Ticket sales fast and furious

Single-game tickets went on sale at Reliant Stadium early Wednesday morning, but not early enough to keep eager Texans fans at home.

Nearly 100 fans arrived at the gates of the ticket office in Budweiser Plaza at 7 a.m. today. The fans, selected for the event after entering a drawing on HoustonTexans.com, each had a pre-assigned number that determined their order in line after a drawing took place.

The event was complete with Texans Cheerleaders, complimentary breakfast foods, drawings for Texans apparel and training camp tickets, and the appearance of two special guests. Second-year players Mario Williams and Owen Daniels arrived to greet the fans and sell the first few tickets from their seats within the box office.

Williams squeezed his massive hands into a fishbowl to pull out the winning number of 14, which belonged to Nixon resident Dale Fulk. Fulk was awarded the first spot in the ticketing line, and also received an autographed Texans football from Williams and Daniels before posing with the Texans Cheerleaders and interviewing with FSN Houston and ABC News.

“It’s good,” Fulk said. “It’s better to be first than last.

“My wife and I didn’t have the opportunity to go to any games last year. But we went to quite a few the year before that. This year, my wife wants to go see Tampa Bay, then we’re going to go try to see Tennessee and the Saints game.”

The games against division-rival Tennessee and NFC South champion New Orleans were the most sought-after tickets of the morning. Texans fan Jay Carr, whose drawing number was 13, found himself at the end of the line but still hoped for the chance to see the Texans take on the two teams.

“I was explaining this to my wife last night,” he said. “I told her, ‘See, if they call 14 I’ll be last in line,’ and sure enough, there you go.

“But I’m definitely looking forward to the Titans and Saints games and the Thursday night game with the Broncos.”

And though he was unsure about his chances of acquiring these tickets from the end of the line, Carr was certain about his enthusiasm for the 2007 season.

“I’m hoping for the best,” he said. “The way things are going we better have a good defense if we’re going to compete against Indianapolis and Tennessee.”

Back at the front of the line, Fulk shared Carr’s optimism.

“I think they’re doing some good things,” he said of the Texans’ offseason moves. “I think they made some improvements. I guess we’ll see how those turn out on the field.”

Tickets are selling fast given the Texans’ improvements and this season’s exciting home schedule. The Saints and Titans games are almost sold out, although more seats may still be available for those games as part of season ticket packages. Click here to order your single-game or season tickets today.