A RAY OF LIGHT
Pro teams finding their way home represent a return to normalcy
To the left, a darkening sky on the verge of turning black again.
On the right, the sun fighting its way through swiftly moving clouds.
In the middle: NRG Stadium, seemingly untouched by the destruction of Hurricane Harvey.
Then the big buses rolled down Kirby Drive and pulled into a parking lot, finally bringing your Texans back where they belong. Home. “It means a lot. These guys were excited to get back,” coach Bill O’Brien said Wednesday evening, after the cancellation of a preseason game Thursday in Dallas allowed his team to return. “What’s incredible about this team is they’re excited to get back to help out. They’re really looking forward to helping this city rebound. We know it’s going to take a while, both on the field and off the field. So we’re excited to be back.”
There have been scenes like that all over this region the last two days. Light fighting off darkness. Survivors, heroes and everyday human beings pushing the arrow back toward the middle.
I had a personal breakthrough in the morning. After three days of driving across water-covered interstates, flooded highways and vacant smalltown streets, I finally made it back to Houston and my wife. Who knew the normal five-hour drive from New Orleans could span days and required driving through Liberty, Dayton, Livingston, Huntsville, Navasota, Hempstead …
When 290 opened up and 610 was clean, the sight of a gleaming exit sign felt like a revelation.
In our local sports world, get-
ting the Texans back and learning that the Astros would play ball again Saturday at Minute Maid Park brought much-needed brightness into our lives.
“We can’t wait to play in front of this crowd,” O’Brien said. “We know it’s going to be so loud in that stadium right there on September 10 that the roof might come off. We’re excited about that, and we’re excited about being able to go out on the field and maybe give these people a lot to cheer for over the next few months here.”
As the Texans collected their bags and walked toward their cars — they hadn’t been in Houston since last Wednesday, when they departed for a preseason game at New Orleans — the Astrodome sat in the background. The Astros’ old home housed Hurricane Katrina survivors in 2005. From stadium to shelter
Twelve years later, a Hurricane Harvey shelter has been set up across the street.
Four women dressed in superhero and Disney costumes showed up to help entertain children at NRG Center. A supply area was filled with men, women and families searching for assistance and stability in a post-Harvey world.
“Ask us for: Clothes, shoes, toiletries” read a green sign, which was taped to a table loaded with goods.
Within clear sight of the football home of J.J. Watt, DeAndre Hopkins and Jadeveon Clowney, Houston resident Tellas Williams wore a Colby Rasmus Astros T-shirt and a yellow Rockets hat.
Then Williams told his Harvey story.
He watched the water rise during the first two days. On the morning of the third, a sheriff knocked on his door, telling Williams he needed to evacuate.
“We’re looking at a good three, four feet of water,” Williams said.
Williams, his six children and pregnant wife made it out as the first floor of the complex flooded. But he’s unsure of the status of his apartment, and he’s now at his second shelter since the storm hit.
“I used my truck to get some of the neighbors out in the area, try to get everybody to the shelters,” Williams said. “I went back a couple times, but I never went to my apartment. So I don’t know. The water was deep. … It’s crazy.”
Williams, 38, has two favorite teams: the Texans and Rockets. His favorite football player is the man who had raised more than $7 million for flood victims as of Wednesday night.
“I was listening to (Watt on the radio) while we was picking people up, and he was talking about starting that fundraiser,” Williams said. ‘It does hit home’
Just 10 days ago, the Texans held their first preseason practice at NRG Stadium, after spending three-plus weeks in West Virginia. Then they were off to New Orleans, before heading to the Dallas area because of Harvey.
In 11 days, O’Brien’s team will open its 2017 regular season against Jacksonville.
For now, life will be redevoted to family, friends and loved ones. And while the Texans practice and prepare for Week 1, Harvey victims will attempt to rebuild their own lives across the street.
“It does hit home,” O’Brien said. “I just saw there’s over 1,500 people there and probably more on the way.
“One thing that was pretty neat, I saw on one of the news stations was a theme about Texans helping Texans. That’s what I’ve learned. … It’s really what it’s all about to be a human being, to be honest with you, is to help each other.”
Two worlds blending together. Darkness and light.