The Texans invited fans to submit their best Texans stories for a chance to be featured on the team's 2011 season tickets in the “Your Story, Your Glory” contest.
Selected to be on the ticket for the Texans' Week 5 Hispanic Heritage Day game against the Oakland Raiders was Jesus De Leon from Deer Park, Texas. This is his story:
"I get real thrilled about gameday on Sunday. Can't wait 'til Friday night comes around, just getting excited and getting ready for tailgating.
"It all starts on Friday night. We get everything together – barbeque pit, our meats, everything we want to cook, fajitas or brisket or chicken, sausages, everything – and we pack everything up in an ice chest and we get ready to put everything in the truck – canopy, chairs, mesquite wood, all the drinks that we're going to need – and we get ready for Sunday.
"Sunday morning, we wake up at about 6 o'clock and start heading out. We take off early to be first in line in tailgating so we can get our spot. We're in the Orange Lot, and we have quite a bit of people. We've got DJs, a small bar, people out there serving drinks, and a fire going so everybody can get something to eat before they go into the game.
"I like to get my face painted, get ready and get psyched for the game. My wife helps me get together on Sunday morning. We get to the parking lot and she starts braiding my hair at a certain time, and then after she does that, she puts on my mask, my war paint. She's the one that made my hat for me. I owe it all to her. She's kind of like, 'Do this, do that! Go for this!' I'm over here saying, 'What do you think? You think I should do this or do that?' And she says, 'Go for it, do it!' She's a real good woman. I love my wife.
"When we come inside the stadium, it's just go to your section and get ready for the game to start. As soon as you walk in the door, it's like, 'Go Texans!' We cheer them on from kickoff time on. It's a great experience to be there in that environment with the whole crowd, the whole stadium cheering and yelling. I think the fans contribute a lot to the game. I'm pretty sure the players can hear us being so loud. It's exciting. You really feel the home-field advantage every gameday.
"Houston has been my town now for a long time. It was sad that we lost the Oilers, and I wasn't able to get Texans tickets 'til '05. I've been a season ticket holder since. I just love football, and I'm a die-hard Texans fan. It's really exciting on gameday for me. It's just a great feeling that's hard to describe.
"My dream for this team is to make it to the Super Bowl and actually win it. I think it's going to happen."
