Who's with me?
Rooting for Houston sports teams puts you in good company
Sep 12, 2017, 7:00 am
Beyonce always creates a buzz when sitting courtside. Photo by Ray Amati/Getty Images
Watching a big sporting event has plenty of excitement built into the experience, but sharing that energy with another group of people makes the game even more exhilarating and fun, especially when those other people are celebrities. Below is a list of the biggest celebrity Houston sports fans. You might be surprised by how many stars root for Houston teams.
ZZ Top
The most famous beards in music don’t mind checking out the most famous beard in basketball. Dusty Hill, the bassist from the Houston-born band, has been a longtime sharer of Rockets season tickets, according to Texas Monthly. So, seeing him and his bandmates rooting on their beard-mate James Harden isn’t far out of the ordinary.
Paul Wall
After helping bring Houston rap — and Houston "grills" — to the mainstream, Paul Wall remains a big fan of Houston-based teams, including his alma mater, the University of Houston. In 2015, Wall equipped former University of Houston coach Tom Herman with his own set of grills leading up to the Cougars’ win over Florida State in the Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl. He’s also fitted former Texans Andre Johnson and Arian Foster with personal sets of grills.
But there’s one old Houston athlete he’s got a keen eye on. “I’m a huge baseball fan,” Wall told SBNation.com. “Roger Clemens. That’s my boy. We gotta get Roger a grill. Put the word out, man.”
Chamillionaire
The Chamillitary Man is also a Houston sports fan. The “Ridin’” rapper is a big fan of Houston teams, even though he was spotted sitting courtside during the 2017 NBA Finals to watch Cleveland vs. Golden State. Chamillionaire is a Houston native who comments on Houston teams, especially the Rockets, going so far as to pine for Carmelo Anthony on Twitter.
Joel Olsteen
As one of the world’s most popular pastors, Houston’s own Olsteen isn’t shy about getting into his town’s sports. Olsteen told The Christian Fan he’s “a big Texan fan, mainly,” but he has also been pictured courtside at Rockets games.
George H. W. Bush
The 41st president of the United States is a big-time Houston sports fan who doesn’t mind coming out to games. His son, 43, George W. Bush, is more of a Rangers fan (he used to own them, after all), but he has attended Texans games with his father, who even did the coin toss for the 2017 Super Bowl at NRG Stadium.
Slim Thug
The Houston rapper hasn’t been shy about his fandom and has become an ambassador of sorts to Houston sports teams. Thug — along with Houston rappers Paul Wall and ZRo — actually made a song devoted to the Texans called “Houston.” The lyrics, “Houston Texas, Home of the Texans,” play over a sample of the NFL on Fox theme music.
The video has over 2,500,000 views on YouTube and features cameos from Texans Brian Cushing and J.J. Watt. Thug is also a Rockets fan and publicly pleaded for Dwight Howard on Twitter when he was a desired free agent back in 2013. The Rockets landed Howard, something we're sure Houston fans are excited to reminisce about.
Jim Parsons
Bazinga! The Big Bang Theory’s own Jim Parsons has grown into quite a Texans fan (though he grew up indifferent to the Oilers) as well as a quasi-recruiter for the Rockets. In 2013, he made an impassioned plea on YouTube to get free agent Dwight Howard to come to Houston. The plea worked, but as many Rockets fans can tell you, Howard did not.
Travis Scott
One of the hottest hip-hop acts in the country, Houston-native Scott has become a popular face at Rockets games. Scott also had James Harden appear (and lip-sync) in his music video “Way Back.” In May, Scott designed shirts for Game 6 of the second round series against San Antonio that had “Run As One” on it. The Rockets were sent home that night, but at least they looked good.
Richard Linklater
Few in the film industry have done more to showcase Houston on screen than Boyhood director and Astro fan Linklater. He played baseball as a teenager, getting an athletic scholarship to Sam Houston State and imagining he’d play for the Astros before he won an Academy Award. He’s also devoted a lot of his movies to baseball, especially his recent feature geared around college baseball, Everybody Wants Some.
