[Chron] The first question Gary Kubiak will hear today: Who will be the No. 1 Pick?

Youre inability to see through the BS is annoying. NOTHING is wrote in stone at this point. Their is just as good a chance we draft VY as there is we draft Bush or trade down. And what has been said about Carr so far is exactly what was expected.

I'm really curious as to what you thought they were going to say. Im even more curious as to what you think they should of said. You have so convinced yourself of what you think is going to happen that its blindedyou.

 

Personally, I'm of a mind that no matter WHO the Texans draft, I will be a Texans fan because they represent my town in the NFL. Maybe it's blind loyalty, I don't know. I just don't see how people can say "I'm a Texans fan UNLESS THEY DON'T DRAFT [insert name here]!" To me, that doesn't make you a Texans fan, it makes you someone who FOLLOWS the Texans. There's a difference (in my mind, at least).

Finally, I think a lineup of Carr/Davis/Bush (I'd be willing to bet money Bush sees time all over the field in an attempt to get him the ball in space as much as possible) would be better for the Texans than Young/Davis. Both are special players, but Bush offers the team a versatile playmaker who will draw attention wherever he goes. Young's mobility will definitely be an asset in the NFL, but pro players are elite level athletes. He won't have near as much success running away from someone like Dwight Freeney as he did some poor kid from Baylor or Oklahoma State.

 

I love the "I'm a true fan" posts. They're so condescending. I'm not gonna lie, slapping "Houston" on your jerseys isn't enough for me. I haven't really gotten into this team and they need to do something special for me personally. but that's just me.

 

What would that something special be? Winning? Or drafting VY?

On the whole, I'm only seeing this kind of sentiment from UT fans who want their guy in our uni... like it's some kind of threat that they will "boycott" the team.

Meanwhile, lots of other people love this team unconditionally and want them to succeed first and foremost..

 

I'm just saying, the franchise has been pretty bland since its inception. it has never really done anything to get me excited. I've never gotten into them. that's just me, if you want to love them unconditionally that's your option.

 

i'm guilty of this with the Astros. i slapped people around last season....but keep in mind, the Astros were in the World freakign Series last year and the "fans" were talking about how poor they were.

The Astros are part of me...I grew up with them. There's feeling there. It was special for me to take both of my sons to their very first Astros game. I grew up with them...and I was sharing that with them.

I just don't have that with the Texans. I want it. I really do. I think my older son has it to some degree, because they're all he's known. But I don't. I knew the Oilers...and then that was ripped out. And I rooted for the Saints and the Patriots while they were gone...before the Texans..because they were teams I liked since I was a little boy. (good timing for the Pats, by the way! )

Whoever gets VY will hold my interest big time. If the Texans get him, it's on. If they don't...frankly...I'll be disappointed.

 

Agreed.

 

Okay now I have had a chance to organize my thoughts a little better. I went to Microsoft Word and went to town:

When the Oilers left, Houston was left in a state of shock. This football-Mecca of a city no longer had a professional team and the fans were scarred. We got a taste of the fact that loyalty to a sports franchise was not a reciprocal emotion. The attachment we felt to the team was not given back and this was a sobering fact.

Flash forward a half a decade and for some absence truly made the heart grow fonder and Bob McNair was the knight in shining armor bringing professional football back to Houston, Texas. These fans were injured but loved football so much that they transferred their loyalty immediately and started bleeding Battle Red.

For others the wound was deeper. They recognized that The Texans coming to Houston was a great thing and were excited by the pageantry that surrounds a pro team in the city. They bought the gear and watched the games. They rooted for the team to win. Some of them bought PSL’s and season tickets. But the attachment to the 32nd franchise was guarded.

There was another group of Houstonians that were hurt more than the other two groups. These folks were disgusted by Bud Adams and The Oilers and gave up on the NFL product. Much like Major League Baseball is still recapturing fans from the strike The Texans are still fighting for this segment of fans.

