Texans’ chance to show Houston was knocked down but not out

NFL apologizes for tweet linking Chiefs’ win to Mexico quake

HOUSTON, Sept 9, (AP): Memories won’t feed a family or rebuild their house, which is why the first thing J.J. Watt brought back to his adopted hometown in the wake of Hurricane Harvey was $28 million in contributions.

A week earlier, the Texans’ All-Pro defender stood at the head of a line miles-long stretch of cars, handing out food and emergency supplies to families that lost everything. Scenes like those could soon be repeated in Florida, where Hurricane Irma is already wreaking havoc as it bears down on the coastline.

So when the Texans open the NFL season Sunday against Jacksonville at NRG Stadium, Watt and his teammates want to deliver a different kind of gift one of those iconic sports moments that will live long after the flood waters recede.

“I know for a fact,” Watt said, “that our guys are going to give every single thing we have to make sure that we put a smile on this city’s face.”

Sports can become a rallying point at times like this, the public face of a community determined to show the world it’s been knocked down but not out.

Think about that moment the Saints returned to a refurbished Superdome for a Monday night game little more than a year after Hurricane Katrina. Just 90 seconds in, New Orleans safety Steve Gleason burst through the middle of the Falcons line and smothered the punt off In this Nov 8, 2012 file photo, the bronze statue titled ‘Rebirth,’ which shows former New Orleans Saints’ Steve Gleason blocking a punt against the Atlanta Falcons during the first Monday Night Football game after the Superdome reopened, after Hurricane Katrina, is seen outside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. (AP)