Mike Kerns
LYSB Podcast
By JOHN P. LOPEZ
At least Lopez is consistent.
Whenever Bob McNair meets with the highest-ranking executives in his Texans organization, the message never wavers.
Aim for the highest standard.
As a football team, the Texans want to win a Super Bowl. As a brand name, they want to become an organization popular not just locally, but worldwide.
They want to become the New York Yankees, Manchester United or the Dallas Cowboys.
It's not something that happens in a month, a year or even a decade, of course, but it is the direction in which McNair always wants his franchise pointed.
To say they have been off course is the biggest of understatements. They have stunk like the stables at McNair's thoroughbred farm in Kentucky.
That is why North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams has no shot of becoming the No. 1 pick in Saturday's NFL draft.
Reggie Bush is rated higher than Williams as an overall prospect, but it is a close call. Until you look closer. The total package sways everything in Bush's direction for no reason more than what this franchise has been and what it wants to become.
As one Texans executive put it Thursday, "The Yankees did not become the Yankees because of their name. They became the Yankees because of players like Joe DiMaggio."
The Texans realize they need Bush not just for the games he will help the team win. They need him not just to offer the franchise more value in Forbes magazine, which consistently ranks the Texans among the top 10 organizations in the NFL. They need him for the conversations he will be a part of from Houston to Poughkeepsie to Paris.
As the Texans continue to negotiate with both Bush and Williams, holding the public stance that theirs is an either/or position, the decision has been made.
Bush is better, sure. But even if he was not, tie goes to the runner.
Bush is biggest fish
That's what has been the most intriguing thing about the whole Reggie Bush-Vince Young debate that raged locally. The argument was that Young would have been the no-brainer choice for marketing purposes alone.
Uh, not quite.
Locally and within Texas' borders, Young certainly would have given the franchise increased visibility and buzz. More local business would have jumped on board. And Young has become something of a national commodity off the field as well.
But the data Texans marketing executives check daily indicate Bush is more visible, more talked-about and more recognized than Young nationally and internationally.
The Texans subscribe to several services that rate marketability and share of a given brand name or person. One of those services regulates the number of times a person or brand is mentioned on local, national or international television.
The Texans consistently rate on the lower end. So, too, has David Carr. But Bush consistently has rated twice as high as Young and three times as high as Williams. And those numbers are more in Bush's favor on an international level.
Does that get the Texans to the playoffs? Certainly not.
But rest assured the Texans have talked about what Bush's marketing strength combined with his skills could mean to the organization. And if the wins come, playoff berths and Super Bowl appearances, McNair's goal gets closer.
Bush's former USC teammate Winston Justice, a tackle who figures to be a first-round pick as well on Saturday, called Bush "a freak athlete" Wednesday during interviews in New York.
It was his freakish abilities that got Bush into the discussion as the No. 1 pick. Other freakish abilities sealed the deal.
A few more endorsements
Advertising firms study the same numbers and trends. Before even taking a snap, Bush has earned the third-most endorsement dollars in the NFL, behind only quarterbacks Peyton Manning and Tom Brady.
On Wednesday, he signed one of Adidas' richest shoe deals in a spectacle of an unveiling in New York. The deal calls for Bush to have his own shoe brand sold worldwide by 2007. Just like Mike.
At the draft Saturday, he will be wearing a glittery IceLink watch, part of another endorsement deal that will have his picture on advertisements worldwide. By next week, Bush is expected to sign a deal with the Hummer division of General Motors Corp.
First-week sales of merchandise featuring Bush's Texans jersey and number are expected to surpass standards set by Michael Vick and Manning. By the way, don't be surprised if Bush chooses No. 21, the sum of his hometown San Diego's 619 area code and his No. 5 USC jersey.
Once the Texans decided that David Carr was their quarterback, once they rated Bush's talents superior to any other prospect's, once they chose to pass on Young, this draft choice was over.
Mario Williams stood about as much a chance of becoming the No. 1 pick as he would catching Bush in an open field.
At least Lopez is consistent.
