It's official: Houston Texans

By JOHN McCLAIN

September 7, 2000 Web posted at: 11:30 AM EDT (1530 GMT)

HOUSTON, Texas (The Houston Chronicle) -- In a much anticipated event that received national and statewide attention Wednesday, owner Bob McNair revealed the name, logo and colors of his National Football League expansion team.

When McNair raised the curtain to unveil Houston Texans and a stylized silhouette of a bull with elliptical horns, the estimated crowd of 16,000 packing the area between Bayou Place and Wortham Center roared its approval.

"I'm proud to be a Houstonian, and I'm proud to be a Texan," McNair said from a stage that had been erected on Texas Avenue, which was closed to traffic from Bagby to Smith. "The Texan name is distinctive. When people around the country hear Texans, they're going to know immediately that it's Houston's NFL team."

The Texans are calling their colors battle red, deep steel blue and liberty white.

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"When I think of a Texan, I think of someone who's powerful, independent, courageous and hard-working," said McNair, who paid $700 million to beat out Los Angeles for the 32nd franchise. "When people came to this part of the country, they had it tough, but they overcame a lot of obstacles to make Texas what it is today."

Selecting Texans as the name was no surprise because there were reports for more than a year that Texans would be McNair's choice.

But the logo was a surprise.

"Selecting the logo and colors was a difficult process," McNair said. "The bull embodies the spirit of Texas -- bold, proud, strong, courageous, independent.

"I think the fans were surprised by the stylized bull, but I think from their reaction they're going to like it. We wanted something distinctive and timeless. We think it's contemporary and very powerful.

"The Houston Texans -- our brand of football."

Wednesday's unveiling was the culmination of a 10-month process among McNair, his staff and NFL Properties, the league's marketing arm. The three finalists were Texans, Stallions and Apollos. Ultimately, it came down to Texans and Stallions.

"We wanted something unique to Houston and the NFL," McNair said. "Stallions was one of my favorites because I love horses, but the NFL already has Broncos and Colts. And the San Diego Chargers' secondary logo is a horse.

"I hope our fans like Texans and our bull logo. A lot of hard work went into the selections, just as a lot of hard work went into the development of this city and state."

Joining McNair onstage were NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, Houston Mayor Lee Brown, Harris County Judge Robert Eckels, Harris County Commissioner El Franco Lee, Harris County-Houston Sports Authority Chairman Billy Burge and Harris County Sports and Convention Corp. Chairman Mike Surface.

"The miracle has become a reality," said Tagliabue, who came to Houston with other league executives. "This is a really phenomenal event. What a show of unity.

"I love the name and logo. They make a powerful statement. They capture the can-do spirit of Houston and the state of Texas. It's great to see so many fans come together for something like this. It shows that Houston still loves football."

McNair received several loud ovations from the fans. The unveiling was carried live by Houston television and radio stations as well as ESPN2.

"I was so surprised that so many people showed up," he said. "When I got on stage and looked up, there were people as far as I could see. It was so exciting to see the looks on their faces, especially when they cheered when the name and logo were shown."

When the Oilers moved to Nashville, Tenn., after the 1996 season, Houston appeared destined to be without an NFL team for years, perhaps even decades. The NFL wanted to put the 32nd franchise in Los Angeles.

McNair, a 40-year Houston resident who owned Oilers season tickets, stepped to the forefront to pursue a team to replace the one that Bud Adams renamed the Tennessee Titans.

"I really thought it would take longer for Houston to get another team," Tagliabue said. "I thought the healing process and the turnaround wouldn't happen this fast. The fact that it did is a testimonial to Bob and the great fans in this part of the country.

"Bob's a visionary, and he's proven that he can lead."

When McNair unveiled the name, logo and colors, there were simultaneous announcements and news conferences in San Antonio and Austin. Today, officials from the NFL and the Texans will make special presentations in Beaumont and Galveston.

There also will be a news conference today at the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in Waco. The hall will have a Texans exhibit that will get bigger as the team grows.

"I think we've developed a name and logo that fans throughout the area and around the country will embrace for years to come," McNair said. "It's a logo worthy of the name and the brand of football I expect our team to play."

The Texans begin play in what will be a realigned NFL in 2002. They will play in the new all-glass, natural-grass, 69,000-seat, retractable-roof stadium that is being built next to the Astrodome.

"Our name and logo embody the kind of pride and achievement that help make our area special," McNair said.

As soon as McNair lifted the curtain to reveal the name and logo, the team relaunched its Web site -- www.houstontexans.com -- and the response was so heavy the site was slowed down for several hours. The team said the site was getting more than a million hits per hour.

Academy Sports and Outdoors, which has exclusive rights to Texans merchandise through Friday, began selling caps, T-shirts and golf shirts.

McNair, his staff and NFL Properties are still working on uniform designs. They won't make a decision until after football season.

The uniforms will be revealed next summer.

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