Arkansas 40, Texas 21
September 11, 2021 • Fayetteville, Arkansas
After a lackluster first half, our guys scored 21 in the second, but this one was never close. Yuck.
At least the bacon was tasty.
Back in Bevo Business
19 Feb
Texas 38, Louisiana 18
September 4, 2021 • DKR
Hey, it’s good to be back home again! As the PR materials proclaimed, “Home is where the Horns are.”
After the weird 2020 season, it was great to get back to tailgating and Bevo Blvd., back to having a full stadium, back to seeing the Longhorn Band at the game. Everybody was in a great mood to be getting back to business, and more than a couple of times, I had to wipe away a tear or two, just so grateful to have this Longhorn family reunion after a year away.
Because of construction on the new Moody Center directly across from our old tailgate, our guys had to find a new hangout. Athletic Director Chris Del Conte himself suggested this patch of grass just north of Bevo Blvd., and it worked out beautifully! It’s super close to Hook ‘Em’s Hangout where all the food trucks are parked, so everyone can grab whatever they want to eat. It’s not far from the alumni center, either, so a restroom is nearby.
The Ragin’ Cajuns use a pepper for their apostrophe, so I used peppers for this Hook ‘Em!
Our new entrance
Sign o’ the times!
With the Learfield Director’s Cup for the best athletic program in the country
T shows Cory Redding other signatures on Ronnie’s trailer
Cory Redding signs Ronnie’s trailer
The Tailgate Masterminds (with Cory Redding)
New coach Steve Sarkisian knew this was a must-win, and win he did! It took both Hudson Card and Casey Thompson to take Sam Ehlinger’s place, but they threw for three combined touchdowns, and Bijan Robinson again rushed for 100+ yards.
The 2021 season brought us the chance to get back to our old ways while embracing the new.After spending last season in a nearly empty DKR, it was a blast to have seats full again. Speaking of seats, this season took us away from our Section 1 spot near the exit on row 52. With the exception of the COVID year, we had been there since 2002, but the new south endzone made our old seats too close to the edge and Godzillatron. The new standing-room terraces also blocked the view of the scoreboard. John T. asked and received a better place for us, and we ended up on a lower row in Section 2, just a tiny bit to the north but low enough that we could still get an unobstructed view of the screen. Steve and Brian, the father-son pair who had sat beside us for those 18 years on row 52, made the move, too! In our new location, we made new friends of the guys who sat in front of us, and they soon became tailgate regulars.
The Sunday after the game, Dede and I got to see our volleyball team beat Stanford in Gregory Gym. We have seen volleyball play TCU in Fort Worth bunches of times, but it was a thrill to see them in the rockin’ Greg, their home court.
Drop Your Buffs
18 Feb
Texas 55, Colorado 23
December 29, 2020 • Valero Alamo Bowl, San Antonio
As a fan of the TV show Survivor, I have a couple of Buffs, the bandana-like head coverings contestants wear. Since our Horns were playing the Buffaloes, a.k.a. the “Buffs,” I couldn’t resist the chance to merge my two fandoms.
It was great to be back in San Antonio for yet another Alamo Bowl, but this one was unlike any other. The typically packed stairs and corridors were empty. In the seating bowl, every other row was roped off, and large numbers of seats were zip-tied closed. All spread out, we ended up kinda lonely in the upper deck, but hey, we were there!
And even though we couldn’t go inside, we still made our required family stop by the Alamo.
The other tradition we made sure to follow: Winning our bowl game! This one was never in doubt, and it was fun to kiss this strange season goodbye with a victory. And even though he only played in the first half before Casey Thompson took over, it was nice to see Sam Ehlinger end his Longhorn career with a W.
The next day we celebrated with lunch at Mi Tierra’s, the renowned San Antonio institution that we had never managed to visit previously. We also went to the botanical garden so Katie could see the cool terraces that were used in the 1980s movie Cloak and Dagger.
Whew! It was a wild, weird season, but as always, I never took attending these games for granted. Especially in stadiums that were only a quarter full, it was a privilege to be there to cheer for my team in person!
