When We Fell In Love

I started getting into it as Texas built the reputation for having Nebraska’s number, culminating with the big conference championship win. From there, Mack has taken the program to heights someone as young as I am could hardly have imagined.

The sheets of rain were moving westward over the eastern grandstands. The new sheet came wave after wave and soak those of us in the lower bowl.

1983 National Champion baseball team- Cliff Gustafson, Calvin Schalidi, Roger Clemens and Billy Bates!!!! I must have been about 11 or 12 years old?? My brother went to UT and some of my cousins are alums!! I went to Texas State, but plenty of friends and relatives went to UT. I also lived in Austin for a few years, so I guess that gives me a connection to UT!!! I bleed orange!!! Hook’em

Texas had always been my default “team” and I generally knew their notable players and record, but I never really cared that much about college football (I was first and foremost a Dallas Stars fan). I started at Texas in 2001 and, since football was at least interesting and I technically had an interest in the Longhorns, I started watching all of their games.

Late the OU game when Simms threw the interception to Lehman, it was like a punch to the gut and felt far worse than almost* any Stars loss I’d been to. If a regular season Texas loss could sting that much, I knew that they were and always would be my “team.” I gradually fell in love with the Longhorns, but that crappy game was when I suddenly realized it.

*seriously, screw you Edmonton and New Jersey

My dad bought season tickets in ’76 or ’77 when I was about three or four years old. He got four tickets, west side, 30 rows up, about the 20 yard line…donation at that time was $200 for all four tickets. I think it costs it a bit more now.

Anyway, my dad started taking me to games when I was about six years old, but it wasn’t until I was nine years old that actually being a Longhorns Fan meant more to me than just a fun way to pass a Saturday. Until that age, the best part of game day was the walk to the stadium, passing Jester as students hung bed sheets out their windows with funny messages written on them and would blast music from speakers propped up on the window sill…oh and I also learned every cuss word in the book thanks to the crotchety old man that sat behind us (and Field Goal Fred Akers’ ineptitude in the Red Zone).

But on this day, Thanksgiving, 1982, the Horns hung half a hundred on the hapless Ags – it was still a few years before Jackie Sherrill taught creative financing to A&M athletic dept. – and midway through the 4th quarter, my mom announced, “boys, it’s Thanksgiving, this is a blowout and I want to get home to start cooking.”

Well instead of just saying, “okay,” like a kid who could care less as long as he got some hot chocolate on the way out, I threw a temper tantrum right then and there in seat 2, row 33, and refused to move. Damn it, we were staying and if not, they were going to have to drag me out of there.

It finally clicked. I was a diehard.

My dad knew better than to cross my mom, so he stayed pretty quiet, but I know he was so proud he could have cried. Because he knew he was no longer alone in the fight to make football our family’s national past time.

Hell, I think the old man sitting behind us even let out a, “f*ckin’ A right, kid.”

Fortunately for me, i was able to negotiate a compromise with my mom…the 9 year old genius extortionist that I was….and basically, the deal was this, if Texas scored another TD, then we could leave. There was about 7 or 8 minutes left on the clock and Texas had the ball deep on their end so I figured I was in good shape.

Unfortunately, UT went 78 yards in 4 plays making the score 53-10 and we were headed for the exits before the extra point was through the uprights.

Oh well, I was Hooked.

Enjoyed this thread…great post idea. I bet a lot us diehards could use a reminder right about now.

BTW, I wrote a commentary about your Mizzou game back in 2000…not one my better ones, but might be fun for you relive some old memories.

I attended the only two blowouts of the season – Indiana (35-0), and Mississippi in the Bluebonnet Bowl (19-0). In the stands in the Indiana game, I overcame my incredible shyness and hollered , “Hey Indiana! What was your score against Vassar?” Got a laugh from those around me, which was almost as embarrassing as standing up and hollering. I loved watching Chris Gilbert, who, in the words of DKR would “get traction with both feet in the air.”
And then the Wishbone! Omygosh! 30 games in a row! Street, Worster, etc. I graduated during that streak and got a job in California. During the next season, I was absolutely insufferably obnoxious in the office with each new win. Surprised I didn’t get fired, or at least injured. Dang, that was fun!
Then there was The Big Shootout with Arkansas in 1969. A really wonderful aftermath of that game was the following year, when #4 Arkansas came to Austin. At one point, the score was 14-7 Horns, and Arkansas was on the Texas 1-yard line. Burnett took four straight shots at the line and did not make it. Then Texas marched 99 yards in 13 rushing plays to make it 21-7. Sweet.

