Accountability: The Perfect Christmas Gift for the Texans from the fans

The Texans return to action for the 2nd half of the season Monday night versus the Cincinnati Bengals. At the halfway mark the outlook for this team is both bleak yet hopeful at the same time (yes I know that doesn’t make much sense, but what has made sense this season so far)?

With a record of 3-5 the Texans are a game behind the Indianapolis Colts for the lead in the AFC South Division. I am so baffled by this position that they’re in that I have to put it into terms that I can relate to in order to digest it.

The Texans are the equivalent of a child a brought home a report card full of “D and “F” letter grades, yet was promised by parents (Texans fans) that if they scored toward the top of the class that they would get the gift of their choice for Christmas

Well, technically, the Texans are the kid who is indeed at the top half of their class, however the entire class is failing. How should they be handled for their very sub par performance this season by fans? On one hand it’s extremely tempting to cut off support from them for failing to live up to expectations, and on the other hand they are in the middle of a division race that is very much within reach. Colts quarterback Andrew Luck could be out as long as 6 weeks due to injury makes the possibility of a division title even more realistic.

Let’s not kid ourselves here. Even if they do manage to win the AFC South, which can probably be accomplished with as few as 7 or 8 wins, this season has been a huge disappointment for a team that showed so much potential during training camp.

Personally, I would never advocate not supporting your team. I feel that as a fan it is your responsibility to ride out the bad times in order to earn the right to celebrate the successes. However, there is a way to do so and still hold your team accountable for not delivering.

That being said, I think that Texans fans should continue to watch and attend games and that’s it. Literally. Don’t spend another nickel on anything else Texans-related until this front office addresses the clear personnel issues on this team. Don’t buy any more gear, merchandise, etc. and do not partake in any extra-curricular events that the team hosts until they get their grades up.

The impact to the bottom line would be symbolic rather than punitive. Losing concession and merchandise revenue won’t exactly put Bob McNair into a state of financial ruin at all, however receiving reports that clearly indicate that the fans are only willing to observe and not partake in anything else involving the team is the equivalent of giving the aforementioned kid his gift as promised and at the same time sending him to time out until he figures out how to actually pass his classes.