What a difference a decade makes for UT football...

Going into 2000, Texas was still trying to find it's identity after becoming basically a perennial second-tier Top 20 team in the 90s. Going out, if we win against Alabama next week, this decade will be the standard by which all future generations of Longhorns teams will be measured in terms of wins and performance as we are a Top 10 top-tier school again.  While the titles have been few in the first ten years of the new millenium (OU also enjoyed equal success in the same decade), no one can say that the attitude and expectations haven't changed on the 40 acres.  Since 2000, we have had no season with less than 10 wins after only hitting that mark twice in the 90s and in the 80s.  The victories in the 2004 Rose Bowl, the 2005 Rose Bowl, & 2008 Fiesta Bowl as well as the heart-breaking loss in 2008 vs. Texas Tech are considered some of the best college football games in the past ten years.  We won a National Title in 2005 with the potential for another one just a week away.  We witnessed some of the greatest Longhorns' quarterbacks to lead the team in Applewhite, Young, and McCoy.  We saw some of the greatest receivers in Williams, Sweed, Cosby, and Shipley.  Defensively, we had Orakpo, Okam, Thomas, DJ, Ross, Vasher, Griffin, and Huff just to name a few.  In mentioning McCoy, we have enjoyed the ride of watching the best four years of any quarterback to ever play Div. I football.  Furthermore, by the time the dust settles, I also believe we will have witnessed the best Longhorns football player to ever don the Burnt Orange uniform in Colt McCoy.  Anyway, as the New Year approaches, I just wanted to share one fan's perspective on just how special the past ten years have been following the Texas Longhorns football program...

Hook 'em!