The Houston Texans incite a flurry of emotions in local fans: pride, hope, joy. Heart palpitations when it comes to defensive end J.J. Watt.
But for Julia Cole, the hometown team inspired a new career path.
"I started out playing every sport known to man. I was a super-involved athlete, and that was what I was really focused on," Cole, 20, says. She played basketball, volleyball and track at Klein High School. But amid the spikes and finish lines, another talent emerged.
"My teammates and coaches would hear me humming and singing. They were like, 'You should sing the national anthem before our games.' It grew to all the varsity sporting events at my school," Cole says. "My volleyball coach encouraged me to enter a contest to sing it for the Texans. I ended up winning.
"This was my junior year in high school, before I was writing my own songs or truly focusing on it. But after singing in front of 75,000 people in Reliant Stadium at a sold-out season closer (on Jan. 2, 2011), I was absolutely in love with the experience. I knew that singing was what I needed to do for the rest of my life."