Sign the petition: The NFL should relocate the 2017 Super Bowl if Houston turns down HERO

Let's start separating the pro-business Republicans from the social conservatives extremists.

Sign the petition: The #NFL should move the 2017 Super Bowl if #Houston voters turn down #HERO: https://t.co/8DA8qfDV54 #HouNews #Houvote

— PDiddie (@PDiddie) August 5, 2015

Charles' good ideas, worth repeating:

The good news about that is that I don’t think a lot of people have yet given much thought to this issue. Oh, they’re vaguely aware of it, in the way that most people are vaguely aware of most local issues, but it’s not locked in their consciousness yet. For these folks, a different kind of outreach is needed. They will need to hear, from voices they like and trust, why voting the right way on the HERO referendum is something they should do. For that, HERO defenders – and here I’m looking at Mayor Parker, who needs to be the one to make most if not all of the requests I’m about to suggest – should reach out to high-profile Houstonians in sports, music, business, and religion to deliver a message about Houston being the kind of place where everyone is treated equally and respectfully. Given the support of the major sports leagues and the individual teams for equality and non-discrimination ordinances, I’d move heaven and earth to get JJ Watt, James Harden, Jose Altuve, and Carli Lloyd to do a PSA-style ad in which they say something like “My league supports equality. So does my team, and so do I. The Houston we love is open and accepting to all. That’s why I’m [voting the right way] on [whatever the ballot proposition is called], and I ask you to do so, too.” I can’t think of anything the haters could do to counter a message like that, coming from people like that.

There are plenty of other people that could be plugged in to a spot like that, with the script modified to fit them. Bill Lawson. George and Barbara Bush. Beyonce. The members of ZZ Top. Former newscasters Ron Stone (sic, RIP) and Dave Ward. UH President Renu Khator and Rice President David Leebron. You get the idea. Sure, some may say No for whatever the reason, but I bet many would say Yes, especially if Mayor Parker asked them personally. The key here is to get those spots out quickly, before the haters get their mail and whatever else going. You don’t have to spend much on TV for this – buy a few slots during the evening news and stuff like that, but the real value will be in having them on YouTube. This is about good will, coming from good people. It’s worth a lot, and we should take full advantage of it, because the other side can’t touch it.

Let's get all of this done.  Let's turn back this tide of fear and hate and show the world what kind of city Houston is.  World class.  Sign my petition, show up at City Hall, wear your red, do what you have to do.

We can't let the haters win this time.

Update:

Kent Friedman, board chair of the Harris County-Houston Sports Authority, warned that if HERO is scuttled, it could cost the city the 2016 NCCA Men's Final Four and 2017 Super Bowl. The NFL title game brings an economic impact "north of $800 million" to the city, he said.

"It would be pretty consistent for those institutions to react the same way if Houston were perceived" similarly to Arizona and Indiana during debates over anti-gay "religious freedom" legislation, Friedman said.