They're Advertising in the Skies for People LIke Us
When I began to think about doing this anti-Houston post, I thought about taking a straw poll of friends and family who could provide relevant and witty commentary on Texas' most populous city, but I've decided to take a different tack. I'm going for a James Joyce writing Ulysses stream of consciousness approach to today's rant. Hopefully it will be much more visceral and truly convey my disdain for the area.
I'll begin with some positives. I'll grant you that there must be something to like about the place because it's the 4th most populous city in the United States. That fact could mean many different things. It could mean that the millions of people of who call the Houston metro area home really do enjoy where they live. It could mean that many of them don't like where they live, but choose to live there anyway. It could mean that they enjoy waking up in the morning and feeling as though they are walking out into someone's armpit, only with less hair.
It could mean that they really enjoy supporting sports franchises that, besides the Rockets back-to-back titles in 1994 and 1995 (in a Michael Jordan-less NBA, I might add), have really not done that much. I know that you're going to give me the stats that the Rangers and Mavs have never won titles, but I still can't hear you because these 5 Super Bowl rings and 1 Stanley Cup are stuck in my ears.
I'm not sure if it's just because I grew up always going to Dallas instead of Houston. When you are from a relatively small town in Texas, you develop an affinity for the big cities that you visit in order to attend pro sports events, shop, etc. I guess because of geographical proximity and family connections we always went to Dallas.
It's almost as if there's a type of Friends/Seinfeld, Duke/UNC, Nirvana/Guns 'n Roses rivalry between the I-45 neighbors. In some weird way, I don't think you can be a fan of the city of Dallas and also be a fan of Houston. You have to look at the contenders, weigh the pros and cons, and ultimately pick your side. I'm not sure if it's just because I prefer the sight of the rolling hills of North Texas to the Houston Ship Channel, but in the I-45 Duel, I'll take Dallas everyday of the week and twice on Sunday.
For all the Houstonians who read this blog, please tell me why I'm completely wrong in giving your city a bad rap. For everyone else, I would love to hear your thoughts on the relative merits of the Harris County Giant. Also, let's be honest here: In any battle among Texas cities, Austin is always winning, even if it has to fight with one hand tied behind its collective back. Long live the 512.
Labels: Texas Cities
posted by Justin @ 6/13/2007 10:35:00 PM
6 comments
6 Comments:
surely you've heard about this story? http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2007-06-06-dry-cleaning_N.htm?csp=34 your thoughts? (ps my thoughts on houston being armpit-esque are commensurate, if not stronger, to yours)
city of blinding lights. u2. tuegel
give me abilene any day of the week...
but i have noticed that people who are from houston, or move their after college, often fall in love with it. someone, please, explain this.
Mike M here
at the risk of leaving your thrown down gauntlet laying, I will pick it up. Apparently, your main gripe with Houston is the heat and humidity and relative dearth of professional sports franchise championships. You probably don't like the traffic, but that did not come through.
I could give you a few reasons why Houston beats Dallas. But for those of us from there, it is just home.
But ultimately, all I can really say is shame on you for bashing a fair city that has provided such giants of world history as James Baker III and Lee Brown. 'Nuff said.
This comment is too late and nobody will see it, but I wanted to point out a couple of typos:
1. "Also, let's be honest here: in any battle among texas cities, [here, you meant "San Antonio"] is always winning, even if it has to fight with one hand tied behind its collective back."
2. "Long live the [here, you meant "210"]."
Grácias.
I realize that I'm 6 months late on responding to this post, but since i've lived in Htown for almost seven months, and have actually grown to like it, I feel i can give a decent defense for the Dirty Dirty.
-First off, you mentioned Houston having a 'bad rap.' Well good sir, I feel that Paul Wall, Chamillionaire, Mike Jones, Bun-B, and Pimp C (RIP homie)and the fine folk at SwishaHouse Records would have something to say about that. Houston acutally has very good rap.
-Also, I assume the traffice is a major grip of Houston. This is true, it does suck major-league, but name me a big city that has great traffic flow. I love Austin as much as anyone, but it's like half the size of Houston, and the traffic there is terrible. Same for D/FW, and Say-Town. I feel like the problem with the traffic in Houston is that there isn't really one main area you can call 'downtown.' There are actually three hubs throughout the city that all have a unique appeal (The Galleria-shopping, Downtown-Sports and fancy restaurants, and Midtown-College type crowd, fun little bars and restaurants, including the very underrated and enjoyable Rice Village) but they are spread over a 20ish mile radius, making it a chore to get from one are to another.
-And as for sports, Scotty J, come on. Have you already forgotten where TJ Ford, and Vince Young hail from?
-All that to say, Go Rangers, Go Cowboys!!
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