After 75 years I’ve seen so much good and bad. I have mixed emotions about this rivalry. I actually learned to hate the Aggies way before I loved the Longhorns. (Remember in South Pacific….You Have To Learn To Hate). My Dad (UT ‘33) took care of that. He taugh my brother (UT ’63 PhD) and I to pinch our noses and say, " P.U., Aggies stink." About the same time we learned to hold our balls (they weren’t quite there yet actually) and snap a smart Heil Hitler salute. We weren’t too careful when and where we acted this out. One time at church no less, I still can picture it today, I grabbed my balls and said, Heil Aggies. My brother started laughing at this switch, and then I joined in. It was impossible for my Dad to get us to stop laughing. Young kids can have that happen to them. It was out to the car for both of us.

I have other reasons for hating the Aggies. The first movie our folks took us to was pre-WWII and was about the Aggies. If anyone reading this remembers the name of the movie, I would like to know. Anyway all I remember was the horses pulling the caissons and the loud cannon which was what started me screaming. My Dad had to take me out, and when he tried to take me back in, I screamed all the louder. We had to go to our car again. I never asked him why he took us to that movie. He did have some Aggie friends both as competors in college and as a high school football and track coach.

I could go on about the Aggies forever but a few more stories. I was a student at NTSC before grad school at UT and was just across town from TSCW. Every year the Aggies would either play SMU or TCU which called for a big road trip up to Denton and a co-mingling of Aggies and Tessies. The Tessies got to stay out very late that Sat. night, and the cars lined both sides of the main street on the TSCW campus. Three buddies and I got some eggs and headed for TSCW. We cruised the campus to look things over. My buddy sat close to me up front and my two friends in the back snuggled togather. (The Denton cops were everywhere from earlier problems.) We made a final pass down the street and off the campus throwing eggs as we went aiming at open windowsm if possible. I saw one car in the rear view mirror try to pull out, saw only one light, so he must have been parked too close or had other problems getting going. The next morning my car had been egged. I had a 4 door boxy 48 Plymouth – not a common college car in the 50’s – and found my car egged the next morning. I think it was a North Texas student rather than an Aggie.

One final story. My first year in grad school I had to do a little teaching which brought me in contact with some pretty good looking chicks. (I won’t brag about who specifically, but pick up an annual from that year and you’ll see several.) I had a couple dates with one who was later a “Sweetheart of Signa Xi”. I really liked her, and she probably the same. But one Sat. night I drove by Kinsolving and saw her going inside with an Aggie in uniform. I never called her back as she became “damaged merchandise”. No kidding. I really felt that way then.

Of all the UT-A&M games I’ve seen, I would have to say the ‘63 win was most important. They had us beat. But at the last instant we won. Had we lost, no MNC and maybe no Cotton Bowl against Navy. Just as I began, after 75 years I need to let the past go, so I’m not upset with Aggie going to the SEC.. As had been said before, they deserve each other.

I do think the modern-day Aggie is not as bad as those before the 60"s. I think it was the addition of females. I think if you allow me to use only one word to describe the Aggies, I would say it would have to be shameless.