Thumbs: Fares to Cancun could fix ‘Cruz curse’
Texans need a curse-free playoff; Rodeo acts lack the luster
The last time the Texans made the playoffs, the coronavirus hadn’t even made it to your local wastewater treatment plant. Over the course of that four-year span in the wilderness, the team has largely been synonymous with dysfunction. Failed coaching hires. A once-franchise player mired in scandal. A barren roster lacking any topend talent. Enter DeMeco Ryans and C.J. Stroud, the rookie coach and quarterback who have breathed new life into this moribund franchise. Forget low expectations — there were no expectations that this team would even sniff respectability so quickly. Instead, they’ve rallied behind Stroud, the Godfearing second overall pick in last year’s draft who is barely old enough to drink, though in an ad he’s said he relaxes with nonalcoholic drinks. Stroud’s uncommon poise, athleticism and rocket arm have buoyed a potent offense while Ryans, a former All-Pro Texans linebacker, has brought toughness and creativity to the defense. On Saturday, Stroud will square off against a stout Browns defense, his toughest test yet as a pro. It’d be easy to write off this matchup as a “just happy to be here” game for a young, ascending team, but we have a feeling they might surprise the home crowd at NRG Stadium.
Just so long as a certain junior senator doesn’t show up. The only thing that might stop the Texans is the “Ted Cruz curse.” After the Rockets, Longhorns and Astros lost several high-stakes games with Cruz in attendance, fans have taken to social media begging him to stay home. That time in 2018 when the Warriors eliminated the Rockets from the playoffs after they missed 27 straight three-pointers? Cruz was there. All those World Series games lost at Minute Maid Park in 2023? Cruz was lurking. The University of Texas loss to Washington in the College Football Semifinal Playoff ? The curse again! Yet, an investigation by The Messenger found Cruz-favored teams were 18-11 when he attended games. Not that math will persuade any diehard fans or Lady Luck for that matter. So, can security bar Cruz from NRG? Maybe they won’t have to. The local forecast predicting chilly, possibly freezing temps headed to the Houston area may be a sufficient deterrent, especially if the Southwest fares to Cancun stay low. “Good deals are still available!” Space City Weather’s Eric Berger tweeted helpfully with a list of upcoming flights.
One place Ted Cruz is not (so far)? The live music lineup for the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo. Some of the names that are on the recently unveiled list aren’t exactly concert A-listers. First-time Rodeo performer Nickelback has certainly earned a collective groan. The Canadian band, formed in 1995 and who we’ve just now learned is apparently still making music, has long evoked ridicule. “People don’t just dislike Nickelback,” writes Chronicle music critic Joey Guerra. “The band’s mishmash of grunge, metal and dive-bar rock inspires seething anger in fans and critics alike.” Then there’s 50 Cent, whose boosterism of his adopted hometown Houston seems to have earned him a coveted Friday night concert spot on Black Heritage Day, but isn’t much of a change agent either. Nope, for that we have tattooed country crooner Jelly Roll, whose rodeo debut promises an impassioned sing-along that will speak to the inner sinner in even the most refined city slicker.
Beauty is pain, the French are credited with saying. Because of course they would. In one Memorialarea neighborhood beauty isn’t just pain — it’s a big pain, at least some residents say. They complain of ornately patterned peacocks strutting around like they own the streets. They’re lovely to look at — so lovely that some residents want them around regardless of the nuisance. Others prefer not to judge the birds by the feathers flying in their wake. The notorious Heathwood flock, descendant from a handful of domesticated peafowl once maintained by a nearby restaurant, is feral. It’s inbred. And its members are reportedly more aggressive because males are on perpetual prowl thanks to a warm-climate mating season that never ends. The Chronicle’s Claire Goodman reported some residents defending the birds as peaceful and enhancing the local scenery. Others accused the birds of blocking traffic, causing property damage and running after people. “They are foul fowl,” one resident quipped. “They are pretty to look at, but they are not good neighbors.” Yes, but can’t the same be said for entire swaths of River Oaks? Speaking of flamboyant beauties, we are in awe of the sculptural works of Abdiel “Gloria” Urcullu, who last week was awarded an Emmy for outstanding hairstyling. To call Urcullu’s wigs “hairstyling” is like calling Frank Gehry’s architecture “construction.” Urcullu has long created Texassized dos for drag queens. Since 2020, he’s worked for the reality television show “We’re Here,” which visits a different small town each episode and helps residents stage a drag show. Sometimes the pitchforks come out (see Granbury, Texas). The show provides succor to queer folks who don’t have the benefit of a generally welcoming town like Houston. Besides, the outfits are fabulous and the ones developed for the show’s visit to St. George, Utah, clinched the Emmy. They were inspired by the desert, including a coif that resembles a sunset in a twisting red canyon and a regal masterpiece involving hair wrapped around pool noodles to create an asymmetrical crown. That’s the way you do it.