Houston superfan 'Downtown Dave' Rojas dies from COVID-19
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Houston sports fans are mourning the loss of one of their own. Dave Rojas, one of the founders of the "Big Hat Posse," died Friday morning from COVID-19.
He was also battling stage-4 colon cancer.
"Houston has a big hole, like with a big, big 'H,' because Dave Rojas is not in it anymore," Texans superfan Pati Cream said.
If you watched an Astros game in the last few years, chances are that you've seen Rojas, also known as "Downtown Dave."
He was always there.
Always smiling.
He was a constant through good times and bad.
During the 2017 World Series run, he and a couple of buddies started BHP, or the Big Hat Posse. On Friday, many of them gathered at Minute Maid Park to comfort and console each other after hearing of his passing.
"He was always the captain of getting everybody on the same page. Making sure we were there. Who's going to the game today? You never went to a game alone because Rojas is always there," Michelle Feagins said.
Baseball wasn't Rojas' only love. He also frequented Texans games, University of Houston games, Roughnecks games, you name it. When he was diagnosed with colon cancer a year or so ago, he still managed to check on friends in between chemo.
On New Year's Eve, things really took a turn when he was admitted to the hospital with COVID-19.
"Of course, the odds were against him, but we just thought he would pull through," David Gonzalez said.
Even though he didn't, Rojas' legacy and impact will live on. His friends will make sure of it.
"There's just people you meet in your life that you know right away that those people are good people. Dave, if I could say three words about him: caring, honest, respectful," Carlos Campos said.
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