We topped at 84º.
When the Houston Oilers left town for Nashville in 1997, the city felt the void left from not having pro football for the first time in 36 years.
That same year Bob McNair and his business partner, Chuck Watson, were turned down for an NHL franchise. Not to be deterred, they turned their attention towards the NFL and a possible expansion franchise. First on the agenda was a plan with the Houston Livestock Rodeo to push for a retractable roof stadium which would be shared with the future NFL team.
At the time, the NFL was focused on returning to Los Angeles. But chaos among L.A. officials coupled with McNair’s aggressive attitude and plans placed Houston on the short list along with L.A. and Cleveland. In 1998, the NFL Stadium Committee made a visit to view the proposed stadium and came away impressed. The league had already given L.A. six months to work out a feasibility ownership plan and stadium deal.
When the Los Angeles effort failed, at the owner’s meeting in October of 1999 the NFL owners voted 29-0 to award an expansion franchise to McNair for $700 million.
Months of extensive focus groups brought forward five nicknames as finalists: Stallions, Bobcats, Texans, Wildcatters and Apollos. On September 6, 2000, before thousands of fans and a live ESPN2 audience, owner Bob McNair unveiled the logo, colors and nickname of the "Texans."
In the team’s first regular season game, the club hosted the Cowboys and came away happy with a 19-10 victory. It marked the first time an expansion team had won its opening game since 1961.
One note of interest: the single star located within the logo represents the Lone Star of Texas.
Origin Facts:
Established: 2002
Original Owner: Bob McNair
Original Colors: Red, white & blue
First Stadium: Reliant Stadium, seating 71,500
Satisfy your cravings for pumpkin cake with our recipe for Autumn Pumpkin Dump Cake. This pumpkin dump cake combines some of your favorite flavors of fall, so you can enjoy the flavors of the season any time you want! Plus, this is such a quick and easy dump cake recipe that you can make it any time you want. Just combine your ingredients and bake and you'll be enjoying a sweet pumpkin cake in no time!
- 1 (15-ounce) can solid pack pumpkin
- 1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 (15-1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
- 1/2 cup chopped pecans
- 1/2 cup cinnamon baking chips (see Note.)
- Preheat oven to 350º. Coat a 9- x 13-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, combine pumpkin, evaporated milk, eggs, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, and salt; mix well and pour into baking dish.
- In a medium bowl, combine cake mix and butter; stir until crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over pumpkin mixture, then sprinkle with pecans and cinnamon baking chips.
- Bake 50 to 55 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely, then serve.
