Houston Texans Spirit Spreading Across the Web

Google has it, so does Facebook, and Twitter too! It seems as if the web is exploding with Texans fever. Try googling the words “Next Man Up” and you find a slew of pages dedicated to the Houston Texans mantra of 2011-12 NFL season. Hop on Twitter and search #TheMilkMan and you can read all about rookie DE J.J. Watt. Even Arian Foster is helping the Texans spirit spread – albeit indirectly – through the new “Fostering” campaign (think Tebowing but with a touch of “Namaste”).

How alive is this new Texans spirit you ask? I Googled all images associated with “Next Man Up” and more than 33% of the top images were directly related to the Houston Texans. Search the term on Google videos and 40% of the videos on the first page are directly connected to the Texans. Football fans, it seems, just cannot seem to get enough of the new and improved Texans.

Also in on the act are the players themselves. OLB Connor Barwin tweeted that he was going to start calling J.J. Watt “The Milk Man” because Watt never fails to deliver. Within less than 10 minutes the new tag #TheMilkMan was trending throughout Texas. According to Trendsmap.com, which follows trends on Twitter, #TheMilkMan has spread from Houston to Angleton, Austin, and San Antonio. Even a few fans overseas were following the trend in countries like England and Australia.

Fans, it seems, are looking to unseat the trend of “Tebowing” with their own twist. “Fostering”, the act of bowing slightly with your hands folded in front of you, is the next big thing for Texans fans. Search any of the Texans fan pages on Facebook and you are likely to run into hundreds of pictures of fans as they do their best to “Foster”. I got so caught up in the concept that I even had my three daughters “Foster” just so that I would have a picture to use as an example:

It is great to see all of the support that fans are giving the Texans this year. After nearly a decade of enduring non-playoff worthy teams the fans are ready to wholeheartedly support their football team. Texas has needed another team to support and Houston has been looking to answer that call. Football is a way of life in Texas and, for Texans fans, they have breathed a breath of fresh air and new life this season.

My only concern is to whether or not this support for the team will continue. I know that there are tons of bandwagon fans who are only supporting the team because of their Cinderella-esque season but we, the true fans, must ensure that we keep the excitement level high in Houston. We must be willing to “Foster”, we must believe in the “Next Man Up”, and we must continue to support #TheMilkMan even when the team is not doing its best…for that is when you discover who the true fans are!

So, Houston Texans fans, keep that spirit alive. Join us on Twitter and spread the word about #TheMilkMan or take a picture of you or someone you know “Fostering” and post it to Facebook. If you are more of the “Next Man Up” type then show your support on Facebook and Twitter! Let us all throw our support behind the Texans as they prepare to take on the Baltimore Ravens this Sunday!