View photos from the Traveling Texans' trip to New Orleans last weekend.
The Traveling Texans gave a resounding answer to the Saints fans' "Who Dat?" question in New Orleans Sunday, as the city of black and gold was painted red.
Hundreds of Traveling Texans followed the team to the Big Easy, showing up in Battle Red droves for the group's official gameday photo in Jackson square of the popular French Quarter.
"We just love spreading the amazing Texans fandom to other cities," says Traveling Texans organizer Lindsay Scovil. "We love leaving the local community with that 'wow!' impression!"
The Traveling Texans group was founded in 2011, after a group of fans decided to travel to Baltimore to watch the team face the Ravens in the playoffs. That small 'group' (250 made the trip to Baltimore has expanded to a network of fans that support the Texans wherever they travel.
The wow factor was in full effect at Sunday's Traveling Texans photo in Jackson Square, with many local Saints fans stopping to snap photos of the massive gathering. The decked-out group ranged from super fans like the Texans-themed Joker Joe to ladies sporting the glammed up combo of Texans tutus and cowboy boots, all coming together to proclaim in NOLA's famous square: The Texans have come to town.
"Once you go to an away game, you'll be hooked!" says Debbie Brannon, a Houston Texans super fan known for her feather boas, sequined cowgirl hats, and J.J. Watt Fatheads, who has already purchased front row seats for every Houston Texans away game this season.
"We love supporting our team wherever they may be playing," Brannon says, "and I love meeting up with other fans and making new friends at away games!"
Finding new friends is a breeze thanks to the Traveling Texans' group-oriented itineraries set for each road game. Organizers Scovil and Ryan Dove keep friendship and fandom in sync with meetups, hotel deals and the ultimate group photo near a city landmark.
"It's just so fun experiencing a new city and seeing Texans fans in every restaurant and even the lobby of your hotel," Scovil says.
The Traveling Texans pregame passion only swelled inside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, as the Houston Texans lit up the scoreboard in a 27-13 win over the New Orleans Saints. Even as opposing fans trudged toward the exits in the fourth quarter, Texans fans were on their feet, cheering their hometown team to victory.
"You can always expect Houston Texans fans to represent," says diehard fan Jennifer Dresen. "It doesn't matter where we play or how much time is on the clock, you can always expect Texans fans to show up."
Dresden and her giant, horned bullhead hat are part of what makes the Traveling Texans such a special group. "I love how passionate the fans are and how group-oriented the meetups are," she says. "Anytime we can make it to an away game, we want to follow the Traveling Texans around the city."
The Traveling Texans have their sights set on Dallas next, as they hit the road to watch the Houston Texans this Thursday, September 3. Last season's matchup in AT&T Stadium saw an unprecedented number of Texans fans in the crowd, rivaling the Cowboys fans in their own stadium and prompting Houston Texans Head Coach Bill O'Brien to comment during his postgame press conference how much the team loves seeing fans on the road.
"We know when we go to play the Dallas Cowboys that our fans are going to be behind us, and we know that they'll be very excited for that game," O'Brien said.
"We're expecting a huge group," Scovil says of the Dallas matchup, "but we always have room for more Traveling Texans. We had an amazing turnout this week and can't wait for our numbers to keep growing this season."