The Houston Aeros: A Tale of Two Teams, One Sad Ending (But Hey, at Least They Had Gordie Howe!)
Ah, the Houston Aeros. A name that evokes memories of frosted mugs filled with beer, the sweet sting of defeat (or the glorious joy of victory, depending on the night), and... well, maybe that's it. But for hockey fans in Houston, the Aeros were more than just a team. They were a fleeting dream, a shooting star that blazed brightly across the minor league hockey sky before disappearing into the abyss.
Act I: Enter the WHA's Superstars (and a Legend's Sons)
Back in the 1970s, a rival league to the NHL called the World Hockey Association (WHA) came onto the scene. Think of it as the XFL of hockey, except with slightly less flameout and a whole lot more Gordie Howe. Yes, the Gordie Howe, hockey's Mr. Elbow and future father-in-law of wrestling legend Hulk Hogan (small world, huh?).
The Houston Aeros, fresh out of the oven and sporting some truly fetching red, white, and blue duds, joined the WHA party. And guess who else decided to join the Aeros? That's right, Gordie Howe, along with his sons Mark and Marty! Talk about a family affair! Now, imagine watching a hockey game where you could see a 50-year-old Gordie Howe still throwing elbows with guys half his age. Wild times, my friends.
The Aeros were actually pretty darn good. They even won the Avco World Trophy (the WHA's championship trophy) in 1974! But here's where things get a little messy. The WHA, bless its short-lived heart, wasn't exactly the most financially stable league. Think of it as a hockey team run by a group of your college buddies who thought they could pull off a killer beer pong tournament to fund a trip to Vegas.
Act II: The Merger that Wasn't (and the Aeros That Came Back... for a While)
By the late 70s, the WHA was on its last legs. Talks of merging with the NHL began to swirl. Here's where things get interesting for the Aeros. They were a strong team in a good market, so logically, they'd be a shoo-in for the NHL, right? Wrong.
The NHL, in its infinite wisdom, decided to only accept a handful of WHA teams. And guess who wasn't on the lucky list? You guessed it, the Houston Aeros. So there they were, Avco World Trophy Champions on the shelf, dreams of NHL glory dashed faster than a slap shot from Bobby Hull.
But fear not, Houston hockey fans! The hockey gods, in a moment of pity (or maybe just to mess with you some more), decided to bring the Aeros back... kind of. In 1994, a new team called the Houston Aeros took to the ice, this time in the International Hockey League (IHL). They even had a pretty sweet logo that looked like a futuristic bumblebee on steroids.
This version of the Aeros had its moments, but again, fate wasn't exactly on their side. The IHL folded in 2001, and the Aeros were absorbed by the American Hockey League (AHL) as an affiliate of the Minnesota Wild. It was a decent consolation prize, but it wasn't quite the NHL.
Finally, in 2013, the Aeros, much to the disappointment of Houston hockey fans, relocated to Iowa and became the Iowa Wild.
The End? Or Maybe a New Beginning?
So, what does this all mean for Houston and its hockey dreams? Well, the city still doesn't have an NHL team. But hey, there's always hope, right? Maybe someday, the hockey gods will shine down on Houston and grant them the NHL franchise they deserve. Until then, Houston hockey fans can reminisce about the glory days of the WHA Aeros, the not-quite-as-glorious days of the IHL/AHL Aeros, and of course, the legendary Gordie Howe proving that age is just a number (as long as that number is somewhere below 55).
