Is Anyone Really Not Renewing Their Texans Season Tickets?

by Tim on Feb 7, 2011 11:30 PM CST in News

After Bob McNair decided to bring Gary Kubiak and Rick Smith back for a sixth year, there was much gnashing of teeth and beating of breasts within the Texans fan base. Some of the fans who were the most upset and vocal about the continuation of the status quo at Reliant Park were also season ticket holders and pledged that they would not renew their season tickets for the 2011 season.

Well, the first payment for 2011 season tickets is due next week. For you season ticket holders out there--anyone not renewing their season tickets? If so, is the decision totally motivated by the reality of a sixth year of the Smithiak Era? Or are you stepping away for other reasons?

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Not renewing

I looked at that packet that came in the mail. Gave it one more thought, then put it in the trash. I’m not renewing. I’m also not a PSL holder, which gives me the option to do this without losing any money.

My reason has nothing to do with Kubiak. I can see the organization’s point of view for keeping him. Keeping Smith, however, is a major factor. I think Bush should have been fired in the middle of the season, when we still had a chance to turn things around. I don’t see Wade being able to turn things around immediately (only because of the CBA issue, I think he should be a solid DC for us).

Will I get season tickets again? If I can afford it, yes. Will I go to a game or two next season? Absolutely. But I have lost confidence in the organization. Similar to how the team over the last two years has rarely made good adjustments prior to half time, the organization waited too long to make changes. Hopefully they made enough to improve next season.

by Big T33 on Feb 8, 2011 6:37 AM CST reply actions

They didn't increase the price this year

Why not stick around?

Frank Bush delenda est

by JimboTexan on Feb 8, 2011 9:17 AM CST reply actions

Tix did not go up, which was announced prominently in the local print media

but I just made my first payment and noticed that they snuck in an increase on the parking from $150 to $180. Not that $30 is a big deal, but the fact that it was completely (AFAIK) unannounced is not real cool.

I’m with the others here who are in this thing for the long term. I love the social event that NFL games + great tailgating are. I will always be a Texans’ fan, just as I always was an Oilers’ fan. I cheer like crazy when things are going well. I don’t boo (very much) when things don’t, I just get depressed. I can do it no other way. We will get there eventually.

It took the Astros 44 years to get to the Series, the Oilers-Texans are due to get to the big dance...Go Texans!!!!!

by oiler-texan diehard on Feb 13, 2011 8:39 PM CST up reply actions

Not renewing as well

I’m also not a PSL holder so no money is being lost by me either. Honestly my primary reason for not renewing is I primarily because I don’t enjoy going to large, crowded events. Now I know you guys are saying “Hello! What did you expect when you signed up 4 years ago!?” I went in knowing season tickets likely wouldn’t be long term deal for me but I wanted to give them a try and support the team. So now 4 years in, I’m tired of the logistics of game day and all that come with it. The games are basically an all day commitment that I’m simply not willing to make anymore. I’d rather stay home, work in the yard, go for a run with the dog and then watch the game on my flat screen with a good drink.

A secondary motivation is I’ve grown frustrated with the organization, particuarly in the talent identification and acquisition department. Watching the Packers win the Super Bowl with their 15 or so IR players and the game day injuries to Woodson, Shields, Driver, etc…made me reflect on how truly thin the Texans are across the board.

I’m still a Texan fan and will still be cheering them on every Sunday but I’m done with the season ticket experiment.

Rob Schneider was an animal. Then he was a woman. And now Rob Schneider is... a stapler! And he's about to find out that being a stapler is harder than it looks. Rob Schneider is… "The Stapler". Rated PG-13.

by benbiggles on Feb 8, 2011 9:29 AM CST reply actions

beating of breasts?

I don’t believe this. Im gonna need to see proof.

the tenth time is a charm

by texanphil on Feb 8, 2011 11:03 AM CST via mobile reply actions

I'm all in

I’m renewing and yes I’m a PSL holder. Even, If I wasn’t, I’d still renew. What can I say? I’m the eternal optimist. I just moved back to Houston from a four year hiatus in Dallas, and I’ll be damned if I quit now. Even when I lived in Dallas, I made it to 6 out of 8 regular season games a year. That 4 hour drive back, was always so long after a loss, but so sweet after a win. Sure, there have been moments the last two years, when I question why the hell I blow money on this organization. But when we get a victory at home, that’s still a great feeling and tailgating is still fun. I’ve sat next to the same people in my section since the inaugural year. I kind of feel like we’re all in this together. Everyone shows up every Sunday no matter how bad the team is playing. When we do find success as a Franchise, it will be so sweet. So, bring on the Draft, settle the CBA, and Pass the Bleach, because this is the Year!

…And If I tell myself that enough times, I might just start to believe it.

- tyler

by bullpen116 on Feb 8, 2011 12:07 PM CST reply actions

already mailed the check

Budgetary reasons would be the one thing keeping me from signing up again, and last year we were able to sell a few of the bigger match ups and pay for most of the cost of the season. So, as long as my core group of friends still want to do them I will. That being said I would have no problem dropping them if my buddies decided they didn’t want the hassle. Between hunting season and my season tickets for my alma mater I find myself looking forward to sleeping in and watching from my couch on away games sometimes. Tailgating all day Saturday for an evening game and then waking up extra early to drive back to Houston to tailgate before a noon kick off is brutal.

"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair

by papabear on Feb 8, 2011 12:24 PM CST reply actions

You know...

I wish I had the money where this would actually pose a problem for me. I mean I live too far away, anyway, but even if I lived in Houston still, I wish this could actually be a problem for me.

