Houston Sports: 27 quick thoughts on what needs to change

Innings 1-3

1st Inning

1 – Texans recruiting practices need to change

With the alleged report of the Texans not hiring anyone who doesn’t fit their high character qualifications, it has brought a negative attention to the team. Whether this is accurately true or not doesn’t mean that they should continue to hire the way they do. This isn’t high school or college where you look to choose the ones that fit your organization. It comes down to picking the right guys to win. They may not be churchgoers or saints (no pun intended New Orleans). But if they can play football and contribute to get a Super Bowl, then go after them.  That’s what should be most important for Houston sports fans.

2 – Bob McNair should consider giving up ownership

This past season has not been too kind to Bob McNair. With the comments on “inmates running the asylum” and this recent allegation, it’s clear that McNair has a rough patch in his otherwise clean sheet. While I will always respect and like Mr. McNair for bringing football back to Houston after a few years, I think it’s time he should consider giving up the ownership. My concern is that the Texans organization, who until now, had no major issues before, will have that distraction in what hopes to be a Super Bowl-caliber team. Rick Smith is no more. Then maybe it’s time for McNair hands over the keys to a potential buyer for the betterment of Houston sports.

3 – J.J. Watt is right. Athletes are more than just athletes.

To summarize, Michael Lombardi of The Ringer was quoted (or misquoted) as saying that UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen “has to decide whether he wants to be a humanitarian or football player.”

Seriously? Is he that dumb? Didn’t Watt spend time helping raise $37 million for Houston when Harvey hit? Wasn’t he doing that at the same time he was on the field? Even in Watt’s speech for the Walter Payton Man of Year Award or at the Laureus, he basically summarized that athletes need to use their social platforms to speak out and do great things for the community.

What is a humanitarian?

Merrian Webster Dictionary for Humanitarian

Is it possible to be both an athlete and a humanitarian? Yes!

2nd Inning

4 – Fans must support athletes regardless of differences of opinion

You’re not always going to agree with the stuff that athletes say about their opinions outside of sports. But that does not mean that you can’t deny the athletes their right to express their views. Sure, I would think there may come a day when an athlete and a fan come together and sit down to chat about their views on issues in today’s world. It may sound difficult to root for a player who doesn’t share your beliefs. But the more you think about it, the more you can realize that doing so will be a piece of cake. Why?

5 – In spite of classes, we’re all equal as far as life goes.

We All Bleed Red by Ronnie Dunn

I just thought I throw in the song just for fun of it. But in truth, it’s difficult to see that athletes are like us. We’re used to seeing them on TV and having this notion that they make lots of money while playing the sport that they would rather play for free if they choose. I mean I grew up thinking Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, and Brett Favre were superhuman athletes. But in truth, they’re like us. They have their lifestyles, which may differ from us Houston sports fans. But just like the song, we all have the ability to make mistakes and learn from them.

6 – Should we be hated or should we be loved by everyone else?

This is a question that I’ve thought about for quite some time. Should we rather have our Houston sports teams are beloved by everyone like the Cubs and Celtics? Or should we rather have a team that is hated because they’re winning like the Yankees, Lakers, and Cowboys? I mean, as much as I like to win a lot, I don’t want anyone to despise our teams for the wrong reasons. But what can I do?

3rd Inning

7 – Why should we be loved?

Houston sports is not obviously not as flashy and glamorous as the other cities like New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. We certainly don’t have a bigger media sports market. But I do think that other places in the country, who fit the same room as Houston in terms of national coverage or getting no respect, would see that we’re just like one of them. We may not have winning teams just yet, but that doesn’t mean we don’t need to have an arrogance or swagger like the big three cities named above. We can just have our own swagger that would rival theirs.

8 – Why should Houston sports be hated?

We want to win and we want to have a reason to let everyone else know that our city, while maybe not as popular as yours, can beat you and become an elite sports city. We’ve dealt with so much crap over the past few years as far as coverage went that we just took it because we didn’t have great teams. Now suddenly, the Rockets are the best team in the NBA now with a 17-game winning streak. The Astros are World Series champions. The Texans? Fix some problems and we’re ready to go. How badly do we want to shut the naysayers up? Real bad!

9 – Why should It matter?

Should it matter Houston sports fans? Should we care what everyone thinks? I mean, if we want to fight back, then are we really proving ourselves as tough or are we proving ourselves as playing the naysayers’ game. New York gets their fair share of hate as does LA. But do they care? No! So why should we worry about the hate we’re getting? Why should we worry about the love we feel we deserve from others? Why should we worry?