Across Houston Tuesday, the usual show and tell suspects were emerging in classrooms.
Chia Pets, Care Bears, action figures and the like.
But for 10 area students, show and tell was a little larger than life. Those
kids had the opportunity to show off their very own live Texans player as winners
of the team's third annual Take a Texan to School Day presented by the Houston
Chronicle and 3-A-Day Dairy.
Winners ranged from five years old to 14, each writing an essay to coax the team
into selecting their respective schools. Today the players made their visits.
"Wow, this reminds me of my elementary school," said linebacker Antwan Peek,
who visited Derek Gibson at Cullen Middle School. Peek spent nearly a half hour
answering questions about his upbringing, work ethic and, of course, what car
he drove (Cadillac Escalade if you're wondering).
Meanwhile, guard Chester Pitts (right)visited some slighty smaller students --
five-year-old Nicole Hubbard and the rest of her classmates at The Montessori
School of Silverlake in Pearland. Those kids were more interested in Pitts' size
than his football acumen.
Tackle Seth Wand visited nine-year-old Alex Bishop of Bellaire's Condit Elementary
School. Eight-year-old Ashley Parker of Houston's Garden Villa's Elementary School
got to see two players -- guard Todd Washington and tackle Marcus Spears.
Running back Jonathan Wells, a three-year veteran of Take a Texan to School Day,
dropped in to see five-year-old Chrishan Hubert of Hunters Glen Elementary School
in Missouri City.
Fullback Jarrod Baxter (right) visited seven-year-old Jason Cockrell at Pearland's
C.J. Harris Elementary School. Fellow fullback Moran Norris traveled down to Sugar
Land to see six-year-old Joe Arwine at Austin Parkway Elementary School.
Running back Tony Hollings visited six-year-old Jonathan Simmons at Houston's
Travis Elementary School. And 10-year-old Sydney Florsheim got a visit from one
of the newest Texans, tight end Mark Bruener. Florsheim attends Beth Yeshurun
Day School in Houston.
Thanks to every student who wrote in and thanks to the players for spending part
of their Tuesday off meeting these kids.