Win-Loss
18 Feb
Texas 69, Kansas State 31
December 5, 2020 • Manhattan, Kansas
The Horns won, but my spelling pic was lost. I much prefer that to the other way around!
The following week, I had planned to watch the Horns beat up Kansas, but alas, COVID disqualified too many of their players, and the game was canceled. So I’m gonna just go ahead and put this score:
Texas 100000000000000000000, Kansas 0
December. 12, 2020 • Lawrence, Kansas
Now who’s ready for a bowl game?
Windblown
18 Feb
Iowa State 23, Texas 20
November 27, 2020 • DKR
We came close, but a last-second field goal sailed wide left, and the Horns lost this heartbreak to the Cyclones, led by future NFL QB Brock Purdy.
With that loss, the weirdest home season ever came to a close.
Since Dede and John T. were out of pocket, Katie went with me to this day-after-Thanksgiving game. Afterwards, we feasted at Kerbey and then spent some quarters at Pinballz Arcade. The next morning, we got some Christmas shopping done at A-Town, a new favorite ATX store.
Almost Heaven but Hotter ’n Hell
18 Feb
Texas 17, West Virginia 13
November 6, 2020 • DKR
Hello, Mr. Robinson! Bijan Robinson ran for a (then) career-high 117 yards, and the Horns held off the “Mound-aneers.”
Dede couldn’t make it to this game, so Anne joined us in the stands. It was an unseasonably warm afternoon, so after melting in the upper deck, we found a cool spot under the shade in the lower level.
This was also John T.’s last game for the season, so we took our traditional end-of-season pic before going our separate ways.
Spooky Stillwater
18 Feb
Texas 41, Oklahoma State 34 (OT)
October 31, 2020 • Stillwater, Oklahoma
Another overtime game? Not THAT’S a scary Halloween! The Cowboys tied it up with a field goal late in regulation, but Ehlinger connected with JoMo (Josh Moore) in OT to grab that W.
After watching that victory, Katie and I couldn’t resist carving pumpkins for our respective schools just for fun. We found some stencils and went to town—even though we couldn’t really “go” anywhere!
Bear Bounceback
18 Feb
Texas 27, Baylor 16
October 24, 2020 • DKR
Baylor made it closer than it should’ve been with a pick-6 in the fourth, but the Horns comfortably held on to get the win!
The lack of tailgating really opened up our lunch options for that pandemic season. For this game, Dede and I stopped at the Round Rock Salt Lick on our way into town for our pregame meal. It was delicious as always! In spite of that bit of consistency, the nearly empty stadium and surrounding area reminded us that nothing was as it used to be before the blasted virus arrived.
Quadruple the Suckage
18 Feb
ou 53, Texas 45 (4OT)
October 10, 2020 • Cotton Bowl, Dallas
This goes down as the weirdest Texas-ou ever! Because of COVID, there was no State Fair, just a drive-through experience for fair fans to get their fried food fix. As we entered the fairgrounds, we followed the path cars had traveled for that better-than-nothing version of the State Fair.
A few vendors were set up for gameday, but I only had eyes for Fletcher’s. We got our corny dogs, posed (at a distance) with Big Tex, drank our lucky Fireball shots, and made our way into the 25 percent-occupied Cotton Bowl.
It was an exciting game, but missed field goals and a game-ending interception sent us home frustrated. We lost in four overtimes… but ou still sucks!
Jake Ehlinger, Sam’s brother, got to fire Smokey during the game. Jake passed away just seven months later.
Pattied Down
18 Feb
TCU 33, Texas 31
October 3, 2020 • DKR
After the big win in Lubbock, this loss was a tough one, pal. It always stink to lose to the Frogs, but to have such a lackluster performance after the previous week’s fireworks was hard to watch. Of course, because of the Tech game heroics, we didn’t give up until the bitter end, but that end was indeed bitter. Gary Patterson, the inspiration for the peppermint-patty-spelled Texas, did it again.
I didn’t take many pix this time around, but I did photograph Clark Field on our way to the stadium. That space was the football practice field back in the Royal days.
Spell Texas 
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