Chiefs’ first playoff test is NFL’s youngest franchise: All about the Houston Texans
The Kansas City Chiefs will once again match up with the Houston Texans in the playoffs, as the AFC South champions travel to GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium for a Saturday, Jan. 18, clash. They’ve played once this season in Kansas City, when the Chiefs came out on top 27-18 on Saturday, Dec. 21.
The Texans have seen a lot of success recently, winning their division four of the last seven years and winning a playoff game three of those years. Led by second-year quarterback CJ Stroud and coach DeMeco Ryans, Houston will look to upset Kansas City and make their first AFC Championship game in franchise history.
Before the AFC Divisional Round begins, familiarize yourself with Houston lore. Here’s a look at the team’s beginnings, the mascot and famous fans.
Origins of the Texans
The Texans are Houston’s second NFL team and are the youngest team in the league, making their debut in 2002. The Oilers used to call Houston home from 1960 to 1996 before they moved to Nashville and, two years later, rebranded as the Tennessee Titans.
The Oilers moved because owner Bud Adams wanted a new stadium and then-Houston mayor Bob Lanier refused to use taxpayer money to help fund it, retired NFL writer John McClain wrote on Chron.com. Adams wanted $186 million in public money for a new stadium, Yahoo Sports said.
Bob McNair was granted a Houston expansion team in 1999, just a few years after the Oilers left town, after being denied by the NHL, but it wasn’t easy.
The process included a visit from the NFL Stadium Committee in June 1998 to see the plans for a new retractable roof stadium. Nine months later, the league voted 29-2 to give Los Angeles six months to “work out a feasible ownership plan and stadium situation,” according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. If Los Angeles couldn’t do it, then the NFL would recommend Houston to host the 32nd franchise.
A meeting was held in 1999 where NFL owners voted 29-0 to award the expansion franchise to McNair for $700 million.
Red, white and blue
“The uniform of the Texans is a direct reflection of the state it represents,” said NFL Films.
The colors on the Texans’ jerseys are Battle Red, Liberty White and Deep Blue Steel, matching the colors of Texas’ state flag and the country’s flag. Battle Red became the team’s alternate jersey color, Liberty White is what they wear on the road and Deep Blue Steel is the home jersey color.
The Texans changed their jerseys for 2024, introducing a new color to the wheel: H-Town Blue. It’s an accent color and pops up on the team’s Color Rush uniform with a big “H” lettering on the helmet and “H-Town” above the numbers. The outlines on the numbers are also H-Town Blue.
The team and the NFL conducted more than 10,000 surveys with fans groups, influencers, current players and former players for the new jerseys, according to a press release. They also added “HOUSTON” to one end zone and leaned into the city’s nationally known car and music cultures.
The mascot has ties to the Chiefs
Like KC Wolf, the mascot for the Houston Texans is also based on an animal. Although its roots are tied closer to the city.
Toro (spelled in all caps on the team website) debuted in 2001 ahead of the Texans’ inaugural season. The mascot resembles a bull, with large horns and big eyes. He wears the home jersey of the Texans that is a few shades darker than the blue fur of the bull.
Jonathon Frost was the first person to wear the bull costume, he said in 2022. He was the person underneath the suit high-fiving kids at school rallies, bungee cording down the stadium roof and cheering on the Texans for over a decade. It’s unknown when he stopped, but it was revealed in 2018 that Andrew Johnson, the man wearing the mascot suit now, was personally recruited by Frost to be his replacement.
“He called me and said, ‘Hey, man. You’ve got to move to Houston,’” Johnson said to ABC-13 in Houston.
Johnson’s inspiration for wanting to be a mascot? Seeing KC Wolf in action during a visit to his elementary school.
“I have no idea what educational message he presented that day,” Johnson said. “All that stuck with me was he had the coolest job in the world and that was something that I wanted to do at some point in my life.”
Who cheers for the Texans?
Celebrities have shown their support for the Texans over the years. Musicians, athletes and actors have claimed the hometown team as their own, popping up at games to cheer in the crowd and on the field. Here are a few who represent H-Town:
- Bun B, musician: The Houston-area rapper is best known as one half of the southern rap duo UGK and was in Kansas City for the Texans’ clash against the Chiefs Dec. 21, where he bumped into Taylor Swift and received a “Merry Swiftmas” friendship bracelet.
- Simone Biles, athlete: The Olympic gold medal gymnast was an honorary cheerleader for the Texans in 2017, when now-husband Jonathan Owens was on the team. It’s unknown if she’s switched her allegiance now that Owens plays for the Chicago Bears.
- Jim Parsons, actor: Sheldon Cooper from the CBS hit series “The Big Bang Theory,” grew up in Houston and now memorizes acting lines during Texans games. Former Texans defensive lineman J.J. Watt was a pen pal of Parsons at one point.
- Rico Rodriguez, actor: Manny from the ABC hit sitcom “Modern Family” is a huge Texans fans, popping up at games every year and showing his support on social media with his sister, Raini Rodriguez, an actress from the Disney Channel show “Austin & Ally.”
Booker T, athlete: The five-time WCW champion lives in Houston and once served as the honorary team captain. Fans also spotted the WWE Hall of Famer at the Texans’ Christmas game in 2024.
- Paul Wall, musician: He promised World Series grills for the MLB’s Houston Astros when they won in 2017, and the rapper doesn’t hide his love for the Texans. He performed during halftime in 2022 and is featured on “Houston (Home of the Texans),” with another Houston rapper, Slim Thug.
This story was originally published January 15, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
