The Alma Mater

When all was said and done, the Longhorns had lost to Kansas State 39-14 at  Bill Snyder Family Football Stadium.  It wasn't pretty, but it wasn't particularly surprising.

It was November 6, 2010.  After the game, the players and coaches gathered up in front of the band and the visitors section to sing The Eyes of Texas before leaving the field.

Home or away, win or lose, the 'Horns repeat this ritual after every game.  Over the last 12, years I haven't missed many of the post-game sing-a-longs. 

So there I stood, among the players' parents and traveling Longhorn faithful - my 'Horns were up as the band started to play. Imagine my disappointment when I looked down at the field and saw that about 10% of the players didn't have their 'Horns up.  At least 25% of them weren't singing along.

I was a little irritated.  Even more irritating than the lack of participation in the school's Alma Mater on the field was the nagging notion that I'd had this particular irritating feeling before.

I know what you're thinking:  I just don't get it.  I'm not a football player.  I wasn't out there on the field, playing my heart out for four quarters.  I'm not exhausted like the team.  I didn't just get physically and emotionally banged up out there.  I wasn't just heckled by fans.  I don't understand how bad it feels to not get it done and bring home a win.

And all those thoughts are true (save that visiting fans are often heckled by the home crowd and I've been  emotionally banged up by some of the games I've seen).  Being a football player for the University of Texas is something I'll never understand.

But here's some things I do understand:  I've been to every home game since I went off to college - the 1998 season.  Since then, in the last 166 games played, I have been to 142 of them.  That's 86% of the games in the last 12 years.  This means I've been to more University of Texas football games than Major Applewhite has, and that Mack Brown only has me beat by 24 games. 

I've lived in Dallas since 2003 - this means every game except Texas/Oklahoma at the Cotton Bowl is an away game for me. 

So here I am on November 6th in Manhattan, Kansas.  To get here I had to take a day of vacation from my job, drop half a paycheck on travel, sit at the airport through a 3 hour flight delay, drive a rental car 130 miles from the airport to Junction City and sleep in a hotel so filthy that I wouldn't even shower in it.

But you know what?  I was SO EXCITED to do it.  Because I love the 'Horns and I love University of Texas Football.  My traveling girls and I knew full well that we were going to lose to K-State before we even booked that flight, four losses into the season and we still wanted to be there, wearing orange in a sea of purple.

We cheered through that game, endured the heckling & the haters and yelled support on every drive.  Even when it was the 4th quarter and the Longhorns had yet to score, we stayed in the stands and cheered for our guys out there.   We didn't give up after that 5th interception or that 2nd fumble.  We love the team and we love the game, that's why we were there.

And yet when the game was over and the band played our school song, some of the players couldn't even bother to put their 'Horns up and spend 60 seconds with their parents, the cheerleaders, the band and the other traveling fans.  All those people that supported them, week in and week out...all those people that came to Kansas to cheer for them, win or lose.

When it was all said and done, they couldn't take one minute to sing The Eyes of Texas - with me.