How Long Have You Been, and What Made You Into a Rocket Fan?

81" finals with Mo. Became diehard when we drafted Dream since I was a big Phi Slamma Jamma fan.

 

After "The Shot," I was hooked (no, not Elie's- Ralph Sampson's shot in Game 5 of the WCF in 1986 that put the Rockets in the Finals). I was working at Mr. Gatti's at the time (we had the game on the big screen)- after he made the shot, we were all jumping up and down, going crazy- then a series of things happened- first, my manager grabs the mike and says, "Free pitcher of beer for each table!" (staring afterwards as if to say, "Did I just say that?). Then, we all had beer after the game- even though I was 16, I really hadn't drank beer that much up until that point. Then, the girl I had liked at Gatti's for several months became friendlier and friendlier with me as the night and the party wore on- and I lost the one thing that night which you're extremely happy about losing. So, I credit the Rockets with bringing me my first taste of spontaneous celebrations, Corona with lime, and the true eighth wonder of the world (begins with S and ends with X). How could one not be a fan after that?

 

vague recollections from '86 and '87 games. Mostly started when I started playing bball when i was 9 or 10 in the Akeem "injury"/Buck Johnson/Sleepy past his prime days. Was way into it by the time the series losses to the Suuuupersonics started (god I hate their PA announcer).. can't turn back..ever

 

I became a Rockets fan in 1994, when I watched my all time favourite player (The Dream, of course...) for the first time on tv. It was his pure elegance, his moves, his style of play that made me a big fan of him. Because of him I started watching basketball. That wasn't really easy over here in Germany (It got only worse until today), but I watched every Rockets game I could. I became a basketball fan in general because the Rockets weren't shown regularly in Germany. It was the same time when I started playing basketball myself. Since these days I'm a basketball addict. In the year 2001 I became the co-webmaster of what is now Germany's biggest and best p) basketball website (One could say Germany's Clutchfans.net ). I enjoy visiting this BBS a couple of times a day since then, too.

 

I was given a quarter at the grocery store check-out by my father in 1973 (I was in kindergarten) to go and get something from the gumball machines as he paid for the stuff. I saw the machine that had the little plastic football helmets in it, & though my family were all die-hard Steeler fans, I wanted my OWN team.

I put the quarter in, & out shat a blue Houston Oiler helmet. I didn't know who they were, so I said "Daddy, who is this?" He goes, "That's the Houston Oilers, they're the WORST football team in the whole league." I think they won one or two games that year,

So THAT DAY it was born, I have rooted for that franchise through thick & thin ever since (even now, the Titans my team) & it was only natural that I carried Houston over to every sport. Astros, Rockets, blahblahblah. I was even a fan of the OLD Houston Aeros in the 70's - the one with Gordie Howe & his sons.

I saw my first Rocket game in Clevesuck, 1976 ... Richfield coliseum ... I remember Murph, Moses & specifically Mike Newlin ... because he looked like such a freak.

Stayed up late to see them oust the Lakers in '81, & saw Ralph's shot on '86. I jumped up & down for 15 minutes.

You get the picture.

& every other sport, saw Houston play every game that ever meant anything. Saw Lorenzo Charles slam it home on Phi Slamma Jamma, thus ruining my life for a few years ... Saw the Oilers blow a 35-3 lead. Saw them get creamed twice by the Steelers in the AFC title games.

I was only ever actually IN Houston, once. A short layover at the airport on my way to Venice CA, 1993. I was beside myself.

The back-to-back titles of '94-'95 got the monkey off of the back of every Houston fan forever, wiped out EVERY horrendous sports memory ... & I'll always worship Hakeem & those guys for that.

Football is my favorite time of the year, & it definitely feels odd to root against a the present day Houston team ... but I'll always love the 'Stros, Rockets, & Oilers/Titans.

All because of that blue plastic Oiler helmet.

 

Ive been a Houston Rockets fan since 1994.

I started collecting basketball cards because I saw some money to be made off of other kids at school. My first pack had about 4 Rockets players in it (Including a guy called Hakeem) so I decided to start collecting that teams card.

One day while trading cards someone said "You know they are in the finals?".

I was lucky enough to see a few games from the 1995 season and then entire finals series. After that we got cable and like most here....I lived and died with the club over the next couple of years.

 

86 playoffs hooked me for life....

