Cal McNair stood over the flames, but instead of extinguishing them with new players, he placed patties and hot dogs in its place.
Fans of the Houston Texans lined up and waited their turn to enjoy a free meal on the team after watching joint practices with the Los Angeles Rams. Thus was the return of “Cal’s Cookout” for a third straight year.
The idea started before training camp in 2022 when McNair asked his staff how he could become more involved with the fans. Someone suggested to start answering questions on Reddit, thus leading to the annual AMA sessions done before the start of the regular season.
Another person mentioned bringing the whole city together with food, thus the birth of “Cal’s Cookout.”
“A lot of the things that they were wanting to do, turns out they were pretty good,” McNair said on SportsRadio 610’s Payne & Pendergast show before Thursday’s practice. We’ve got a good staff with a lot of good suggestions.”
At the time, the cookout served as an olive branch between the fans and the organization. Houston was coming off another woeful season and had just fired David Culley. It was only step one of a three-part build-up to contention entering 2024.
Now, Houston heads toward new levels of success as the breakout team of 2023. Headlined by C.J. Stroud and DeMeco Ryans, there’s a sense of urgency with the current roster to win now.
Even if Houston brings home its first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history, the cookout and AMA session aren’t going anywhere.
Cal and Hannah McNair spoke in-depth with @SethCPayne and @SeanTPendergast about the state of the Texans.
Listen to their interview here 📶 https://t.co/YAUNjsameG pic.twitter.com/tiNPYFZooV
— SportsRadio 610 (@SportsRadio610) August 22, 2024
“My interactions with the fans, one-on-one, have always been really positive,” McNair said. “The fans are always respectful, they love the team and they just want the team to do well and that’s what I want.”