Back in April when the schedule was first released, I reacted in predictably reserved fashion:
Finally...a Monday Night Football game at Reliant! Against a division rival! I think I just pissed my pants a little bit.Now, seven and a half months later, much has changed. Not my bladder control problems, mind you. The stakes, which we hoped would be substantial, are now negligible. Some fans of our beloved 4-7 team would even argue that accumulating losses, so as to improve draft positioning, would actually be preferable to notching any more wins.
Not me. Not tonight.
It's Monday Night Football, folks. Your Houston Texans are the only football game on television this evening. I'm not naive enough to say that all eyes are going to be on Reliant, because they're not. But every eye that wants to watch some football tonight will be, and that's good enough for me. Additionally, don't underestimate the value of putting on a good show as justification for future prime time slots. Regardless of the record, your Houston Texans need to play well tonight or risk being banished to an immediate future of nothing but Sunday noon starts.
It's been a disappointing season in Houston. We know it, and the organization knows it. Let's forget all of that for one glorious night and make this the first of several Monday night games at Reliant. Soak it in and enjoy it.
As always, leave your pre-game, in-game, and post-game observations, death threats, and tributes to Mario Williams in the Comments below. A second-half open thread will post to the main page at 9 p.m. CST, so move the party there at the appropriate hour. GO TEXANS!