This brings us to the 2005 NCAA football season. The Year of The Trojan. ESPN crowned USC as Champion of the Rose Bowl in September and the marketing machine was set on its highest gear. Unprecedented attention was given to the soon-to-be three-peaters and their quest for infamy. And all along Houston’s own Vince Young was not-so-quietly looming in the shadows, doing the impossible much like USC’s much-heralded Reggie Bush. Statistically they were both phenomenal, once-in-a-lifetime collegiate players. After the games of December 3rd the stage was set. Vince Young versus two Heisman winners. The outcome of this game was predetermined. USC would win. ESPN was more concerned with USC beating the greatest teams in college history than beating Vince and the Longhorns.

January 4th, 2006. We all remember the game. Leinart had amazing numbers. Reggie had amazing numbers. And the kid from Houston put on an inhuman show and shocked the nation with what has been called by some as “The greatest performance in the greatest game ever played”. In a night that followed suffocating hype and under unparalleled football pressure, time stopped for a moment after the 4th and 5, 8-yard Touchdown run by the Superhero with the strange throwing motion.

For four months Vince Young was electrifying stadiums, living rooms, and bars as he redefined the potential for the quarterback position. And all along The Texans were laying eggs in one of the most boring seasons in professional football history. In a city that was starved of professional football for so long and then forced to suffer through the uninspiring product on the field in 2005 it became apparent that the honeymoon was in fact over. The sold out Reliant Stadium was half-full. The beer vendors that were raking in the tips from a raucous crowd in the past were now digging lint balls out of their trousers. The tailgaters were uninterested. The hooligans in the Bull Pen were not wearing papier-mâché bull heads. Dads were cutting the grass at noon on Sundays and the television ratings proved it. The Texans sucked and earned the first pick in the draft.

No topic has ever been more heated on Houston sports radio stations than the Great Vince/Reggie debate of 2006. Period. Not steroids in baseball. Not the Rockets back-to-back championships. Not move Steve Francis to the two. Nothing. Ever.

The Texans are finally warranting front page consideration. After an embarrassing season The Texans are back in the headlines. However they are disproving the axiom that ‘any press is good press’ because with each passing day they are alienating themselves from people that love their city but only like The Texans…if that. What I would give to have been a fly on the wall of The Texans conference rooms as the PR spin machine tried to veil the Texans intentions with the first pick during the announcement of Gary Kubiak as head coach. Coach Kubiak was well coached. Every Vince Young question was stealthily deflected by the new chief to incorporate Vince and Reggie. When Bob McNair spoke he was certain to sing the praises of the stars of his 30th ranked offense. And David Carr? His name was brought up more than Coach Kubiak’s and one would think that David had just come off a Super Bowl victory with the way that The Texans brass were glorifying him.

Does that brass know that with limited exceptions, Houston has lost faith in Carr? I realize that they have made a great investment in the face of the franchise but have they considered the fact that the fans have not? David Carr may be a great quarterback someday. He may culminate his skills and make an NFL team happy. But he has lost this city and whether it is his, Dom Caper’s, Chris Palmer’s, the offensive line’s, or nobody’s fault is immaterial. He’s lost the ability to rally the troops on the field and the fannies in the stands.

Vince Young can be the cog that galvanizes this city behind the team. He can be the piece of the puzzle that instantly creates an emotional connection to the organization. The Oilers showed us that football is a business and the only tie that each franchise has to the citizens of the cities they represent is geographic. We cohabitate Houston with The Texans, that’s it. This is not about Vince the Longhorn. This is about Vince the Houstonian. He epitomizes the winning spirit that we Houstonians expect out of our team. The Texans have an opportunity to distance themselves from the heartache of the Oilers and create a bond with the people of this city that didn’t dive in without testing the water. Everyone is quick to point out that winning cures all ailments and this is true. Winning will put butts in the seats and pique interest in the team. If The Texans win with Reggie Bush then Houstonians will yell and scream and cheer “They did it! They won! They are winners!”

If The Texans win with Vince Young the same fans will yell and scream and cheer “We did it! We won! We are winners!”

Big difference there folks.

 

Could we limit responses to less than 5,000 words?

I know where you stand. That's fine.

 

Overdone, overreacted.

It's a football team. That's it. He's a football player, not a "hero", and not a "superhero". We have some heros in Iraq right now. There were some heros during Rita and Katrina, and some big heros back on 9/11. A football player ain't a hero.

