bluedogok
11/27/2007, 10:06 PM
I read this in the Austin paper today, I thought it was pretty humorous although it could pretty much describe much of the fan base at any big time program. Kelso is the old, curmudgeon writer of the paper doing mostly humor type pieces about keeping Austin the way it was. He also lives in the same neighborhood that I do.
Statesman.com - COMMENTARY: JOHN KELSO
If UT was as good at football as its fans expect, the moon would be made out of ice cream (http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/11/27/1127kelso.html)
By John Kelso
AMERICAN STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
I hate to burst your burnt orange bubble. But the fact is that despite all the hype, the University of Texas traditionally isn't very good at football.
So, why half the people in Austin continue to wring their hands and whine on the radio talk shows after each Longhorn flop like the one Friday against Texas A&M is beyond me.
There. I've said it. UT doesn't do football all that great. And I'm a Longhorn season ticket holder.
"So, how do you feel about sitting on the last row of the upper deck?" a friend asked. He's afraid the UT athletic department will banish me to the cheap seats for stating the obvious.
Oh, I realize UT is supposed to be good at football and is considered to be an annual kingpin. This year, UT made $63 million on football, and it charged up to $85 for a home game. Look up the University of Texas in Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, and you'll find this about Texas football: "The University of Texas has traditionally been considered a college football powerhouse (citation needed)."
However, look up "citation needed" in Wikipedia, and it says, "The 'citation needed' link you just followed is there because another editor felt that the preceding statement was dubious."
That's one way of putting it.
I have better bowls on my kitchen counter than the one the Longhorns will be going to this year.
Texas began playing football in 1893. Since then, it has won four national championships, and one of those was iffy because it ended the 1970 season by losing in the Cotton Bowl to Notre Dame.
But even if you give 'em that one, that's one national championship every 281/2 years.
A study co-authored by a UT psychologist says UT students drink more on big football game days than on traditional party days.
That's because if you watch UT play dead the way they did Friday against the Aggies, you need a good belt.
The funny thing is the annual unrealistically high expectations of the Longhorn fans, who seem so surprised and disappointed whenever Texas loses, like it's some kind of anomaly.
We used to have a bean counter working here at the newspaper who I considered to be an intelligent, reasonable man. One day he was crabbing about some Texas football disaster or other.
"Frank," I said, "you sound like you think Texas should win the national championship every year."
"They should," he said. And that's the problem. A lot of Texas fans think the Longhorns should win every game.
But the reality is that in their 100-plus years of football, they were only really hot for part of the '60s.
You could say the same thing about Joe Cocker.
Statesman.com - COMMENTARY: JOHN KELSO
If UT was as good at football as its fans expect, the moon would be made out of ice cream (http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/11/27/1127kelso.html)
By John Kelso
AMERICAN STATESMAN STAFF
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
I hate to burst your burnt orange bubble. But the fact is that despite all the hype, the University of Texas traditionally isn't very good at football.
So, why half the people in Austin continue to wring their hands and whine on the radio talk shows after each Longhorn flop like the one Friday against Texas A&M is beyond me.
There. I've said it. UT doesn't do football all that great. And I'm a Longhorn season ticket holder.
"So, how do you feel about sitting on the last row of the upper deck?" a friend asked. He's afraid the UT athletic department will banish me to the cheap seats for stating the obvious.
Oh, I realize UT is supposed to be good at football and is considered to be an annual kingpin. This year, UT made $63 million on football, and it charged up to $85 for a home game. Look up the University of Texas in Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, and you'll find this about Texas football: "The University of Texas has traditionally been considered a college football powerhouse (citation needed)."
However, look up "citation needed" in Wikipedia, and it says, "The 'citation needed' link you just followed is there because another editor felt that the preceding statement was dubious."
That's one way of putting it.
I have better bowls on my kitchen counter than the one the Longhorns will be going to this year.
Texas began playing football in 1893. Since then, it has won four national championships, and one of those was iffy because it ended the 1970 season by losing in the Cotton Bowl to Notre Dame.
But even if you give 'em that one, that's one national championship every 281/2 years.
A study co-authored by a UT psychologist says UT students drink more on big football game days than on traditional party days.
That's because if you watch UT play dead the way they did Friday against the Aggies, you need a good belt.
The funny thing is the annual unrealistically high expectations of the Longhorn fans, who seem so surprised and disappointed whenever Texas loses, like it's some kind of anomaly.
We used to have a bean counter working here at the newspaper who I considered to be an intelligent, reasonable man. One day he was crabbing about some Texas football disaster or other.
"Frank," I said, "you sound like you think Texas should win the national championship every year."
"They should," he said. And that's the problem. A lot of Texas fans think the Longhorns should win every game.
But the reality is that in their 100-plus years of football, they were only really hot for part of the '60s.
You could say the same thing about Joe Cocker.