While he may have happy endings in his movies about baseball, he knows the burden of being an Astros fan is something most people in Houston can relate to. “We just accept our fate. I guess that's the thing about being from the Houston area: We don't have that entitlement. But it's a special fan base," Linklater told ESPN in 2016.
Beyonce
There’s only one Beyonce, and luckily for Houston sports, she reps her teams hard. Beyonce and her husband, Jay-Z, have been spotted courtside of many Rockets games through the years.
Of the Houston teams, the Rockets seem to be her favorite. She reps them on Instagram, wearing hats to leotards. She also dons a James Harden jersey in her video for “No Angel.” Now the only question is, why didn’t she play the Super Bowl in Houston? It remains a mystery.
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The Houston Astros walked out of Phoenix with a three-game sweep of the Diamondbacks, but the biggest win of the series might not have been in the standings, it could’ve been the emergence of their latest young spark plug.
Once again, the pitching carried the load. Brandon Walter continued his breakout season with another strong showing, and right now, he looks like Houston’s third starter if the playoffs began today. Behind him, Ryan Gusto and Colton Gordon have quietly helped stabilize a rotation ravaged by injuries. All three own ERAs under 4.5, a luxury the Astros couldn’t have anticipated heading into the year. Another thing they couldn't have anticipated was Lance McCullers' ERA this season being almost seven.
Walter’s rise comes at the same time the McCullers situation grows murkier. After starting the season late, he’s on the injured list again, this time with a blister on his pitching hand. Though the issue isn’t related to his arm, the “vibes” simply haven't been there. He’s struggled in four of his last five starts, and one wonders whether a "phantom" IL stint might be in his future, especially with Cristian Javier and Spencer Arrighetti progressing in rehab assignments. The roster squeeze is coming, and McCullers might not make the cut.
Crushing dingers!
Offensively, the conversation begins and ends with Brice Matthews. The first-round pick has quickly shifted from injury fill-in to potential staple, nearly winning the series by himself with three home runs across the first two games. His athleticism has popped in the field, and while contact concerns remain, the power and energy are real. Matthews is the only prospect of his pedigree ready to contribute, so the club made a wise decision to take a shot on upside, and Matthews delivered. That's why we were so emphatic about the Astros elevating Matthews. Get him in the lineup as a DH if you have to, whatever it takes, this offense needs pop. Then lo and behold, not only does he give the offense a lift, his defense also helped seal a win against Arizona.
Veteran slugger Christian Walker might be heating up too, posting a .348 average with three home runs and an .895 OPS in July. That’s a promising development, especially in a month when the Astros have flipped their typical formula. The pitching has been average — 18th in ERA, 18th in WHIP, 21st in opponent batting average — but the offense has been elite: top-five in slugging, OPS, and runs scored.
Injury bug
Still, questions persist. Chief among them is the health of Yordan Alvarez. His recent comments about his hand injury — specifically, his uncertainty and acknowledgement that rest hasn’t helped — were troubling. If surgery isn’t an option and time off isn’t working, what is the long-term solution? At this point, fans are right to worry about whether Alvarez will ever fully return to the dominant form he once showed.
Trade deadline
With the trade deadline one week away, general manager Dana Brown has to weigh all of this. The pitching could soon be bolstered by returns from the IL. But the offense, especially with no clear return dates for Alvarez, Jeremy Peña, Jake Meyers, and Isaac Paredes, might need immediate help. Despite the sweep, Houston scored just three and four runs in the final two games of the Diamondbacks series. If they’re serious about contending for a championship, another bat may be required. They'll see much better pitching in the postseason.
If the Astros do decide to add an arm, a power right-handed reliever could make sense. With Bryan Abreu the only truly dominant righty in the bullpen, a little late-inning muscle wouldn’t hurt.
Bottom line: the Astros are winning, and they're doing it in multiple ways. But with health concerns piling up and playoff positioning tightening, there’s still plenty of work ahead. Fortunately for Houston, they may have just found another foundational piece in the most unexpected place, a rookie who’s already changing the conversation.
There's so much more to get to! Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday.
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