The Pro Bowl week has come to an end, and it's been a great experience. I can't thank all of the fans enough for helping me get here. Although the AFC didn't win Sunday, it was still a lot of fun.
My 'Welcome to the Pro Bowl' moment came earlier this week when I first went out to the practice field and saw all of the household names on the backs of the jerseys. A lot of the players I've watched on television and followed in the NFL were practicing with me, which was pretty cool.
Seeing all those guys out there working together, that was my eye-opening moment right then. Being associated with so many big-name players is pretty special. I hope that some of my teammates can experience this next year. I know Mario Williams should've been here with me this year. He'll definitely be here next year.
Mario wasn't healthy his first year, but he got his confidence up and you could see once a player gets his confidence and he gets it rolling, he can start making a lot of plays. Tackles and sacks and forced fumbles begin to come in bunches. That's what happened this year with Mario and we're all excited for him. I can't wait to see him at the 2009 Pro Bowl.
Overall, I've really enjoyed myself at the Pro Bowl this year. All the guys here are great guys to be around and hang out with. Everyone is friendly and nice. It's just always good to come to beautiful Hawaii and take this atmosphere in.
As far as the players that impressed me the most here, obviously Vikings running back Adrian Peterson did a good job of running the ball. On the AFC, Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver T.J. Houshmandzadeh impressed me a lot making a lot of tough catches. He's a great player.
It was such an honor to represent the Texans out here. There were a lot of Texans fans in Hawaii this week, which was nice to see. I think there's a lot of excitement surrounding our team heading into next season. Because of our winning this year, I think we got a lot more fans staying with us and sticking through the ups and down with us. Our fans definitely come out and support us well, which means a lot.
Here's to a productive offseason and a fantastic 2008 season for the Texans.
Thanks for following me in the Pro Bowl this week!
- DeMeco Ryans
