Who's with me?

Rooting for Houston sports teams puts you in good company

Yourgo Artsitas
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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BROWNS BEAT TEXANS

11 observations from Texans' 31-21 loss to Browns

Texans fall to Browns. Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images.

The Houston Texans kept it closer than the experts thought they would, but couldn't pull out a victory. Here are 11 observations from the loss in Cleveland to the Browns.

1. The game looks totally different if Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor finishes the game. Taylor left at halftime with a hamstring injury. He was playing exceptionally well against his former team. Taylor is not expected to play Thursday according to NFL Network.

2. Davis Mills had a rocky NFL debut which was to be expected. Mills looked to have the wrong elements of a few plays. He also couldn't hit backup wideout Andre Roberts over the middle and threw an interception. It was a fine performance considering what Mills showed he could do in the preseason.

3. Mills didn't work with a full load of offensive weapons in the second half. Rookie wideout Nico Collins didn't return to the game after his lone catch and big run early in the game. Veteran slot receiver Danny Amendola left the game with an injury. Tight end Anthony Auclair left with an eye injury. The Texans entered the game without wide receiver Anthony Miller who was inactive.

4. Brandin Cooks is a monster through two games. He is the most dangerous skill position player on the team, and defenses still have trouble covering him and staying with him. Cooks turned in yet another impressive day for this team and hauled in a Davis Mills touchdown pass.

5. The Browns did a solid job against the ground game of the Texans. Mark Ingram averaged under three yards per carry and Tyrod Taylor was the only rusher to have a big play on the ground. This led to a fair number of third-and-long situations which the Texans usually had trouble converting.

6. Justin Reid was set to increase his payday on his next contract with his early play. Reid forced a fumble and had an interception in the first half. Unfortunately, Reid would leave the game multiple times with injuries. The knock on Reid has always been his health.

7. The Texans were worn down by the Browns rushing attack all day. Once Cleveland committed to the run they saw the success of their work culminating in a 26-yard scamper by Nick Chubb for a touchdown. The Browns didn't run as much as I excepted them to run early.

8. Tim Kelly had another nice day calling plays. Kelly remains creative in finding ways to get the ball out of Taylor's hands quickly as well as manufacturing matchups where the Texans can win and pick up yards. He even got creative to get Davis Mills a passing touchdown late in the game. Kelly has been very impressive through two games.

9. Andre Roberts was inexcusably bad today. The Texans defense held on the opening drive and his muffed punt eliminated the momentum from the defensive stand. He also had poor returns on kickoffs. His lone job is to be a solid returner, and he failed at that on Sunday.

10. David Culley had a head-scratching decision foregoing an offsides call on a third down. The head coach opted for the result of the third down, and a punt on fourth down, instead of another third down. He did not explain himself well postgame on the decision either.

11. The Texans hung tough and should feel solid about where they could have been without the injury to their quarterback. With no Taylor in the short week, it will not be easy to beat the Panthers who upset the Saints on Sunday.

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