Top 5 reasons we like the preseason

Count me in as part of the oppressed minority of people who really enjoy the preseason. Here are my top five reasons… 1. Football is Back You’ve waited at least six months to see your team play. We’ve talked non stop about what they might be like in the upcoming campaign. Now’s your chance to get a look. Sure it doesn’t have the intensity of the regular season but you need a little warm up before you get to that. Let’s have a look at the young players and see the vets stretch their legs. Hey, it beats the living daylights out of the football-depleted desert you’ve just trudged through. You’re getting ready for a nice steak dinner. Order some calimari and try the bread and butter first. 2. We Play Dallas A Lot We only see them every four years in the regular season, which I would love to see change somehow. But there have been plenty of interesting preseason match-ups. The Texans have won two of their last three games up in Big D. And early on they had scrimmages with the Cowboys in San Antonio in 2003 and one that featured a dust up with Steve McKinney and John Nix at Robertson Stadium in the inaugural season of 2002. 3. You See The ‘Stars of Tomorrow' Prior to 2013, Case Keenum got the start in game four and helped the Texans win. At the time it seemed like a fun afterthought. But he would actually end up starting eight games that year and return late in the following season to get nice wins in weeks 16 and 17. Tom Savage led a last minute drive at Denver in 2014 on a late TD pass to Ryan Griffin. You never know who you might need when the regular season bullets start flying. 4. We Play the Saints A Lot OK, it’s not like playing your biggest NFC rival (see above). In fact I somewhat liken the Saints to being sort of a Texans ‘sister team’ considering the proximity and the history between the two cities. These two franchises have engaged in a lot of off season practice, including memorable ‘chippy’ sessions in New Orleans in ’08 and ’10. Sean Payton says the Texans could be headed back this year. Plus the Texans are taking over the Saints’ training camp haunt at the Greenbriar. Everybody in Houston is zero degrees of separation away from a Saints fan they know well. It’s always fun to compare notes. 5. It Doesn’t Count “Wait, what? How is this a good thing?” you ask. Well, we have 16-plus weeks of angst, stress, thrills, heartbreak, turmoil and temporary jubilation. It’s good to enjoy a little football for evaluation purposes that has nothing on the line. You can appreciate the good plays and not slide into a deep depression if your team ends up on the losing end. Enjoy the experience.