 

me too

 

I'd never been much of a sports fan as a kid to tell you the truth. Sorta dorky, interested in video games and all. That is until I went to my God-father's ranch in West Texas one summer when I was ten. Was having a good time, doing the cowboy thing and all, until one afternoon I wondered into the big living room to see what all the commotion was about. That moment unequivocally changed my life. It was the last game of the 92-93 playoff series with the Seattle Supersonics. I remember watching in awe as this man named "The Dream" made spectacular play after spectacular play. The way that everyone there was hanging on every play, the tension palpable in the room, a sense of camaraderie: these were things I had never experienced before. The fact that it ended in a heartbreaking loss only served to intensify my feelings for this team.

I spent the rest of the summer longing for more. And when the 93-94 season started I was there hanging on every game. Winning the first 15 games and 21 out of the next 22 (damn those Atlanta Hawks!) just cinched it for me. I was incredibly lucky to have joined the team just as they were taking this city on the ride of it's life. I guess I was kinda spoiled after that - I never understood why it wasn't that easy to win it all again, but thats a kid for you.

Man a decade has come and gone since then and I can still vividly remember were I was for every single game those two post-seasons. And, with a couple of exceptions, I haven't experienced anything close to something that exciting since...

Good lord, I love the Rockets!!

 

Born and raised a Houston sports fan.

I can't remember my earliest recollection because I am getting old.

But I refuse to root for any other teams.
Just-
Rockets, Astros, Texans

I don't count the Comets as much.
And I am UH 'lum but I am lying low on that one.

What in the world is wrong with UH alumni, we stink!

 

I started watching the Rockets only becuase of a bet that I won.
This guy from Indiana moved in next door.
He started coming over to my house to play videogames and stuff.
One day he asked me if I liked the Pacers.
I was like huh , who are the Pacers?
Anyway one day he told me the Pacers were coming to Houston to play the Rockets.
He invited me to the game at Compaq center.
I kept talking smack about his team even though I did not know anything about any kind of sports. Anyways I bet him 50 bucks that the Rockets would win.
Well Dang, the game ended up going triple overtime with the Rockets winning it. If I recall Moochie hit the first 3 to take it to overtime, then Cat for 3 to take it to double overtime, and last Jalen Rose hit a 3 to take it to triple overtime. Anyways I couldn't stop watching the Rockets since.
I've read all about the rockets past and etc..
And all these good things happening for the Rox since I became a fan, has got me hooked.

 

I'm a french fan of the Rockets.

I like the NBA since 1990 and i have big interest in the Rockets when they became champions against the Knicks in a 4-3 victory. What a victory !!! Unbelievable !!!

But my favorite player was Drexler then when he was traded in Houston, i fall in love with the Rockets.

With NBA+ (TV channel in France with an NBA match by day), i can see the Rockets approximately 10 games per year.

Go Rockets !

 

My story is pretty simple. I give full credit to NBA Jam on Super Nintendo. Way back when I was still in elementary school, my friends & I would play the game all the time. For whatever reason, the team I always chose to play as was Houston's squad of Dream, Otis Thorpe and Vernon Maxwell.

From that point on I started following them, which is fairly odd around these parts since I am Pittsburgh born & raised. If I had a dime for everytime I've been asked the question, "Why the hell do you like the Rockets?" I'd be a rich, rich man.

 

First of all, I am a Native Houstonian and I have loved the Rockets since I was a little girl. We couldnt afford cable back then, so I have memories of listening to the games on the radio. And then, we were all there to witness the championship years. I just didnt think anything could get better than that.

But it did, because last year at a Rockets game I was introduced to another hard core Rockets fan, my current boyfriend. One thing that we will always be able to share is our love for our hometown team.

 

since whatever day the rockets drafted yao

 

roxgirl's BF: That is a damn lie. The championship years were the best. Only to be replaced by T-Mac Rocket Championship years.

 

me too,
After yao was drafted, I become a ROF and watched every single game.
I google the web and found this site and love it after my first visit. Love you all who post here like R2k and the guys in the chat room.
And cuz this site and people around here, I love the houston now and feel the fans here are the most intellgent fans in the world.

by the way, I live in new jersey.

Go Rox, go Yao, go Tmac

 

My love for the Rockets was born when I was in the 3rd grade. All of my buddies clamoured about some guy named Akeem, and they mumbled something about twin towers, I wanted to find what the hek everyone was making a big deal about. It was the '86 Finals and I started discovered basketball. I hated those two ugly dudes on the green team...some guy named Bird and the other McHale. I laughed when Bird would slip on the Summit court. I had never watched anything so exciting in my life. Form that point I followed them season after season and I've grown to respect and admire other teams like the Spurs, but I can only love the Rockets.