchdown, flexing his muscles in bodybuilder poses.
“Dallas is America's team, and the Texans (are) like a little stepchild,” Luckadue said. “We got to come into town and show them, don't ever mess with your big brother.”
As the game went on, Cowboys fans wearing white and blue jerseys, T-shirts and hats grew louder, heckling the red-and-blue-clad majority in the crowded restaurant. A 63-yard touchdown pass from Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo to receiver Roy Williams had Dallas fans jumping and screaming in front of their friends.
Christina Rodriguez, wearing a red Texans jersey, laughed as her friend Timeka Walker, in a blue Cowboys jersey, screamed in celebration.
The Cowboys, Rodriguez pointed out, were winless until Sunday.
“They need it more than we do,” she said.
By David Barron- Houston Chronicle
Web Posted: 09/27/2010 12:00 CDT
San Antonio’s Pamela Gonzalez (right) taunts Texans fan Amanda Loucks, of Houston, while tailgating. KAREN WARREN/HOUSTON CHRONICLE
HOUSTON — Texans fans arrived early Sunday at Reliant Stadium, lining up at 6 a.m. for a morning of tailgating and taking care to be in their seats, not on the freeways, for a high noon kickoff against the Dallas Cowboys. A lot of them left early, too.
As optimism turned into resignation after three turnovers, five penalties and ineffective red zone offense by the Texans, fans began streaming toward the exits midway through the fourth quarter of a 27-13 defeat.
It was the Texans' first loss of the 2010 season, breaking a six-game winning streak dating to last year, and it put a damper on what has been and still promises to be the best start in the nine-year history of the franchise.
“I'm going back to tailgate,” said Texans fan Stephen Lacy, a charter season ticket holder, as he walked toward the stadium exit. “I had hoped for better today. But my faith is not destroyed. None of this matters until we get to the Super Bowl between these teams.”
It was only the third regular-season meeting between the Texas teams and the first in Houston since the Texans' inaugural game in 2002. As such, it had something of the big-game feel that has become routine when longtime NFL powers like the Cowboys visit rivals in New York and Washington or when the Texans take on Indianapolis.
“I promise you that if they have a good season, it's going to be a blowout like this for the fans every game for the rest of the season,” said Pete Duarte with the Raging Bull Tailgaters. “People are realizing this is where it's at. We've had phenomenal crowds starting with the preseason games, and every week I see people I've never seen before.”
Duarte said about 600 people came through the Raging Bull tent, double the total for a normal week. The challenge, he said, is for fans to keep following the Texans so scenes like Sunday’s become the norm.
Crowd noise hit 117 decibels during the second quarter, just eight decibels below the pain threshold, and the intensity of the atmosphere did not go unnoticed among Texans players, said offensive lineman Eric Winston.
“It's what you want as a player,” he said. “We're putting people in the seats. That's what it's all about, and it's what we will continue to do this season. We will fight to get a win in Oakland, and if you can start the season 3-1, that's a successful run.
“This is our house, and we have to play better here. We have to give the fans a win, and we didn't get that done today.”
Even while the stands emptied, tailgaters lingered on the parking lots more than two hours after the game ended, with Texans and Cowboys fans exchanging slightly barbed, vaguely inebriated pleasantries.
“You win, you lose, you take it like a man,” said Eric Verdusco of Lake Jackson, who wore his red Brian Cushing jersey. “But I've never seen a team (the Cowboys) get so excited about being 1-2. The Texans are 2-1, baby.”
David Castillo of Lake Jackson, wearing a blue Cowboys jersey, smiled and nodded at his friend's words.
“This is just about bragging rights until the next game,” Castillo said. “I'm not going to rub it in.”
Castillo's charitable nature, however, was unshared by Bill “Cowboy” Lamza, former president of the Dallas Cowboys Fan Club and diminutive scourge of two generations of Houston sports fans.
“I am prepared to rub it in,” Lamza said. “I have a truck of salt being delivered from Waller for that very purpose. The only thing that disappoints me is that Houston scored. I always feel that every time a team from Houston scores, an angel loses his wings.”
“These are the Dallas Cowboys we're talking about, and the Cowboys are not going to come in and lose to a gaggle of hayseeds. The only way they could have won was to drink the blood of a unicorn, and I have the only one left stashed out here under guard. So I was confident.”
Steven Cardona of Rosenberg paraded around the parking lot after the game wearing a blue and silver flag with the words “This is Cowboys Country.”
“I flew it all the way down Highway 59 from Rosenberg to Reliant Stadium, and I'm flying it all the way back,” Cardona said.
The 70,000-plus fans inside the stadium were joined by thousands of fans who came to the stadium to tailgate and, elsewhere, by hundreds of fans at sports bars across town.
At SRO Sports Bar & Café, a packed house of mostly Texans fans sat quietly as the game shifted in favor of the Cowboys.
Gerald Luckadue, a Cowboys fan wearing a personalized jersey (“Just in case they need me to go in,” he said), stood and cheered after the Cowboys' first touchdown, flexing his muscles in bodybuilder poses.
“Dallas is America's team, and the Texans (are) like a little stepchild,” Luckadue said. “We got to come into town and show them, don't ever mess with your big brother.”
As the game went on, Cowboys fans wearing white and blue jerseys, T-shirts and hats grew louder, heckling the red-and-blue-clad majority in the crowded restaurant. A 63-yard touchdown pass from Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo to receiver Roy Williams had Dallas fans jumping and screaming in front of their friends.
Christina Rodriguez, wearing a red Texans jersey, laughed as her friend Timeka Walker, in a blue Cowboys jersey, screamed in celebration.
The Cowboys, Rodriguez pointed out, were winless until Sunday.
“They need it more than we do,” she said.
! First they were so excited about winning the preseason match, but now that we take the regular season game "none of this matters"!