The year was 2012, and the Texans were ready to make a statement against the Patriots on Sunday Night Football. That's when nose tackle Shaun Cody came up with the idea that would one day live in infamy: Every member of the Texans should travel to New England in a custom-made letterman jacket. The idea, somewhat amazingly, was not met with a single, "Bruh ..."
"The jackets turned out awesome," Connor Barwin, then-Texans linebacker and Shaun Cody's best friend, said on the day the jackets arrived. "We've got a great group of guys. Anything that represents the camaraderie of this team, guys are excited about, and that's exactly what the jacket does."
We should note that the Texans weren't looking at the jackets as a one-week stunt. The initial plan was to eventually decorate the sleeves with patches to honor captains and celebrate AFC South titles and any other subsequent playoff success.
"The idea is to wear them on the trip to New England -- everybody's going to wear them on the plane, on the trip to New England, on the bus," Barwin went on. "(I'm) pushing for khaki pants, white shirt, blue tie, jacket, so it looks like we're about to get on a yellow bus with shoulder pads in our hands."
It's one thing to look like a united high school team, but you certainly don't want to play like one -- especially on the road against the Patriots. Houston got whooped 42-14, and the jackets quickly became a national punchline. We never saw them again.
On Tuesday, a reporter asked J.J. Watt about the whereabouts of his jacket now four years later. Surely, it must be hanging on a hook in that palatial log cabin of his, right?
"I've got no idea," Watt said, via the Houston Chronicle. "Those were some bad memories."
Watt wasn't sure he even has the jacket anymore.
"I don't think so," he said. "I hope not. I don't want to bring that back up at all. Those were some bad days."
Crossing my fingers a No. 99 letterman eventually shows up Tales From NFL Auction.
