Houston Texans

The Houston Texans' National Football League debut occurred in the 2002 AFC-NFC Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. The game brought to fruition a dream of the Houston community. The drive to bring an NFL team back to the football-rich city was spearheaded by owner Bob McNair.

His quest began in 1997. After being turned away by the National Hockey League, McNair turned his focus to bringing an expansion football team back to Houston . In just a few months, McNair's efforts began paying off. NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue praised his plans at the owners's meeting in October of that year.

In June 1998, the NFL Stadium Committee made a visit to Houston 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. If the city could not do so, then the NFL would recommend Houston as the 32nd franchise