BENJAMIN YOUNG
Staff Writer
Most people do not immediately guess that I hail from the great state of Texas. It could be because I do not have much of an accent, nor do I have any Texas flags hanging in my room or car. I do not drive a truck with a gun rack in the back, and I most certainly do not ride a horse and park him in the Fieldhouse lot. In spite of all this, I am a Texan.
There are things about Texas that I deeply love. There is nothing like a Friday night in my state. The entire population lives, breathes and dies for one thing – high school football, and if no high school football is available, then junior high football is a worthy substitute.
I will never forget going to one of my first high school football games. My school was nationally ranked in the top-10, and the opponents were something like top-five. More importantly, they were number one in the state, and we were number two (who really cares about national rankings anyway?). The game was sold out, and the buzz was tangible. That Friday night in Mesquite, Texas, 24,000 people showed up. It was a truly singular experience.
People outside of Texas just do not understand our obsession with football. My sophomore year, our big rivalry game was coming up – the North Mesquite Stallions versus the Mesquite Skeeters (I kid you not), and this game was for the top spot in our division, 10-5A. This game tends to bring out simultaneously the best and the worst in the players and the fans. The day before the big game, a couple of Skeeter thugs showed up at my school and loosened the lug nuts on our star running back’s car. Fortunately for him, after his wheels pretty much fell off, he was able to guide the car into the median and wait for help. Four people were shot the next night at the game – I can only imagine said thugs were probably involved.
I say this to try to help explain the pain many of us Texans feel when we get to Pepperdine in the fall. We’ve essentially been de-footballized. Yes, I just invented a word – go with it. That’s what we Texans do best – stategery, anyone? Not only does Pepperdine not have a team to watch, but California high school football does not cut it. Then, compound the problem that we have to move out of our native television market. Instead of being able to watch the greatness of Big XII football on Saturdays, we now have to watch the drivel that is PAC-10 football.
Let me play this out for you. While there might be some big rivalry games out here, nothing compares to the purity that is the Red River Shootout – University of Texas versus University of Oklahoma. In the life of Texans, it really does not get any bigger than this game. For sports fans, you know the deep pain we Longhorn fans have felt at the hand of the evil Bob Stoops for the last, oh, say, five or six years. This year will be different though. Mark my words on that.
OK, returning to my story, my friends and I got all stoked up to watch the big game and wham! Like a scud missile had just descended from the heavens onto our freshman dorm (Rho fo’eva), we realized that the game would not be televised. What? Well, God, if you’re out there, a little manipulation of the cable box would be really appreciated. But alas, the game would not be ours for the watching. Instead, we were forced to watch some rag-tag game that in the large scope of things meant absolutely nothing (I believe the game was Oregon versus Oregon State – go Ducks, wait, who cares?).
At least this last weekend, I was able to watch the greatness of Texas beat Ohio State. Sadly, this is probably the last I will see of my team until bowl season. Oh well, at least I can eagerly anticipate watching Vince Young and Co. destroy that little team from USC. Oh, what is that you say? Vince won’t win the Heisman? Well, boo-hoo. Heisman or no, we’re taking the National Championship this year. And after we stomp you in the Rose Bowl, you can take that Heisman, parade it around like a bunch of ninnies and then remember who you got slapped up by. And even better, if only for one year, Texas will once again prove why it is better than California, and all of us Texas expatriates will be able to bask in the glory of watching some good Texas football. Let’s get the party organized – I’ll bring the Dr. Pepper.
09-15-2005
