February | 2025 |

May 8, 1997, was a dark day in H-Town sports. That was the day Bud Adams and the Houston Oilers were allowed to dissolve their lease with the Astrodome and two-step to Tennessee for greener pastures.

At first the fan base was blasé about the team leaving. Around 50 Oilers fans gathered at City Hall in a “last-ditch” rally effort to keep the Oilers in Houston, but the mood changed once the realization set in that the city would no longer have an NFL team.

While Adams took on much of the criticism, the truth is there was plenty of blame to go around. City leaders weren’t keen on asking taxpayers to fund new stadiums/ballparks/arenas. Home-grown Governor George W. Bush came up with solution to allow localities—after voter approval—to set up sports authorities that could impose a county-wide 2 percent hotel tax, a 5 percent rental car tax, and taxes on parking and tickets, and use sales tax revenues collected at facilities.

In lighting speed, Houston was awarded an expansion franchise over Los Angeles and Toronto in 1999 with the promise of a new, state-of-the-art stadium that would feature a retractable roof and real grass. Football fans were beside themselves and the newly formed Houston Texas shocked the Dallas Cowboys 19–10 on Sept. 8, 2002, becoming just the third expansion team ever to win their first game.

Now, 23 years later, the Houston Texans are hinting at wanting a new stadium. Much has changed over the past two decades. Retractable roofs are less interesting than luxury suites that go from the ground up. Wide open concourses with upscale bars and restaurants and super-fast wi-fi are also must haves in today’s world and when one is trying to lure the almighty Super Bowl.

How did we get here? The Texans (and the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo) enjoy the benefits of utilizing NRG stadium, but the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority is responsible for maintaining it. It is estimated that $1.4 billion is needed to bring the stadium up to standards which begs the question, would it be better to pour money into a stadium that may, or may not continue to attract big-time events, or build a new one?

The Texans and Rodeo have a really sweet deal given that the Astros and Rockets are responsible for maintaining Daiken Park and Toyota Center respectively. And, when you factor in that the Texans often get more money in tax rebates than they have to pay in rent, it means taxpayers are essentially paying the team to play at NRG.

Those in favor of a new stadium will tout the economic impact the Super Bowl brings to the community. It was reported Houston saw an impact of $375 million when the city hosted the game in 2017, but not everyone agrees.

“Those {numbers} should be published next to the horoscopes on the comics page,” J.C. Bradbury, a professor of economics at Kennesaw State University told the Houston Chronicle. Data for economic impact studies are often provided by the client resulting in favorable results for them. “These are financial prostitutes providing a service they’re being paid to provide,” said Bradbury.

Putting aside the actual economic impact, New Orleans was able to host this year’s Super Bowl for the eighth time thanks to $560 million in renovations by the Saints and other public entities to the Caesars Superdome, which begs the question, how were they able to keep a stadium that opened in 1975 still relevant and able to attract the big game?

Did the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority fumble the proverbial ball? Was the desire to have an NFL franchise so great that details be damned, we’ll worry about it in 20 years? How are Green Bay (1957), New Orleans (1975) and Kansas City (1972) able to keep their stadiums viable after all these years?

Pearl S. Buck, an American novelist said, “if you want to understand today you have to search yesterday.” It would be nice if those responsible for trying to decide what to do with NRG stadium to take a moment and learn from the past before we end up where we started.

It can be argued the two most essential elements of what it means to be a westerner New Yorker are the Buffalo Bills and chicken wings. Jim Kelly or Josh Allen? The Anchor Bar or Duffs? These debates help make up the fabric of what being a Buffalonian is all about. What might surprise you though is the unlikely connection the Buffalo Bills and chicken wings have.

During the early years of the franchise, the Buffalo Bills featured a fierce running back named Cookie Gilchrist. For three seasons Gilchrist was an unstoppable force that no one could handle. His talents helped propel the Bills to their first AFL title in 1964 with the fans chanting “Lookie, Lookie here comes Cookie!”.

*Cookie Gilchrist in an early AFL game versus the Houston Oilers*

Gilchrist originally signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted practice squad member in 1954 right out of high school which violated NFL rules, forcing him to play professional football in Canada before joining the Bills. Gilchrist was the first 1,000-yard American Football League rusher, with 1,096 yards in a 14-game schedule earning AFL MVP honors in 1962.

At the same time Gilchrist was tearing up the AFL, a restaurateur named John Young opened Wings & Things, becoming the first to promote chicken wings in the Buffalo telephone book. Young’s wings were uncut, breaded, deep-fried, and served with his secret, tomato-based Mambo Sauce, which is similar to barbecue sauce, but sweeter and a little spicier.

Around the same time, a couple named Frank and Teressa Bellissimo began selling chicken wings at the Anchor Bar, about a mile away from Wings & Things and have been credited by some for coming up with the concept, but Young insisted Frank would stop by his restaurant where he discovered them (in reality, the tasty treat can actually be traced back to 1857 when they were a featured entrée at the Clarendon Hotel).

*Menu from the Clarendon Hotel courtesy of the Buffalo History Museum*

Young, an African American entrepreneur, relied on word of mouth to promote his restaurant which struggled to keep its doors open. He didn’t have marketing dollars to promote his wings and the future looked bleak until a local football player walked in and started what would eventually lead to a $25 billion industry. That player was Gilchrist who was a hero in the Buffalo black community and word soon spread about Young’s restaurant and his chicken wings.

“People would come in buy 500 at a time and take them to the game,” said Adam Richman, food historian. “They have distinct memories of buying them from John Young.”

Wings & Things was located 6 blocks from War Memorial Stadium, home of the Buffalo Bills, which made it easy for fans to skip the stale popcorn and other bland concession items and enjoy what would become a football fans food fixation. Soon other celebrities including James Brown, Harold Melvin and the Blue Notes and Curtis Mayfield would stop by the restaurant to enjoy what would become a national obsession.

The mid-60’s was a turbulent time for African Americans. Gilchrist was an early civil rights advocate for black athletes and led a successful boycott of New Orleans as the site of the 1965 AFL All-Star game after numerous black players were refused service by area hotels and businesses (the game was moved to Houston’s Jeppesen Stadium).

Sadly, race riots forced Young to close his restaurant which was located in a predominantly black neighborhood, but thanks to his determination and the support of one of the greatest Buffalo Bills of all time, the relationship between the team and his chicken wing are forever linked together in history.

Monthly Archives: February 2025

To build or not to build, that is the question