Houston Texans – Blog

Tag yourself, win prizes, share with friends

Brian McKnight to sing national anthem on Saturday

A star-studded lineup of entertainers is scheduled for Saturday for the Texans-Bengals AFC Wild Card game at Reliant Stadium, which kicks off at 3:30pm CT on NBC.

Country music star Clay Walker will perform on the field pregame. Fans can download the ring tone for his song, “It’s Football Time in Houston,” by clicking here.

Later on before kickoff, platinum R&B recording artist Brian McKnight will sing the national anthem. The halftime performer is Terry McDermott, a Scottish singer/songwriter who starred on the hit NBC show “The Voice.”

For the full list of gameday activities, click here.

Also, the first 65,000 fans in attendance will receive a Reliant Power Towel (pictured).

Check in Week 16 and win!

The Houston Texans’ final 2012 regular-season home game Sunday is aptly named Fan Appreciation Day presented by FOX Sports Southwest.

We’re in the holiday spirit, so we have planned our biggest Foursquare special of the season this weekend. If you’re attending the game at Reliant Stadium, check in using the Foursquare mobile app any time between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on gameday and share your check-in on Twitter using #TexansGameday.

We’ll pick two random winners to each receive the following prizes:

• 2012 Texans Yearbook autographed by WR Andre Johnson
• Fleece Houston Texans blanket
• Houston Texans Gameday magazine vs. Vikings
• Houston Texans official folders
• Houston Texans “We Are Texans” pens

Make sure to follow us at http://foursquare.com/HoustonTexans

Enter to win tickets to this Sunday’s game

Post pictures with your Texans AFC South division champions gear on Twitter using #AFCSouthChamps for chance to win tickets to this Sunday’s Texans-Minnesota Vikings game at Reliant Stadium. The Texans (12-2) face the Vikings (8-6) at noon CT with a chance to clinch home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

Deadline to enter is noon CT on Thursday.

Post pic w/your #Texans AFC South title gear,use #AFCSouthChamps for chance at HOU-MIN tix. Rules: bit.ly/WmmuYV twitter.com/HoustonTexans/…

— Houston Texans (@HoustonTexans) December 18, 2012

Get your Texans holiday shopping done soon

You may have seen this article on our Top 10 Gift Ideas for Texans Fans.

Place any orders on the Houston Texans Official Online Store at http://Shop.HoustonTexans.com as soon as possible.

Here are the various shipping deadlines if you want your online order to arrive before Christmas:

• 3-day shipping costs $9.99 (Deadline Dec. 19)
• 2-day shipping costs $12.95 (Deadline Dec. 20)
• Next-day shipping costs $19.95 (Deadline Dec. 21)

Also, visit the Go Texan Store inside Bud Plaza at Reliant Stadium for the widest selection of team merchandise, including exclusive items you won’t find anywhere else.

Last thing, be cautious of counterfeit sites. The only official Houston Texans online shops are: http://Shop.HoustonTexans.com and http://PhotoStore.HoustonTexans.com.

Happy Holidays from the Texans.

NAPA offering free Texans camo hats

Fans who spend $25 or more at participating NAPA AUTO PARTS locations will get a free Houston Texans camouflage hat. The promotion runs while supplies last.

For a list of participating stores, click here.

Arrive-early giveaways on Saturday

With a strong homefield advantage crucial to winning football, especially in the playoffs, the Texans encourage all fans attending the playoff game against Cincinnati this Saturday at Reliant Stadium to arrive well before the 3:30 p.m. CT kickoff.

There are plenty of giveaways for those who do. As with every Texans home game, within the first 30 minutes of the gates opening at 2 p.m. CT, fans have a chance to receive a $100 gift certificate to 5115 Restaurant & Lounge. A total of $10,000 in gift certificates will be given out.

Beyond that, Verizon has generously offered an additional incentive for fans to arrive before kickoff. The Texans will select 10 lucky fans who get in their seats within the first 30 minutes of the gates opening to receive one of these autographed items, courtesy of Verizon:

-1 LB Brian Cushing football
-1 LB Cushing authentic jersey
-1 TE Owen Daniels football
-1 WR Andre Johnson authentic jersey
-1 WR Andre Johnson authentic helmet
-1WR Jacoby Jones football
-1 LB DeMeco Ryans football
-1 LB DeMeco Ryans authentic jersey
-1 QB Matt Schaub football
-1 OLB Mario Williams authentic jersey

How you can win weekly Texans prizes

Nothing rewards our loyal fans better than winning, but we want to thank you in other ways, too. That’s why we have several different weekly prizes that you can win online.

Here they are, in no particular order:

1. Hometeam Challenge:  Compete for weekly prizes with other fans in this “salary cap” fantasy football game, which is free to register for. Lineups don’t carry over from week-to-week, so you’re not behind if you want to start playing now. Weekly winners will be in contention for the grand prize, a chance to play “Madden 2011″ with a Texans player. LINK
2. Uncle Bob’s Twitter Trivia Contest: Each week on Twitter.com/HoustonTexans, we post a different trivia question presented by Uncle Bob’s Self Storage (@UncleBobStorage). A weekly winner is selected from the fans who guess correctly, with prizes varying from autographed mini-helmets to signed photos. Each weekly winner is in the running for the grand prize, a new Houston Texans “fan cave.” LINK
3. Motorola Fan Photo Contest: On each Texans gameday at Reliant Stadium, submit a photo of yourself cheering on the team or demonstrating your passion for the Texans. We select five finalists from the photos submitted to us, then post the finalists in an album on Facebook.com/HoustonTexans. Fans have a day to “like” and “comment” on their favorite photo before a winner is announced. Weekly winners get tickets to a game and more, and the grand prize winner gets a Motorola XOOM tablet. LINK
4. Houston Texans Toolbar: Download the free Houston Texans toolbar to get news, live score updates and other information on the team no matter which website you’re visiting. Earn points by searching and shopping through the toolbar. Weekly points leaders get great Texans prizes such as photos and merchandise. LINK
5. Facebook Fan Mailbag: Submit your questions for me and Texans TV’s Drew Dougherty each Thursday at Facebook.com/HoustonTexans for our Friday Facebook Mailbag. Whoever submits the best question will receive $50 in Texas Lottery Houston Texans Scratch-Offs. LINK

Look out next week for a list of our Top 10 Houston Texans Holiday Gift Ideas.

Win a trip to Nashville at the Go Texan Store

Online photo store debuts

The Texans have launched an official online photo store, giving fans a place to purhcase official photos of players, games, special events and Reliant Stadium.

As part of the store’s grand opening, fans can receive a free, unframed 9” x 12” photo print of their choice. Click here to get yours today.