Reaching Out

Arian Foster is one generous cowboy: NFL star brings fans with him to Rodeo

Houston Texans running back Arian Foster is a man of the people.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com
Pooja Patel, Arian Foster and Vishal Desai enjoy the Rodeo suite life.
@arianfoster

Arian Foster is spreading the love from his new $43 million contract — in the most Houston way possible.

The Houston Texans' star tailback took two fans to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Sunday, bringing them into a suite he had at Reliant Stadium to hang out. It all started with a tweet from Foster at 2:20 p.m. Sunday — a last-minute suprrise for his fans.

"I have 2 tickets to the Houston rodeo in a suite with me.! If anybody is serious about coming. Starts at 3:30, first person wins !!!" Foster tweeted.

"This is where I live permanently in the offseason," Foster said. "I'm a Houstonian."

Foster follower Vishal Desai replied in less than a minute and he was soon heading to the Rodeo on Foster with his friend Pooja Patel. Desai and Patel spent the rest of the day in Foster's Reliant suite with the running back and his friends and family, including Foster's 2-year-old daughter Zeniah.

None of this is surprising from Foster, who is one of the more grounded superstars in sports. This is a guy who doesn't just tweet — he keeps a running dialogue with his fans going on Twitter. And he's promised more Twitter surprises in the months to come.

After signing his new contract, Foster talked about his love of Houston, noting how quickly he's become a part of the city.

"This is where I live permanently in the offseason," he said. "I'm a Houstonian."

Foster may have seen two fifths of the offensive line he loves leave in free agency — with right tackle Eric Winston signing with Kansas City after being cut by the Texans and right guard Mike Brisiel signing with the Oakland Raiders — but he obviously hasn't lost his excitement for Houston. He knows how to Rodeo — and how to make it special for some regular fans.

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Cowboys Rule

It's another record Rodeo: All-time attendance mark falls thanks to monstershows, monster barbecue

Jason Aldean set an all-time record for RodeoHouston concert attendance: Nearly75,000 fans packed the stadium for his third performance.
Photo by © Michelle Watson/CatchLightGroup.com

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo proved to be more successful than ever in its 80th year: The all-time record for paid attendance was broken with 1,283,419 paying to attend the three-week event, breaking a mark set in 2010. The total attendance of 2,257,970 visitors on the show's grounds ranks recond all time.

The World's Championship Bar-B-Que Contest upped the ante early on with record attendance (260,033 over three days), but a daily carnival, a jam-packed rodeo schedule and an unforgettable lineup of musical performers ensured full crowds nightly for the remainder of RodeoHouston.

"We enhanced sound in the stadium, which we know makes a big difference," Wagner said.

"The main things were improvements in terms of presentation," Skip Wagner, RodeoHouston president and CEO, told CultureMap. "We enhanced sound in the stadium, which we know makes a big difference."

Three shows — Jason Aldean's RodeoHouston performance on March 15, Duelo and La Original Banda El Limón on March 11 and The Band Perry on March 14 — drew more than 74,241 fans each, earning them all spots among the Top 10 Rodeo-attended concerts of all time.

Neither spring break travels nor St. Patrick's Day festivities could keep fans away from Reliant — the Saturday crowd set a single night total-attendance record of 153,159, with 73,757 attendees venturing inside of the stadium for the Brad Paisley concert.

With all of these records, how can RodeoHouston 2012 be topped?

"Next year, you can expect to see continued fine-tuning," Wagner said, specifically mentioning expansions to the horticulture program, horse shows and ranch and wildlife exhibits.

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