HOUSTON — Fans said the crowd was way bigger Sunday than any tailgate last year for the Houston Texans. They’re optimistic they can enjoy some football this year.
“The last couple of years have been scarce. This year, we’re ready to start over,” Mark Garcia said.
Fans like Garcia have tailgated at Texans games for 20 years.
“We started off with three guys and a lil' smokie and it's grown to what we’ve seen today,” Vince Cordova said.
Cordova said it feels good to have a full-fledged tailgate with a large crowd.
“The last couple of years have been tough with the pandemic, we were shut down. And then the team was pandemic for a couple of years, but there’s new hope with DeMeco (Ryans), right?” Cordova said.
He's part of the B Young Tailgating group.
Other fans were excited to see the new faces on the team.
“I’m ready to get back out there with DeMeco and (CJ) Stroud and everyone else here,” Ebony Malett said.
Fans like Cordova continue to tailgate and honor their friends who are no longer with them.
“(In 2014) we changed our name to the B Young Tailgaters. We did that after one of our friends, Brian Young, who died of ALS,” Cordova said.
He said their group also does events to raise awareness about ALS outside of football games. He said he's open to Colts fans joining the festivities.
“Don’t confuse kindness for weakness but they’re welcome here, that’s what it's all about,” Cordova said.