I was raised in a house that bled burnt orange. My dad has been a fan since the Royal years and I was taught to love all Texas athletics. The first game I can remember came in 1984 in Lubbock. I remember how happy I was to see those white uniforms and that burnt orange longhorn on the helmets. I didn’t really grasp that concept, except for the fact that I could tell who the D and O was and when a score or big play occured. #99 was all over the place that day, who I later found out was Tony Degrate, #2 also made some frequent plays, Jerry Gray. Texas won 13-10.
Again, in Lubbock, 1992 is when I fell in love with Texas. I finally understood all of what was going on and watched Adrian Walker run all over the Raiders and I was the only one in a group of 15 that left Jones stadium feeling satisfied. I have not missed a televised game since. My first experience in DKR reminded me of, Rudy’s father when he walked in to the stadium saying “…this is the greatest sight these eyes have ever seen.” Finally I was able to take in the tradition and gameday experience that only further cemented my loyalty to the longhorns.Unfotrunately I was never able to experience Texas as a student, but I have never been anything but a Texas fan.

 My father was an armchair quarterback always tuned in to Longhorn games when they were on. His younger brother(Uncle Bob) played for Texas in 1953 and ’54 so we were raised saying “hook ’em” and throwing our horns up. Our father went so far as to hand-paint bevo on the side of our kid-sized helmets.
 I continued the armchair tradition and was a solid Longhorn “TV” fan. I had friends over to watch Texas/ou games and drink beer and there was a family tradition of watching on Thanksgiving, of course.
  Through all this time, there was little emotional investment on my part. Sure I would get a little mad about losses but no depression or internalized anger…life went on.
 Then, in 2000, I bought 5 tickets to the Cotton Bowl. One for me, my two younger brothers and their two “significant others”. That was the first game I ever attended and it was instant love. Arkansas won the game, but I was forever hooked. Season ticket holder, pink parking lot tailgater and road-game warrior! \m/

The pre-season #1 “Hook ’em” sign on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1973 really got me fired up, ‘cause I knew I would be going to school there. (I know, I know, “the curse” – we should never want to be S.I.’s pre-season #1). But I think the most exhilerating moment – when I knew I was irrevocably hooked – was my freshman year. The 1974 Texas-A&M game had just started, and I was late getting to the stadium because I had agreed to wait for a friend from high school, and her Aggie boyfriend. As we all walked down 21st Street past Jester, “Smokey” went off, and the crowd went wild. The Horns had scored in the first minute of play. We had not even reached the stadium, when “Smokey” went off again, and the crowd was insane. As I recall, the Horns had recovered an Aggie fumble, and returned it for a touchdown. At that time, we did not yet know how it happened, but we could see that, with more than 14 minutes remaining in the first quarter, the score was already Texas 14, A&M 0. I will never forget the look on the Aggie’s face after each of the cannon blasts (he almost turned around and went home). I was elated at what was happening, but sick that I had missed seeing it. I knew then that I would never again wait for anyone if it meant I would miss part of a game. Hook ’em!

My whole family went to UT. Dad worked there for 40 years and met my Mom when she was a student. Had hand-made baby clothes in burnt orange. Born and raised.

My favorite game attended was the ‘04 OSU game. Front row, right behind the D’s benches. We were screaming at DJ to tackle dammit. I couldn’t talk for 3 days after that game.

Shock the Nation… sold me on the Longhorns and my desire to head to Austin…
Watched the 91 team stink up the joint at DKR and so decided to help the team out by walking on… 3 Letters, an Athletic Scholie and a lot of great memories later we were the Final SWC Champs… I bleed Orange now and forever… I have my ups and downs with the teams… My T ring will never allow me to be done with this team ever…

I was a UT guy all my life, my Dad went as did my sister and I followed in their footsteps, but it took me some time before I was a full fledged longhorn sports fan. I started watching football when I was about 14, but I really started watching with my Dad in 1996. My Dad had a penchant for screaming/cursing/flailing, etc…a tradition which I now carry on myself. But that day we both watched that game on the edge of our seats, amazed that we were even in the game at all. Neither one of us spoke because we didn’t want to jinx anything and so it was mostly silent until that fateful play. Brown rolls out hits Lewis for 61 yards and sets up the game clinching score. We both went nuts…father and son jumping for joy, amped out of our minds…I can still hear the call in my head. Obviously, that was a great moment for just about every Longhorn on the planet, but for me it was the day I started living and dying with Texas football. It is also one of my favorite memories of watching football with my dad…he’s mellowed out these days…but I still carry the torch!

I sat on the 50-yard line for this game

I ran onto the field after the game – it was epic and I was hooked (no pun intended) for life.

I’ve been hooked on the Horns since I was old enough to carry a football. I was an Air Force brat living in Austin. Like patriks10 , I had a kids helmet that my dad had painted Longhorns on. I would watch games, sitting on the living room floor, wearing that helmet.

My father’s uncle was a life-long season-ticket holder, who lived in San Antonio. One Saturday in 1973, he drove to my house, in his burnt-orange winnebego, and suprised me with a ticket to see my first game. I was 6 years old. I remember how big I felt riding in the front seat of that winnebego. I could hardly see over the dash. I remember how smart he looked. He was a fan, as 54b discribes, that “dressed up.” He wore a burnt-orange blazer, burnt-orange tie, and cowboy boots. I remember how huge the stadium felt, the roar of the crowd, and the whippin’ we gave Rice. I’ve been to several games since, but none can replace the sights, sounds, and emotions of that first one.

