Ed. Note: We told you we were looking for new voices to add to the screamin' room here at BRB, and we'll be unveiling them one by one over the next few weeks. Consider this Part VI in the series.
Hello there. My name is Jon Fuentes, and I am the newest addition to the BRB team. I’ve been told to introduce myself, so let’s do this thing.
I am 19 years old and currently reside in College Station, TX, where I am working on my journalism degree at Texas A&M University.
Like many folks, I was introduced to the beautiful game of football by my father, who is a lifelong Chicago Bears fan and was a Houston Oilers fan as well. Once the Oilers left town, however, his loyalties went primarily to the Bears. Once the Texans were added into the NFL in 2002, my father once again had a hometown team to cheer for, but still his No. 1-team were "The Monsters of the Midway."
Like many children at the age of 10, Sunday mornings were a time for me (along with my little brother) to run around the house playing with toys, video games, puzzles, etc., while my father sat in the living room glued to the TV for the entire day watching this thing called "football."
One day, while my brother was at his grandmother’s house, leaving me alone with my father at home, I decided to sit down with my pops and watch the game that was on TV at the time. The game was for the NFC Championship and was featured the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers.
Throughout the course of this game, my father would explain the rules to me ("guy gets past that yellow line, it’s called a ‘first down'"). The object of the game was to move that ball all the way across the field into the end zone to score six points. As I watched these elite athletes compete for something they had worked their entire lives for, to see such passion for a game that was so much more than a game to them, I immediately fell in love.
While I hold a special place in my heart for the Chicago Bears, my loyalties lie with the Houston Texans. Win, lose, or draw, this is my team. I will always be at home, or in NRG Stadium on Sundays, cheering them on until my throat no longer allows me to do so.
My favorite player of all time has to be Andre Johnson. Mostly because I started watching him in the prime of his career, and one of my fondest memories of the Houston Texans is him delivering some thunderous uppercuts to the face of Cortland Finnegan.
My favorite memory of all time watching a Texans game is watching T.J. Yates sling a pass to Kevin Walter on a slant route to send us into the playoffs for the first time in franchise history. It was one of the proudest moments I have ever experienced as a fan of this wonderful organization.
I look forward to many more wonderful memories with this team. I also look forward to covering this team for you, the fans like myself, as we ride along with the Texans en route to bringing home the coveted Lombardi Trophy.