It’s that time of year when people start to think about why they are thankful. Maybe you sit around the table on Thanksgiving and tell each other what you are most thankful for, or maybe you are just biding your time until you can get in front of the TV for some holiday sports. Whatever the case, if you are in Houston, things are not as bad as they have been.
A few years ago, we were talking about the golden age of Houston sports and without even a hint of irony. The Astros were the best team in baseball nearly every year, the Texans were flying high with young quarterback Deshaun Watson and the Rockets were perennial postseason darlings featuring James Harden. Well, the Astros are still good?
Despite the rapid fall of the Texans and Rockets, there is honest to God hope out there. It might be hard to believe, especially if you have been around H-Town a while, but there are very good reasons to appreciate sports in Houston right now. Here are five of them for your holiday enjoyment.
The Dynamo are back in the playoffs.
Soccer fan, you’re welcome! Houston MLS team had struggled through mediocrity and coaching changes until this season. Now, they are in the MLS Cup semifinals Sunday at Sporting KC. It’s a remarkable accomplishment considering not many picked them to go this far. They are a feisty team and have a chance to win it all for the third time in franchise history.
University of Houston basketball remains excellent.
So long as Kelvin Sampson is in charge, even with the team losing two of its legit stars, this will remain a very good team. They are currently ranked sixth in the country with a 7-0 record heading into the holiday weekend. Their trademark defense remains intact and yet another berth in the NCAA tournament seems in the offing for Sampson’s crew.
The Rockets are actually good again.
Praise the ghost of Moses Malone, the Houston Rockets, after three of the worst seasons in franchise history, are once again relevant. The young bounty of players acquired during those down years are finally coming into their own and a handful of veteran acquisitions have transformed this franchise. Ime Udoka appears to be one of the most capable young coaches in basketball as well. Things are finally looking up at Toyota Center.
Joe Espada is the right man for the Astros job.
In the end, the Astros did exactly what they should have done and hired their bench coach to replace manager Dusty Baker upon his retirement. Espada has earned the job over seven seasons in Houston. He is well liked by players and management, and brings a fresh perspective to a team that continues to be relevant regardless of the departures and injuries that seem to plague them with regularity. It would not be a shock to see them in their eighth straight ALCS next October.
C.J. Stroud and DeMeco Ryans
Honestly, can you have written a better story for a beleaguered NFL team than the one that is happening right now at NRG Stadium? The Texans, all but abandoned by a fan base frustrated with literal decades of disappointment, finally got it right when they hired former linebacker DeMeco Ryans as their head coach and drafted C.J. Stroud with the second pick in this year’s draft. They have gone from the bottom of the league to a team legitimately threatening for a playoff spot while Stroud breaks seemingly every rookie passing record. It’s as shocking as it is incredible.
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2023.
