A round of golf I hardly remember

The guys told me I played pretty well. They said I shot 79. They said I was automatic with the flat stick from 15 feet in. To tell you the truth, I don't remember much of the round of golf that my dad, Scott, Josh and I played at Mission Del Lago golf course. I don't remember much because mentally and emotionally I didn't want to be there. Mentally I was in Iowa, where I was supposed to be spending the happiest Christmas of my life. I wasn't out playing golf with my brothers and my father, instead I was in Bellevue, Iowa reliving some of the memories from Christmas of last year when my life was a lot more simple and a lot more happy. At the end of the day, it was great to spend time with my family, but in all honesty, I would have had a much better time had I been in Iowa, with the woman that I love, doing absolutely nothing. Still, I'm grateful for being around friends and family during a tough time for me. They did their best to try and keep me occupied mentally......and for that I thanked them, even if I didn't want to be there.

Passing on a tradition

For years growing up in Wharton, Scott, Josh and I all sat around the TV on Sunday afternoons hoping that the Houston Oilers could pull one out. Excitement ensued as Warren Moon, Haywood Jefferies, Webster Slaughter, Earnest Givens and the Run 'n Shoot offense would try to put up as many points as possible. While Ray Childress, Bubba McDowell, Lamar Lathon and company would try and hold our opponents to a scoreless games. There were some great games and there were some definite heartbreaks (damn the NFL for not allowing replay a lot earlier....like against the Buffalo Bills), but each week we all built a bond that was wrapped in "Luv Ya Blue." The grim reaper himself, Bud Adams, took our beloved Houston Oilers up to Tennessee in a dispute over a new stadium (i.e. money) and I couldn't follow them up to Tennessee. But as an aside, this is just another connection that Texas and Tennessee have.

In 2002, our hopes and dreams returned as Houston received a new football team......the Houston Texans. I know, real original with the name, but it's grown on me. While we've all moved away from the Houston area, I must admit that I still follow the team, as dreadful as they are sometimes, each weekend with a reading of the Houston Chronicle online.

Finally, after 5 years of football's return to Houston, Scott and I got the chance to pass down a tradition to his son and my nephew. We loaded up the car early in the morning and drove from San Antonio to Houston to see our first Houston Texans game together. A long time had passed since my last professional football game.....in fact, upon reflection during the car ride over, my last professional football game was the Houston Oilers last playoff game against the Kansas City Chiefs lead by Joe Montana. So, yeah, it had been a long while.

Our seats were high, in fact, higher than the highest seats in the Astrodome, which looked old and decrepit wasting away in the parking lot next to Reliant Stadium. The view was spectacular though as the Texans pulled out a convincing 28-14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Our first game in a long time and the Texans pulled out a victory for us. At the end of the day, both Scott and I were glad that Devin got to experience a great victory......with many more to come in his lifetime.