Hook Em

As many of you know, I didn't always live here in the armpit of the United States. I grew up in Texas, and in so doing, became a Texas Longhorns fan. In the interest of full disclosure, I was more of an A&M fan, but I also rooted for the Longhorns--when they weren't playing A&M, that is. Now, I know some of you would say, "OH NO!!! You can't be a fan of BOTH!" But that was back in the day when a rivalry was just a rivalry. There wasn't this out and out, seething hatred that exists among sports fans today.

My aunt and uncle and 4 cousins lived in Alabama. Every spring, we would go visit them, and every Christmas, they came to visit us. Actually, they came right after Christmas, and we loved it. It was like having a second Christmas. They stayed with our Grandma and Grandpa, but usually we kids would spend the night, either at our house or theirs. Oh, those were some good times. Good times.

My second oldest cousin, Diane, was the one closest to my age. She was a year and a half older than me, and we were inseparable. She ended up going to the University of Alabama. Naturally she was a Tide fan.

That year, 1982, Texas was playing Alabama in the Cotton Bowl. Now this was way back before the BCS, and the convoluted mess we have to deal with now. This was way back before the gajillion bowls they have now, when a bowl game actually meant something. When the teams that played in the bowls were the best of the college world, not the parade of mediocrity we see in the lesser bowls today--where any team that breaks even qualifies for a bowl game. But that's the subject of another post.

Texas was playing Alabama in the Cotton Bowl that year. Aunt Shirley and Uncle Jack and all the cousins were down for their annual visit, and we were having Christmas dinner all over again. With that many people, it was easier to eat "buffet style". All the dishes were laid out on the kitchen counters, and we filed through filling our plates. Then we went and sat down at the tables to eat. Uncle Jack asked the blessing, and the line started slowly moving. It was just about then that my dad leaned over to Diane and asked her

"Are you going to come back next week and watch the Crimson Tide become the Pink Puddle?"

Tonight, the University of Texas Longhorns and the University of Alabama Crimson Tide meet to play for the BCS National Championship. It's time for the Crimson Tide to become the Pink Puddle once again.

Hook 'em Horns!!!!

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