County is all abuzz about biggest game

GALVESTON — Ain’t football great? Sunday night’s Super Bowl XLVI showdown between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots only further proved how much the sport means to Texas.

Galveston County was buzzing all day surrounding a game that meant absolutely nothing to 99 percent of local viewers.

You could feel the anticipation at Walmart as men made their once-a-year grocery-shopping spree.

The roads were empty at 5:30 p.m. when the game began, and everyone glued their eyes on televisions big and small at restaurants, bars, house parties and empty bedrooms — it doesn’t matter how disconnected the two Super Bowl teams are — it’s the Super Bowl.

It was a thrilling game of ups and downs for both teams. If you entered the game with no bias or care in the world who won, you were screaming at the TV by the end. The game beckoned cheering, breath-holding and a wide range of emotions.

By the time the Giants punched in the final touchdown, you were either praying for a last-minute heroic drive from Patriots quarterback Tom Brady or you were praying against it.

When the Giants walked away from Indianapolis with a 21-17 victory, you had a reaction. You had a reaction to Madonna’s halftime performance, and you probably had a reaction to a dozen commercials.

Twitter was blowing up at 9 p.m. Sunday after the game was over. In the Houston area, the Super Bowl dominated all 10 of the top trends, and the third most tweeted subject was “David Carr.”

The fact that the former Texans quarterback, who inspired thousands of Houstonians to invest in his jersey in the early years of the franchise, can still draw your attention says a lot about how hungry this city is to elevate to success like the Giants achieved on Sunday night. Sitting on the bench, Carr got his ring, and you want the Texans (or Cowboys, sigh) to get there, too.

Can you imagine what will happen in this corner of Texas if the Texans ever make it? If a team that’s over a thousand miles away and has exactly two players who played college football in Texas can draw so much support from Galveston County on Super Bowl Sunday, imagine what the hometown team can generate.

Big things are brewing in Houston. This has — and will always be — a football town (as Sunday night proved), and we’re all itching for a local team to stand behind.

Until then, we’ll just have to keep pretending to be lifelong Giants, Packers and Steelers fans on the first Sunday in February of every year.