Houston is a football town. In fact many places in Texas are football towns, thats the way it is here. I'm more of a basketball person myself and I ask myself the same questions you asked. People are just glad that football is back and they try to show their appreciation by supporting the team. I wish they supported the rockets as much as the Texans...but sadly nobody supports a loser and thats what the rox have been the past 3 years. I can't think of one team that has lost for so long and still have the fans continually pack their stadiums...its just doesn't happen...no matter what city you live in. Hell it happens in New York too...and yet even with the population 4-5 times that of Houston you still don't sellout every game...mind boggling. Or maybe they just have something better to do? Anyways, I don't like the fair-weathered label...it can be applied to ANY city under these same losing conditions. Can you show us when a team was so bad for so long and still maintained the attendance of their glory years? of course not. We had our time, we sold out every game for 3 years(or so), but after the championships and after the public knew our team was aging they lost interest. Go figure. Once we start winning again the attendance will shoot up and hopefully that will bring in the fans that yell at the top of the lungs...we need them to drive out the business men in the front rows that think the arena is one big cell phone booth. Those b*stard always give me funny looks whenever I sit next to them and actually get into the game...like I'm disrupting their conversation.
Yeah...I've noticed that Houston fans are somewhat tame compared to other sports towns and don't understand why. Last Sunday I was the Texans game and I was shouting out my support for the team when a gentleman said "man I should have brought ear plugs" I mean come on....we're not at a freaking golf tournament!!! The same for the Rockets game...the fans wait for something to happen before they decided to cheer. Guess I'm just a nutt and like to yell through the hole game!!!!
Here's one...the chicago cubs. that team has been a loser longer then anyone, and yet getting tickets for a cubs game is nearly impossible. look, the mets sucked this year, absolutely terrible, lost a record straight number of home games, and yet still outdrew the astros who are in a playoff chase in a 2nd year ball park. The mets play in the worst stadium in the world. That's because people go to Mets games as a night out, just to go to a mets game. And this whole 4 times houston stuff isn't going to sell. St Louis has always had better attendance then Houston, and Houston has had the second or third best record in the majors the last 10 years or whatever. St Louis is much smaller then houston too. As for Houston being a football town, I don't buy it either. To me that is just saying it doesn't care about basketball or baseball except when they win...the definition of what it means to be fair-weathered. Anyway, we can agree on one thing, people who yak on their cell phones in restaruants or ball games preventing other people from enjoying the game or their food are really annoying.
NewYorker: I am glad you moved to New York. Can your love of diversity extend to the substance of your posts? We get the message, man.
Yep. I guess it's that BIGGER is better TEXAS thing; oil rig, tough cowboy, large ranch, Cadillac with longhorns on the front grille...etc... Basketball is really culturally opposed to Houston, and/or the Texas mentality. And nowadays it's really opposed to the good'ole boys of Texas considering that the hip-hop movement has taken over the NBA (a movement that I happen to like). Does anyone remember the tribute on the Rockets 1994 Championship video by Kathy Mattea - "Walking Away a Winner?" What's up with that?! Who made that decision?! And what target audience were they aiming at there? Surely not the "culturally diverse" populace of Houston. Sorry, but country music and basketball just don't mix (I listen to country music as well). The only reason that there's a larger legacy (following) than before for the Rockets is because they have a HISTORY (of winning). Football (NFL) in Houston has yet to win a championship, but yet it's more ingrained in the culture there. It seems that it will always be that way. I hope Houston doesn't run the Texans out of town if they don't win right away.
It sure would have been nice for him have his whole career in houston, but unfortunatly he is old and washed out and damanded to much for his serveses. That is why he was let go despite being the the greatest rocket ever.
