That's really what sports is all about, right? How does it make us FEEL? Unless you're a maniacal gambler, sports doesn't make you any money. Quite the contrary, actually, especially if you're a season ticket holder. Sports doesn't do your job for you or raise your kids for you (although with my kids, sports came close). Sports are there to help push our emotional boundaries.
A former boss once told me that the two driving emotions in sports talk radio (and thus, sports, in general) are hope and fear. If a topic doesn't move the needle with respect to one of those two emotions, then it's not a worthy topic. I think we can agree that, whether they're good or bad, the Texans are always a worthy topic here.
We've had plenty to fear the last few years, and now we have rays of hope shining through. That said, the results are still straddling the metaphorical hope/fear fence. The Texans are 3-4 on the season, and could easily be 5-2, with two of their losses on last second field goals.
Additionally, the constitution of the results thus far is noteworthy. The Texans have beaten three teams that currently sit at or above .500 on the year — the Jacksonville Jaguars, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the New Orleans Saints. In games that don't involve the Texans, the combined record of those teams is 14-6.
Conversely, the four teams to whom the Texans have lost are all over the map from good (Baltimore) to bottom of the barrel (Carolina). The other two losses are to the struggling Indianapolis Colts and the very average Atlanta Falcons. Th combined record of those teams, in games not involving the Texans, is a collective 10-17.
So, on average, the Texans are beating very good teams, and they are losing to very mediocre teams. It's quite the conundrum! So back to "feeling" and "emotion," and hope and fear. I put it to a poll — are the Texans making you feel more hopeful or fearful through seven games this season? Here were the results:
Two thirds of Texan fans are hopeful and positive! This is ground that has gone untouched since the early days of rookie Deshaun Watson tearing up secondaries before tearing up his ACL in 2017! Good for you, two thirds of Texans fans! As for the other one third, I'm very curious what else it's going to take to at least FEEL good about the Texans again.#Penderpoll on #Texans fan mood ....
— Sean Pendergast (@SeanTPendergast) October 30, 2023
In their NON-TEXANS games, here are records of the teams the Texans have played:
Combined record of 3 teams they beat: 14-6
Combined record of 4 teams they lost to: 10-17
Are you more hopeful over the 3 wins, or fearful over the 4 losses?
Listen to Sean Pendergast on SportsRadio 610 from 6 a.m. to 10 a.m. weekdays. Also, follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/SeanTPendergast, on Instagram at instagram.com/sean.pendergast, and like him on Facebook at facebook.com/SeanTPendergast.
