Upon all hell breaking loose miles above the earth, perhaps Jim Lovell could have told mission control, "Think something's wrong here, guys." Or, he could have said something like, "Houston, we've got serious issues and I need help." Why didn't Jim just say that?
Instead, Lovell just had to insert "Houston" and "problem" in the same sentence, and ever since, the phrase has become rather nightmarish to Houstonians due to insensitive headline writers who think that they're being clever and edgy and cool, but in reality, are simply taking numbers for a waiting room that has long been put out of business, closed down and blown to bits.
Go ahead. Search "Houston problem" on Google News (if you haven't already noticed, I'm doing my best not to say that darned phrase) and see what you come up with. In most cases, Bleacher Reporters suck the words dry, and then keep sucking, but we'll give them a break since their Bleacher Reporters. They've got more screw-ups to worry about.
However, no such excuse exists for mainstream media folks. I would link to all of the various times that I've seen the Apollo 13 allusion used in, say, the past week, but I'd rather spend three hours of my day watching paint dry, cows eat or the WNBA. No, seriously.
So, please, everyone: even if Houston does have a [serious issue], treat the headline as it would pertain to any other city. How often do we see, "Chicago, We Have A Problem?" Trust me, you'll be better for it. I'll actually read your entire article if it makes you feel better. Please, just stop.
Here, I'll even give you a head start: "Houston, We Have No Secondar"--- no, shoot, did it again.
(In fact, you're probably better off by avoiding a headline that begins with Houston and a comma. Just do that).
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