I guess the point I’m trying to make is that it’s kind of hard to hear people kvetch about how they can afford season tickets and then let them lapse because they disapprove of the team’s current management/coaching situation. I understand their point of view, mind you, it’s just this whole “I don’t like what’s going on so I’m going to take my toys and leave the sandbox” mentality kind of frustrates me.

I always say if I’m lucky enough to win Powerball or Mega Millions, I’d buy season tickets to the Seahawks and Texans games. And I wouldn’t care if they went 1-15 (Durga forbid!), because nothing short of God striking me dead with a bolt of lightning would keep me from using them.

Those of you who have season tickets are so lucky, I can’t even begin to tell you. If I had the money, I would buy them off of your hands. Because by the time I actually could afford them, I know it will be at least a couple of years before season tickets actually become available!

In the meantime, I will not be buying tickets to Texans games any time soon, but shouting like a maniac from my Seattle watering hole.

Go Texans!

I am a visionary, I am a genius, and now I am angry! Now help me find my pants!

by UprootedTexan on Feb 8, 2011 1:00 PM CST reply actions 1 recs

I feel you

I think it is a little silly when people talk about dropping tickets because of personnel moves, or because we didn’t hire/fire a coach. I know the thought process is that’s the only voice we have as fans, but if you’re going to be a fan for the long haul and root for the team anyway why deprive yourself of something you enjoy?

"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair

by papabear on Feb 8, 2011 1:12 PM CST up reply actions

^^^ This x1000.

Only, I’ll be shouting like a maniac from behind my computer screen on the other side of the planet.

Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print.
Never use a long word where a short one will do.
If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.
Never use the passive where you can use the active.
Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.
Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous.

-Orwell, Politics and the English Language

www.battleredblog.com

by tehGrindCrusher on Feb 8, 2011 2:05 PM CST up reply actions

Not sure if I am considered a part of the kvetching audience but

I was in my seats by 11:30 every game, I stayed through the end and I cheered my head off. After 4 years the experience became more of a hassle and I simply wasn’t enjoying it anymore. I’m not taking my toys and going home, as an adult I’m simply deciding that there are other ways I would prefer to spend that ticket money (and it’s not as if I make so much that the tickets are a drop in the bucket, far from it in fact).

Am I frustrated by the draft and player decisions? Yep, but that’s not driving my decision in the least and I should have just left that out of my initial reply. I made the decision not to renew in the middle of the season after I realized that I actually looked forward to away games more than home games. That was very telling to me. I still consider myself a big Texan fan (why else would I join up to chat on battleredblog for a team that’s only had one winning season?), and will continue to support them. But it now will be from the comfort of my living room with a beer that didn’t cost me $9 and zero line for the bathroom. And for a dude with a relatively small bladder that is simply a godsend.

by benbiggles on Feb 8, 2011 2:58 PM CST up reply actions

I get that. I really do.

I mean if I had the opportunity to watch Texans games at home I wouldn’t go to the sports bar I go to week in and week out. So I understand that.

What I mean is people who are so pissed at management for what has become a fine Texans tradition of suckage, that they’re taking their money away from the team. To me, that’s akin to someone holding their breath until they get the changes they want to see (specifically a consistently winning team). Because once they do become that team, those people will have to wait years to get season tickets again.

I think, though, I’m mostly just jealous because I can’t afford season tickets, and REALLY can’t afford the regular trips from Seattle to Houston to make them worthwhile.

I am a visionary, I am a genius, and now I am angry! Now help me find my pants!

by UprootedTexan on Feb 8, 2011 3:14 PM CST up reply actions

No I completely get that

If it gets to be more of a hassle than it is fun then I don’t blame you at all. That’s one reason we sold our tickets to as many games last year. Of the group I tailgate with I’m the only one who actually lives in Houston. One group has about an hour and a half drive, the other has about two and a half to three hour drive. If your going to be there to tailgate at 8:00 or 8:30 that’s a long ass day. There are plenty of times where I don’t necessarily want the hassle.

I would never forgive myself if I missed out on a playoff run because I gave up my season tickets because I was pouting about management though.

"Well, at least our players kept their helmets on, so that showed some intelligence"-Bob McNair

by papabear on Feb 8, 2011 4:02 PM CST up reply actions

Thank you.

That was nicely put.

If I was lucky enough to afford it, I wouldn’t give it up. I wouldn’t even hesitate to renew it.

"KUBIAK FUCKING SUCKS. BOB MCNAIR SUCKS. THE TEXANS SUCKS.

-90% of the Texans blogosphere-

by Jordann on Feb 8, 2011 5:23 PM CST up reply actions

Agree completely

Murphy’s 20th Military Law:
If it’s stupid, but it works, it ain’t stupid

by The Night Owl on Feb 8, 2011 8:27 PM CST up reply actions

I had that same opinion

until I was finally able to buy a pair for this past season. I am a Texans fan. I’m given a hard time about it constantly (as are most of you, I assume) but dropping about a grand on tickets then paying for overpriced food and drinks is nothing to take lightly. I’ll still watch every game. I’ll still go to a few games this season.

If I were worried about the team leaving town then I would look at it differently, but for now that’s not a concern so I’ll let someone else foot the bill for a while.

by Big T33 on Feb 9, 2011 6:39 AM CST up reply actions

Well said

If I could afford season tickets I wouldn’t hesitate to get them. I try to go to a game or two a year, money permitting, but the last couple of years I haven’t made it. Winning or losing, or playoff hopes, while not irrelevant to the gameday experience, are definitely secondary for me.

In fact, one of the best experiences I’ve had at a Texans game was during their 2-14 season.

by JBal on Feb 9, 2011 11:10 AM CST up reply actions