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A group of very special guests were in attendance at NRG Stadium on Sunday to watch the Houston Texans’ season opener against the Indianapolis Colts.
The Texans hosted members of the Uvalde Coyotes high school football team as a part of their efforts to support the South Texas city that’s reeling from a fatal mass shooting. Nineteen students and two teachers lost their lives in a mass shooting at Uvalde’s Robb Elementary School in May.
Coyotes head coach Wade Miller said that the 21 who perished on May 24 are on his, his staff’s and his players’ minds and hearts, the Associated Press (AP) reported.
“It’s important to us,” Miller said, per an AP article that was ran by Houston CBS affiliate KHOU. “We all either lost somebody or knew somebody (that did) and we’re like the rest of the world, we just want to help in some way. And hopefully, this helps.”
Before the emotional trip to Houston – which the Texans and San Antonio-based supermarket H-E-B helped cover – the National Football League (NFL) ballclub donated new uniforms to Miller’s program in addition to $400,000 to the Robb School Memorial Fund.
The team additionally wore a “Uvalde Strong” decal on their helmets.
“It means a lot to a lot of these guys just to get away from Uvalde in general and just enjoy being here,” Uvalde senior linebacker Justyn Rendon said in the report.
Rendon added that it was the first time he and most of his teammates have ever been to an NFL game.
“It’s a real big thing,” the student-athlete said, the AP reported.
Indianapolis CW affiliate WISH reported that Colts offensive lineman Quenton Nelson and his teammates and coaches visited with the Uvalde contingent before leaving the stadium.
The Coyotes have designated the No. 21 for a senior player in memory of the victims. Per MaxPreps, Uvalde is presently 2-1 following a 21-12 non-district loss to Poteet on Friday.
The Texans and the Colts played to a 20-20 tie, which was the former’s first in franchise history.