Good to see perspective from my fellow, Houstonians. People who don't live in either city definitely won't understand, as said before, this goes byond and before current sports. People claiming they've never heard someone from Dallas dog on Houston must not be very old (or perhaps not well traveled) because I grew up with nothing but that. Dallas is Texas city that wants to be in California...everyone dresses up to go to the grocery store. Status is huge, and being rich (or at least appearing to be rich) is the social norm...a huge contrast from Houston. Houston is much more laid back and much less concerned with superficial matters (as a whole anyway). People in Dallas actively and routinely go way beyond their means in order to appear affluent, and find Houston "ghetto" and "a toilet." This reflects in their arrogant view and attitude towards Houstonians...they simply think they are bigger and better for no real reason. Is everyone is Dallas bad? Of course not, I have family there (my cousin actually likes and follows the Rockets), but the bad eggs there completely undermine this to the fullest extent. Of course I am generalizing, but anyone from Houston knows exactly what I mean. For god's sake, I had a Mavs fan tell me Dirk > Hakeem after they won the WCF. I didn't even have a response for that...
Six Flags Over Texas was the original theme park and is still the flagship for the franchise, currently headquartered in the Dallas area. That's all I have to say about that.
If you say so. I grew up in Houston in the 50's and 60's and my experience says that Houston was the more blue collar city due to the Port of Houston, oil companies and chemical refineries. Dallas had more of a distribution and financial services economy and prided themselves on having a more cosmopolitan feel. Jobs were easier to get in Houston (up until the oil crash in the 80's) because of the manufacturing industrial base. About the only rivalry between the two I can recall was sports-based primarily Oilers vs. Cowboys which was due primarily to the Cowboys being the more successful of the two.
A good number Dallas folk have that puffed-up, larger-than-life "Texan" attitude due primarily to the TV show Dallas which fed into the Texan stereotype from movies like Giant. As a city, I find Houston to be more grounded primarily due to its different economic base. Now, Dallas has not yet experienced the level of success in basketball as has Houston (2 NBA titles) so you can see how all of the MFFLs are a bit green with envy (as your MFFL was/is). On the other hand, Houston has never come close to experiencing the level of success in football as has Dallas (8 Superbowl appearances with 5 wins) so you see the Oilers' fans and today's Texans fans united in their dislike of Dallas. Really, it's two sides of the same coin as far as I am concerned.
Just saying it's my experience. I can tell you my mom doesn't give a rip about pro sports, but fully understands and talks about Houston/Dallas rivalry. Was absolutely my experience in college, in particular, that every aspect of the two cities was analyzed and set to competition. I think it's been that way as long as it wasn't the Houston/Galveston rivalry that once existed.
If Dallas wins then, I assume alot of Houstonians will chin-check overconfident trash-talking Dallas fans at sports bars throughout the city
I'm not rooting for either them, but I would like to see Miami's plan to blow up in their face. If Miami wins a title, they will be tied with the Rockets with 2 titles. Dallas will still be 1 title short of the Rockets. It makes sense to prefer Miami losing than Dallas when you stop and think about it.
Your first point is a good one...and one that I feel honestly reflects negatively on the rest of Texas. While the economic bases indeed have shaped the attitudes of the people in their respective cities...I don't see how anyone can like the larger-than-life "Texan" attitude other than those raised around it (Dallasites). I've met quite a few non-native Texans that have lived in both cities and genuinely enjoyed living in Houston and the people in Houston much more than Dallas. I'm sure they'll always be those who wouldn't agree...but looking at it more objectively, who wouldn't want to be more grounded and open-minded? Who wouldn't want to be judged for who they are vs. how much money they have? My cousins from Mesquite lived in Houston for a number of years (with her husband from Waco) and they absolutely loved it. She attended undergrad and law school in Houston, and the only reason they moved back was they had kids and wanted to be closer to the family up in Dallas. Everytime they visit, they go on about how they miss Houston, go figure. While the sports rivalry viewpoint is in all honestly very much a two-sided coin, the attitudes of the cities and perceived wealth/prosperity of the cities has and will continue to keep the rivalry going, sports aside. I've said on here before that often a sports team embodies the city they play for...the Mavs fit this, to me. Whiny, floppy, soft Dirk and arrogant, dirty, ******* Terry. The arrogant attitude of Dallasites will always rub Houstonians the wrong way.
Everyone has their own reason to either hate The Mavs, or appreciate their playoff run right now. What really irks me are those who hate on their fello clutchfans and accuse them of not being a Rockets fan, simpl because they are rational about all this. Why does it seem so impossible to some of you that a person can appreciate how good the Mavs are right now, and still be a Rockets fan? The real fans out there are the ones who actually appreciate basketball itself, and if you are going to hate on a team is NOT playing us right now, then mayne YOU shold GTFO because you are a poser. I hated the Mavs when they played us and hated how they denied us the 2nd round, but we didn't even make the playoffs this year. They are better than us right now. That doesn't mean I'm going to stop supporting the Rockets. I lvoe our team! I just live in the real world and not some fantasy land and can actually admit that we aren't so crash hot right now. I think another element to this is the fact that people with this deep hatred are Houstonian's. There are many fans such as me who don't live in Houston, better yet I don't live in America. So we have no idea about your geographical rivalries. Does this mean that non-Houstonians like us deserve to be verbally abused and accused of not being real fans? Us non-houstonians are probably more REAL fans in my opinion because we CHOSE to be Rockets fans. Houstonian fans are just fans by default due to where they grow up. But so what? They're still fans, and they still lvoe the team. Good on them.
He has a hairy chest you know. <iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EeKfqv5MZrA" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Are you Jewish by any chance because that is the only way I can see you not liking Dirk if you hold grudges still from the holocaust.
