Before 2017-2023 was this team loved or was considered irrelevant and butt of the joke by media and fans? Before they were successful

I wanted to ask all of you who grew up before astros rise to Glory. Did opposing fans and media not care about the team and made fun of them or wrote the off?

I been curious to know my dad says media never cared about Houston teams in general until now with Astros but what do you guys think