A few years later my mom took me to a fan appreciation (of some sorts) to see some guy named Earl. I’ll never forget it!

Earliest memory of a UT game. We lost in the final minutes, but I was a fan for life.

for giving us old diehards a chance to think back and remember some really great times. Reading all of the posts makes me realize just how much The Longhorns have given to so many people. In a season filled with suckiness it’s been nice to read something that made me smile.

Personal favorite memories-James Street breaking out what is now called the Wishbone, Earl Campbell rolling across anything and everything that came between him and the goal line, Ricky running against that school in college station,and running and running. The first appearance of BOOM M’fer. NOT going to jail 0u weekend 1979. Vince hoisting that crystal football over his head with the confetti floating around him. Standing and singing “Poor aggys” in the freezing cold so pumped we didn’t know we were cold. November 27 2008 looking at the final scoreboard that said US 49 them 9. Daughter number 1 learning her first “bad word” during the 0u game of 1985.

Thank you again for giving us a few “happy thoughts” tvr. See you all at the game Saturday. Hook ’em.

I knew I had a crush when I was applying to colleges, and decided UT was the best fit. I didn’t watch much college football (Dad’s a Green Bay fan, and never really watched college ball having gone to a school with a shoddy team).

Then, I remember channel surfing on one January 4, 2006 and my dad landing on the game. I watched curiously as UT seemed to fall hopelessly behind. And then…then there was Vince. I watched USC’s lead narrow. The last thing I remember is cheering uncontrollably after a 4th and 5, and not knowing why, having no allegiance to the ’Horns whatsoever. It just felt right.

I knew I was in love when I slept, a drunken freshman with orange paint in my hair, on the steps of Meyers awaiting College Gameday before the OSU game, and proceeded to paint myself burnt orange, followed up by my first Texas-OU weekend (also painted orange). I knew I had a keeper.

I was reassured that love would be forever during Texas-OU in 2008, and the following week when we had Mizzou at home. I have never seen DKR so amped, and it gives me goosebumps just thinking about how perfect that night was.

Ever since, I’ve known I’m addicted to that love because read and post on this blog. And I know I’m in company. I may not have grown up with the ’Horns, but it was, simply put, meant to be.

on the radio…with my grandfather…driving from Houston to Pt. Arthur to see my great grandmother (still alive at 98 yrs of age)…the rest is history.

Hook’em

1st football game of any kind I ever watched.

The next year I would start playing football and I still remember Bruce Cannon showing up at practice one day in his TEXAS orange jersey. He was a pretty good LB for us though now has little to do with football.

I know it was a Texas v ATM game. Thats all I can remeber but since then I have been rooting for Burnt Orange.

As far back as I can remember, the Horns have always been one of the biggest parts of my life. I vaguely recall several games at Memorial Stadium in the early 80’s as a young child. The one thing that stuck out was that deep dark burnt orange. Not the brighter Nike orange, but the Rooster Andrews, Austin Texas, absolute Longhorn orange.

I will always associate the Horns with my grandfather. His old worn out UT baseball hat, him and I spending springs at the Disch, falls at Memorial and winters in the Drum. Almost brings a tear to the eye at this moment.

I was born and raised in Austin. UT was the only school I ever wanted to attend. There was no equal. My mother thought I should attend college elsewhere since I had lived in Austin all my life. So off I went. I was back by my sophomore year. She wasted a lot of money at that one-year private college excursion.

I dated a guy that played football for that private college I was forced to attend for a year. When they played Texas, I enjoyed watching him get sacked several times by our defense. It wasn’t personal; I just enjoyed watching UT’s D pulverize any QB. That’s when I knew I had to go home. There was only one place for me.

I remember how proud I was after we beat ’Bama & Namath in that Orange Bowl.

Attending these games was what got me on the train:

Phil Dawson’s kick to beat Virginia

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En95yoOSxCQ&feature=related

and the close loss to Notre Dame at home, with the big Westbrook hit:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icNQ4WfP-wE&feature=related

I was in second grade and my teacher sent me to the library as a reward for being the only kid who didn’t have to redo an assignment. I got out a kids’ book on Earl Campbell. I remember seeing Earl play against A&M on TV (we lived in NJ so there wasn’t a whole lot of coverage) and I remember him winning the Heisman.

As luck would have it, my Dad got transferred to Texas when I was 13 and the rest is history. I remember the 15-15 tie with OU in 1984. As a freshman in 1987, we had a simply horrible season but with the emergence of Peter Gardere, a thousand personal memories were formed. My brother followed me to UT six years later and he was there during some of Ricky Williams’ success.

I now live in the northeast and have been to both BCS Championships. The last one saw me take my 11 year old son who’d never been to a Longhorn game and is equally hooked on the Horns!

Man those Land Thieves were pee-ood about that game. :-) I hate ties, but it could have been a loss. We got away with one that day.

My first memory of Texas football was beating Tennessee (my mom’s alma mater) in the cotton bowl back in what, ‘68. The orange got more burnt that year to help differentiate from "The other UT’s" shade of orange, which got lighter by the way.