Texans’ AFC South rivals show Houston compassion
By Peter Manfre
The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey has been devastating, and in a time of grief, the Houston Texans’ AFC South rivals have gone above and beyond with their support.
No one would have blamed the Jacksonville Jaguars, Tennessee Titans or Indianapolis Colts if they stood pat. What could they do, really? Watching the news footage of their rival’s city being downtrodden with water and rain.
These three franchises showed the whole world that they are first-class organizations. They led the charge on relief efforts of all types.
The Jaguars offered the Texans availability.
The Colts offered support and spread the word when it comes to J.J. Watt’s fundraiser.
Lastly, but certainly not least, the Titans offered immediate funding aid.
The Jaguars showed the NFL is family first, business second.
What the Jaguars offered was flexibility, comfortability and peace of mind when owner Shad Khan said they would happily swap home games with the Texans.
Khan had this to say when he first spoke to the media regarding what’s gone on in Houston:
"“The Jacksonville Jaguars will support whatever scheduling decision the NFL makes. What’s most important to me and everyone in Jacksonville isn’t where we’ll play the Texans on week one, but that the city of Houston and its people recover quickly, safely and successfully.”"
This may not seem like a big deal to some, but the context of this situation sheds some perspective. The Jaguars, like every NFL franchise, want to win. They are coming into what many see as a make or break season for their coaching and management staff.
If they were to swap home games with the Texans, they would play week one in Jacksonville and week 15 in Houston. By week 15, the playoff brackets will be pretty obvious as to who is in the hunt and who is not.
If the Jaguars did swap home games, they would close their season with three straight away games. They would travel from Houston to San Francisco and then to Tennessee. If the Jaguars are in the wild card hunt, that three game stretch (not to mention their week 14 matchup with the Seattle Seahawks), would most likely kill their playoff chances.
In the midst of the Texas Rangers organization denying the Houston Astros three home games in the form of denying a home and home swap, this is a big deal.
The Colts start the love and spread the message.
The Colts can be seen as the Texans’ biggest rival. They are the team the Texans struggle most to defeat.
A handful of the Colts’ roster have Houston ties, and they showed it with their video and fundraising via twitter:
To the city of Houston and the @HoustonTexans: We got your back.
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) August 28, 2017
Text HARVEY to 90999 to donate $10
or
Donate to https://t.co/CEZ4t101Lq https://t.co/AOdu80HemE
The statistics are not available for “How many Colts fans donated to J.J. Watt’s relief fund,” but if there was, I would imagine there were more Colts fans than expected.
This relief fundraiser has eclipsed ten million dollars, in the span of 90 hours, after surpassing the original goal of $200,000.
Remarkable.
The Titans ownership matches Bob McNair.
As reported by CBS Sports the Titans’ owner Amy Strunk donated $1 million directly into Watt’s YouCaring.com page. I don’t care how much money someone makes per year, $1 million is a lot.
The Titans may not have been the most feared opponent by the Texans, but since the Oilers moved to Tennessee, there has been animosity towards the franchise by some Houstonians.
That animosity has been exemplified on the field. Just ask Andre Johnson how he feels.
All of that aside, it has been inspiring and tear jerking to see the Texans’ rivals come out and support Houston. The city will never forget their kindness and aid in a time of need.
Thank you AFC South rivals for showing compassion and class.
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Incase you missed all the links, below is Watt’s You Caring page where you can make a donation.