I'm sorry dude, but your response to all this seems pretty childish, especially with the whole conspiracy/spin smack. Take a walk today and listen to some birds sing. Go watch some kids play pick-up basketball, and kiss your wife or g/f.

 

Can I ask you a favor?

I'm at work, and I wanted to check your site out.

When you post links that have loud music on the page, can you put a little disclaimer or warning? I freaking hate websites that instantly start blaring music with no warning--I sit right next my supervisor, for cryin' out loud.

Anyways, I can't tell you what to do, just asking for the courtesy.

 

Actually,

 

sorry about that. I will fix it. And the diatribe was for the site...not specifically for the bbs!

 

come on, msn. the only reason you watch sports is due to geographical devotion? maybe that's your reason...and there's nothing wrong with that. but that's not why i watch.

i watch because it's metaphor for life...i watch because sometimes an athlete captures my imagination and models in some way an attribute i admire and/or wish i had more of. VY is that kind of athlete in my view.

i'm going to meet craig biggio tonight. going to a baseball dinner downtown. i'm giddy like i'm a school kid. i can't wait. i realize there's something silly abouut that...but it is what it is. i've been watching this guy play baseball since i was in 8th grade. he is among my favorite athletes ever on any level. not just because he was a good baseball player...good baseball players are a dime a dozen...there's something more than that with Craig.

i'm telling you i ALREADY feel that way about VY, and he hasn't played one down on the pro level. i'm telling you, whether it's right or wrong, people do make heros of athletes.

the condescension is what's ridiculous, msn. yeah..you're more mature..more balanced because you're hooked on the texans. makes sense. chance is a child because he has stronger feelings watching VY play than he's ever had watching the Texans play.

 

This is the exact reason why I'm leaning towards VY. Bush supporters love to say that the only reasons VY supporters want him are a) he's from UT and b) because of one game.

It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that he's an amazing talent.

 

You guys lay off Chance. I respect his stance and the fact that he took the time to write all of that out. That is what these message boards are for. If all of us agreed on everything, then there would not even be a reason for us to be on here sharing our ideas.

I do think Chance has gone a little overboard, but some people are that passionate about sports. I think the Texans know what they are doing, I understand that some Longhorn fans may not be happy about it, but to boycott, or try to hold the Texans accountable for not drafting your favorite college football player is just nuts, especially if you are an adult.

 

well if that's the case, then you'd have to decide between VY, DD, & AJ vs. Bush, Carr, & AJ. Kubiak has an excellent track record w/ both QB's and RB's.

they both look pretty good, but i'm still leaning towards VY. there's just something about him that says to me "not drafting this guy will come back to bite you in the ass." VY as a Texan just feels right.

 

No, I watch sports because I love competition. I like more teams than Houston ones, I'm just partial to Houston.

In my longer post above, I was cutting up, saying the same stuff over and over. But when I said, "cool", I meant it--as in, it's cool for one person to feel that way, and this is how I feel. I didn't mean to say I was *right* about it, just different. It's only sports, for crying out loud.

And I agree with all this. But they're not "heros" on the same par with heros.

Great! I don't, but that's what makes talking sports so interesting.

Understood. I thinks it's a little over the top.

OK, now I *never* said any of this. I am really sorry my post above about Houston sports teams came across condescending--what I meant to communicate, and evidently failed at it completely--is that while some folks only follow a team if that team captures their interest, I follow a team if its home is in Houston. I didn't mean to say that's better, because it's *not*. Just different. Honestly, I didn't.

No, what was silly in my view was the long diatribes making this decision by Texans seem larger than life. I'm sorry if my language was too strong. I'm no better or more mature than anyone else here--heck, I'm wasting time typing in cyberspace about a game like the rest of us.

In short, since that whole schpiel came across in a condescending fashion, I am very sorry, because that wasn't the intention.

 

I think its about either drafting VY and giving up on Carr or giving Carr a chance to excel under a new coaching staff without the pressure of a #1 overall pick stud quarterback behind you. To me its not about VY, RB anymore.

Once that decision is made and you decide you want to keep Carr, then you rule out the fact that you arent' drafting a quarterback and then you reevaluate everything. And look at everyone you may take with that #1 pick excluding QBs.

 

you crazy EX's....