Houston Sports Awards 2020

Houston Sports Awards 2020 – Presented by Insperity

On January 21, 2020, my husband and I attended the Houston Sports Awards.  It was their third annual Gala showcasing and honoring Houston’s athletes, coaches, and teams for 2019.

I attended last year and had the pleasure of running into Simone Biles.  This is what makes me happy, when success does not change them.  She was a sweetheart and took selfies and several pictures with us.  So, naturally this year I was in full gear and blogger mode to approach the stars and be ready for any chances!

This year’s theme was the “roaring 20’s glitzy affair”. From the moment we walked the red carpet to sitting in our seats, the feeling we got was something out of the 20’s. The organizers did a phenomenal job creating the ambiance and staying in character.

Three Houston Athletes were inducted into the Hall of fame this year: Mary Lou Retton, Carl Lewis, and Rudy Tomjanovich.

When I entered the ball room my celebrity eyes caught the boxing legend George Foreman walking in with these dark sunglasses.  I casually walked up to him and introduced myself and my Husband.  I told him about my love for boxing and after taking two months of classes the immense respect I have for boxers because it’s not all about “punching the bag”.  He was very gracious, and my husband told him he also boxed to that he said, “Well I got to take off my glasses and take another pic”.  It was a very starstruck moment for the both of us.  We all know we each own a George Foreman grill or have in our lives.  His humility made him 100 times better.

My husband and I went back to our seats, we were seated at the ABC 13 table.  As I am going through the inductees in walks Rudy T!  I saw him from the corner of my eye, and I looked at my husband’s coworker and asked “is that him?”  And she’s like “OMG yes!”  So OF course, I Will NEVER EVER give up an opportunity.  I walk up to him while I watch people smiling and taking pictures of him from a distance.  I introduce myself as a blogger and he immediately asked for my business card (This is why You must carry cards!).  I told him I didn’t have any cards and he said then we have to take a picture for my blog.  He was AWESOME.  I waved to my husband and we took several pics with him and because of that I started some line of people wanting a picture.  I have met many famous people and I love it when they live up to their name.  He asked my name, tried to pronounce it, to me these are people who really respect the position they are in and know they are making an impact.

It was a beautiful evening with well-deserved honorees. What I gained from that event was that no matter what race, ethnicity, gender if you work hard in this beautiful country of ours, your contributions will be recognized!  I was brought to tears many times through the program, for example, when the seniors from an inner-city school were granted full scholarships to Stephan F Austin, and when J. J. Watt visited the family of Peter Berry after learning about the loss of both of his parents in a car crash.  Their friendship has continued over the years. Watt was there as Peter Berry received the first Inspiration award.  The 18-year-old Emery/Weiner senior, has since led TIRR Memorial Hermann’s Junior Hot wheels basketball team to three national titles since 2013 and one national softball title.

Below are the list of the winners and pictures from the night!