Stadium #21
Reliant Stadium
Houston, TX

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Check out my other visit to
Reliant Stadium:

HOU - July 9, 2008

Stadium Review - The Barbecue Capital of the NFL
Week Five of the NFL regular season took me to Houston, Texas for a game at Reliant stadium - my 21st NFL venue on the Quest for 31. As I inch closer to my goal, with ten
NFL stadiums remaining, we begin the countdown to completion, a culmination of what will be fours years traveling to NFL Stadiums across the country in an effort to understand the home team experience for each NFL franchise.

Anyway, heading back to Houston for the first time since the Hurricane Ike debacle, I
returned determined to have the true down-home Texas experience that I missed the first time through. With a local connection in Houston (my cousin Darlene is a Houston transplant) I had the advantage of her wealth of knowledge on Houston's hidden gems. So when I arrived on Saturday, Darlene had already lined up an exceptional meal at Goode Co., a local hotspot for traditional Texas Barbecue and to round out the evening, we joined in on a St. Anthony's Brewery pub crawl. Houston nightlife is an experience not to be missed, as there are tons of bars all over the city offering a variety of brews, great food, and great people. If visiting from out of town, be sure to spend some time in the local watering holes. You won't be disappointed.

To me, Texas football is all about barbecue, drinkin' beer, and watching a great NFL
football game; and I had a helluva game lined up as the Indianapolis Colts were in town
to lock horns with the Houston Texans. Our day began at 8:00am, just as the parking lots
began to open and Houston Texans Tailgaters were setting up their wares. I'd always
heard that Texans pride themselves on putting meat to flame, but I was blown away by the
quantity and quality of barbecued foodstuffs available all over the parking lot on
gameday. Based on what I saw at Reliant Stadium, Houston Texans fans, in my opinion,
host the best blacktop barbecue in the National Football league. I've been to stadiums
where a couple groups had massive barbecues cooking up all manner of beef, ribs, chicken and pork, but in Houston you don't show up with a little Hibachi and few burgers and call
it a tailgate. In Houston, every Texans Tailgater brings what amounts to a portable
kitchen with them, including all manners of culinary assets in their arsenal. These
custom sauces, dry rubs, smokers, deep fryers, and industrial sized grills complete the
essence of Texas barbecue and really add a true local flavor to the goings on outside
Reliant Stadium. Texan tailgaters, and I mean every tailgater in the lot, trucked in
custom barbecue trailers, they smoked their meats in portable smokers, they dowsed their
creations in homemade barbecue sauce concoctions. Let me say that the variety of flavors
and different cuts of meat is unmatched in the National Football League. Certainly a far
cry from the elementary charcoal briquettes burning the burgers and kosher dogs that
you'll find in some NFL venues. The collective in Houston represent the finest in parking
lot culinarians that the NFL has to offer. A bold statement, but in my experience,
completely true.

Our Tailgating host for the day was Wayne Spake of Al's Koholics Tailgaters. Wayne setup
an impressive spread to round out what was an exemplary taigating experience. We began
the day with Apple Martini's and breakfast tacos at 8am. I was working toward that
necessary base that would be my salvation during an extended day of heavy drinking
(please reference my thoughts on Texas Football above). Soon afterward, Rib tips,
sausages, and barbecued chicken made their way onto my plate and into my palatte, all
washed down with an ice cold lubricator of choice.

So shlockered up on everything Wayne and boys would give us to drink, Darlene and I took
to the lot to see what others had cooking. We stopped in on the spread set out by 5
Kookers and Katering. These fellas had a live DJ, a variety of meats in the smoker
(including a 20 pound pig), and a frozen Margarita Machine on site. I had also seen a
group online that called themselves TexanMojo.com, so we stopped by to shotgun a beer.
The folks at Texanmojo.com sound an airhorn each half hour leading up to gametime to
kickoff a group wide shotgunning of beer. Once to horn sounds everyone in the area pops
the top and sucks down a can. After spending a couple hours with these guys, you almost
forget why you're in town. To locate these guys, look for the Emergency Tailgating
Vehicle built from a converted FedEx truck that serves as their mobile headquarters,
complete with custom Houston Texans paint job. You'll find it in the Yellow Lot.
Definitely worth a visit.

So after some premiere tailgating, we headed for the stadium for a game that shaped up to
be a big one. The Texans took command of the game early on, building a 17-point lead on
the visiting Colts, with touchdowns by Steve Slaton and Andre Johnson. Unfortunately,
with four minutes remaining in the forth quarter and the game hand, Texans Quarterback
Sage Rosenfels gave the game away with inopportune turnovers that allowed the Colts to
post three touchdowns two minutes and escape with an undeserved win. I'm starting to
think the Quest is a curse as my record for home team victories over the last three years
has been abominable. Oh well, onto the next victim.
 

Houston Texans
2009 NFL Schedule

    1 Sun, 13-Sep NY Jets 1:00 PM
    2 Sun, 20-Sep at Tennessee 1:00 PM
    3 Sun, 27-Sep Jacksonville 1:00 PM
    4 Sun, 4-Oct Oakland 1:00 PM
    5 Sun, 11-Oct at Arizona 4:15 PM
    6 Sun, 18-Oct at Cincinnati 1:00 PM
    7 Sun, 25-Oct San Francisco 1:00 PM
    8 Sun, 1-Nov at Buffalo 1:00 PM
    9 Sun, 8-Nov at Indianapolis 1:00 PM
    10 Sun, 15-Nov, Bye
    11 Mon, 23-Nov Tennessee 8:30 PM
    12 Sun, 29-Nov Indianapolis 1:00 PM
    13 Sun, 6-Dec at Jacksonville 1:00 PM
    14 Sun, 13-Dec Seattle 1:00 PM
    15 Sun, 20-Dec at St. Louis 1:00 PM
    16 Sun, 27-Dec at Miami 1:00 PM
    17 Sun, 3-Jan New England 1:00 PM

NFL Football Stadiums
 

Reliant Stadium Tours - click here for more info

Ticket Prices: $6 Adults, $5 Students/Seniors
Phone Number: 832-667-1842
Areas Covered: Facility, Press Box, Visitor Locker Room, Suite areas, Club Level, Field

Hours: Monday - Thursday 10:00am, 12:00pm, 2:00pm, and 4:00pm.  Tours meet at the East Club entrance to Reliant Stadium , across from the Reliant AstroDome

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