the tindog coffeehouse

I’m still a Texas Longhorns fan. I want to be perfectly clear about that.

But it’s becoming harder every year.

This year’s Thanksgiving game between Texas and TCU was one that I had been salivating over for a year, ever since Texas A&M bolted for the SEC and the Horned Frogs were finally allowed to sit at the adult table with the rest of their former SWC brethren. Texas needed someone to fill their annual Turkey Day game, and since most of the 2012 schedule had already been filled, it was easiest just to stick TCU in that slot. Few expected that to be a permanent new tradition, but as both a Texas fan and TCU fan, I was happy for what I got.

I wondered at the time, though, who I would root for. With the Horns and Frogs in different conferences, I rarely had to choose; I could root for both equally since they rarely played each other. With them both in the Big 12, however, I would have to decide a preference. By the beginning of the year, I knew that preference would be the Frogs.

The funny thing is, though, that preference would’ve been there regardless of the Big 12 realignment.

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“If you woke up the morning and felt differently,” tweeted ESPN, “that’s because college football is back.”

That’s right kids. The long drought is finally over. Basketball season? Ancient history. The Olympics? A distant memory. Baseball? A mere distraction. This, ladies and gentlemen, is all that matters every Saturday from now through January 7th. May the odds be ever in your favor.

So where do we stand on opening day of the 2012 college football season? Well, for one, the BCS is officially on deathwatch, with its demise expected in 2014. And then there’s the whole Penn State thing (whose punishment wasn’t nearly severe enough, in my opinion). And Ohio State is also banned from a bowl game this year. And finally there’ve been a few conference changes. (Yes, of course I’m talking about the University of North Texas joining Conference USA.)

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Previously:
And it’s goodbye to A&M
Why I’m a fan
That awkward moment when your daughter says she wants to go to Texas A&M

Next week will be the 118th time the University of Texas will play Texas A&M in football. And it looks like it’ll also be the last, at least for the foreseeable future. As of July 1, 2012, A&M will be part of the SEC, and the historic intrastate rivalry between the Longhorns and Aggies will officially come to an end. Of course, it’s not the first rivalry to be torn asunder by the seismic shifts of conference realignment over the past couple of years, but it’s arguably one of the best and certainly one of the most personal for anyone who grew up in the state of Texas. Whether you went to Texas or A&M or not, whether you even knew anyone who went to Texas or A&M, you were a fan of one or the other. Even if you bled Red Raider red, you came down on one side of the fence or the other. There was no escaping it.

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Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

– James 3:1

As the news broke last weekend of the horrific crimes committed by former Penn State defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, speculation began about head coach Joe Paterno and the impact it would have on his 46-year coaching career. Media figures rushed to JoePa’s defense, using words like “legendary” and arguing that he was a good man who did the right thing by reporting what he knew to the university administration. Penn State players and alumni rallied behind him. And after Paterno was fired last night, students rioted in the streets of State College in protest.

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I grew up in Lubbock, Texas, home of Buddy Holly, cotton, and endless miles of flat dirt. Which means I also grew up as a Texas Tech fan. Some of my fondest childhood memories are of going to the Tech games with my grandparents. My Papa would always wear his red and black cowboy boots, and I’d cross my fingers and hope the Saddle Tramps would throw a little red football my way. Then when it got cold, we’d huddle under a blanket and drink hot chocolate out of a Thermos and ooh and ahh over the Goin’ Band from Raiderland. On a field trip once, we got to run out onto the field at Jones Stadium, and it was like a dream come true.

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