LONGHORNman,
I'm your target market, and I'm rooting for the Titans.
Bud was a dick for moving the Oilers. I wanted desperately to support the Texans when they arrived. Yet after all these years, I can't think of a single Longhorn who's been on the Texans roster. Obviously, some of the Horns they've passed over in the draft are now starters or legitimate Pro-Bowlers. To do it once or twice is excusable. To do it repeatedly is not. They never even bothered to add backup/role players/special teams guys from UT. It's like the org is thumbing it's nose at the Horn fans. Notice I haven't mentioned aggy.
When Detroit started picking up Horns, I took notice. When they added Roy and Cory to Shaun, I became a fan (didn't we have a few DBs in Detroit too?). I'd rather watch Detroit stink up the field than Houston stink up the field.
The Bears added Benson to Vasher, and now I'd rather watch a Bears game than a Texans game.
If the Texans had traded the #1 pick this year for several other picks, I'd be annoyed but I'd understand the need. The fact that they drafted a DE with the #1 overall pick is stupid. The fact that they passed over an extraordinary talent who was both a hero in the state (UT fans) and a hero in the city (Madison High), shows that they're not very concerned about developing a bond with fans in the state or even the city. It was a virtual snub to a huge number fans in Texas and even in Houston itself.
And it's not like we didn't see it coming. When they exercised the option on Carr, they sealed the deal. But they still could've traded the pick for a lot better results.
Meanwhile Bud f'n Adams was (in public statements) practically drooling over VY. Yeah, we hate Bud for moving the team, but he has the good sense to draft Earl and now VY. One team shows genuine appreciation for a local superstar while the local team compounds one mistake (Carr option) with another (not trading the #1 pick).
I guess in a league with a salary cap and revenue sharing, decisions like this don't hurt them in the pocketbook enough.
So what I'm left with is a football team in the city of Houston that 1) repeatedly underachieves in the area of personnel decisions, 2) seemingly consciously eschews players from the flagship university in the state (which is comprised of predominantly Texas HS kids), and 3) frankly, puts a poor quality product on the field.
Why should I still pull for "my" Houston Texans again?
Clean out the front office, respect the fact that they're playing in the state of Texas and the city of Houston just a little bit, put at least an average product on the field, and maybe I'll start watching again.