Thursday, October 09, 2008

I've been fraternizing with the enemy...

My pal Prochein Amy is a terrific gal, despite being one of those University of Texas Longhorn types. A few weeks ago she asked me to do a guest post over at her place to get the whole OU/TX weekend thing going. As she was gracious enough to post mine in its entirety without snarky commentary, I shall afford her the same respect.

Hello from Amy, she who does not speak of college loyalties with Kris, except for now. Kris guest posted on my blog about OU. I wanted a different viewpoint on my usual pregame summary of our opposing team. She has asked me to guest post in return.

The Texas mascot is the longhorn cattle, which are tough and strong. We are currently on our 14th Bevo., who has been our official mascot since the end of 2006. Bevo is present at all home games, a few away games, and he will be at the Red River Shootout on Saturday.

Based on the longhorn, the Texas fans show support with the "Hook'em Horns" hand sign that looks like the longhorns horns. Fingers are stretched wide to avoid being confused with the sign of the devil. (tehe)

Burnt orange and white are Texas colors, with the original color being bright orange. Since orange tends to fade, burnt orange was selects. During WWII the cost of dyes went up, so it was back to bright orange. Daryl Royal brought back the burnt orange in 60s, but Mack Brown brought it back to life. Before Mack pushed the true burnt orange and encouraged fans to "Come Early...Be Loud...Stay Late...Wear Orange!", most people leaned towards the white. I look good in burnt orange, so no complaints here!

Texas's oldest rival is the A&M Aggies, but now they are more like an annoyance. In more recent history, OU has been the bane of our existence. Kris explained about the Red River Shootout on my blog. It is unique to be in a neutral site and it tends to give a more even playing field. The stadium is split at the 50 yard line, with half going to each side. It is amazing to see the crimson/burnt orange line down the middle. Also as Kris mentioned, this game can have unexpected outcomes. I have mixed emotions about going to this game since the walk back to the car is even longer when you have lost.

I did not attend the University of Texas, but my husband did. He has been a fan since he was 4 years old and can remember listening to the games on the radio. What initially "hooked" me most is the traditions surrounding the game. The band, the cheers, the songs, the spirit and all the traditions. Over time, I have grown to love the game of football itself. So technically, you could say I am really a fan of Texas Football, but I get excited when Texas excels in other areas. Which they tend to do quite a bit.

The game this Saturday will be very interesting since OU is ranked #1 and Texas is #5. Both teams have great quarterbacks. The spread is only one touchdown in OU's favor. Not much of a spread, so even the Vegas bookies know it will be close.

Thanks to Kris for equal time and for not holding my Texas loyalties against me. I love reading her blog and can easily get past her crazy OU-ness.

No comments: