This is a short history, and I mean no disrespect by saying so. The Houston Texans, born in 2002, have never reached a Super Bowl. They are the youngest franchise in the league, and the youth shows in the trophy case, which is waiting on its first big day. I find I have nothing to mourn for them yet. That is almost a mercy.

A franchise still writing its first chapter

The Texans have had good teams and a few playoff Januarys, and their deepest runs have stalled before the conference title game. No Super Bowl appearance, no Super Bowl loss, no scar that defines a city for people who were not there. Lately, with a young quarterback in C.J. Stroud, Houston has the look of a team building toward the door rather than wandering away from it.

What I would tell Houston

Enjoy this part. The hope before the heartbreak is its own season, and you cannot get it back once the losses start stacking. Texans fans, you have not yet learned the particular silence of a lost Super Bowl. May your first trip end better than four of mine did. The history starts whenever you are ready to make it.