Dallas vs Houston rivalry is too harsh

I don't know why, but I feel that children in Houston are taught to hate people from Dallas growing up. At least that is how it seems to me.

I am constantly scrutinized for wearing a Dallas Cowboys shirt or a Texas Rangers hat. I think this hatred is stemmed from jealousy. I mean, who wouldn't be jealous of a franchise that has won five championships and is labeled "America's Team," or of a team that has gone to back-to-back World Series? And when the Astros come to the American League West, where the Texas Rangers reside, I feel that the hatred will only increase.

But this hatred extends beyond sports. It seems to me that people from Houston see Dallas as some sort of white-collar, snobby place where everyone drives a Mercedes or a BMW; however, this is not true. Every city has snobs, including Houston.

According to Dallasnews.com, Dallas has approximately 5,750 homeless people and the percentage has risen in the past year. You can hardly go anywhere in Dallas without seeing a homeless person. A homeless man once grabbed my shirt begging for money at a McDonald's in Dallas. And yes, Houstonians can make the argument that Houston has more homeless than Dallas, but that is because it is home to 689,000 more people than Dallas.

I also always hear about how Houston is so much bigger than Dallas, and it's true. According to Yahoo's Healthy Living, Houston is the sixth fattest city in the United States. Dallas doesn't even rank in the top 25.

 Most Houston natives cringe when they even hear the word Dallas, but aren't we all from Texas? I don't ever recall criticizing someone in Dallas for wearing some sort of Houston gear, or discriminating against him or her for being from there.

Last semester, I was walking to the dining hall on a Sunday afternoon wearing a Cowboys jersey. I hadn't even crossed Sam Houston Avenue before I was yelled at. Someone actually went through the trouble of rolling down their window and screaming, "*@#$ the Cowboys!" from the other side of the street.

Since I've lived in Huntsville, I have learned that Dallas has a negative connotation. I even heard someone call it one of the meanest cities in America, but from what I have experienced down here, I think Houston should be somewhere on that list.

Getting yelled at by a strangers and people making jokes about the city I was born in isn't going to make me like Houston and it definitely won't get me to cheer for the Texans or the Astros.

Personally, I think what Houston feels towards Dallas is a bad case of little brother syndrome, but I think we, as Texas natives, should find common ground, and understand that people from different cities are going to be different. This playground rivalry will probably never end, so let's just agree to disagree on which city is "better."