(cid:48)(cid:72)(cid:72)(cid:87)(cid:3)(cid:87)(cid:75)(cid:72)(cid:3)(cid:55)(cid:72)(cid:91)(cid:68)(cid:81)(cid:86) F ew fans in the United States love their football more than the people of Houston Texas Some follow high school football some follow college football and some follow professional football Most know something about all three No wonder the players on the Houston Texans love their city The Texans are Houston’s second pro football team The first the Oilers left in 1997 after 36 years there The city seemed strangely empty without a National Football League NFL team No one was surprised when the NFL returned to Houston a few years later This book tells the story of the Texans They are one of the newest teams in football but their fans have been following pro football for generations That’s another reason why the Texans love to play in Houston They know a good effort will not go unnoticed and a great play will make the whole stadium stand up and cheer The Texans celebrate a touchdown They love to make their fans stand up and cheer (cid:24)
(cid:42)(cid:79)(cid:82)(cid:85)(cid:92)(cid:3)(cid:39)(cid:68)(cid:92)(cid:86) W hen pro football arrived in Houston in 1960 sports fans there rejoiced Some of the country’s top high school and college players already sharpened their skills on the city’s playing fields The Houston Oilers completed the picture For 36 seasons they were one of America’s most exciting teams In 1997 the Oilers moved to Tennessee where they became the Titans Houston fans were in shock They couldn’t imagine a fall without the NFL For five seasons Houston was without an NFL team A group of investors led by Bob McNair worked hard to fix this problem Finally in 2002 the league expanded and placed a new team in Houston The (cid:25)
LEFT Owner Bob McNair poses with David Carr RIGHT Aaron Glenn was a defensive leader of the Texans Texans were part of the American Football Conference AFC One of the teams in their division was the Titans Everyone knew this would turn into a great rivalry Houston’s first coach was Dom Capers He worked quickly to build a strong defense Capers got good performances from players such as Aaron Glenn Jamie Sharper Gary Walker Marcus Coleman and Dunta Robinson They helped the Texans earn a reputation as a hard-hitting team The offense looked for leadership from quarterback David Carr Domanick Williams was the team’s top running back Houston’s best player was Andre Johnson He was a big receiver with (cid:26)
