Frog-tied

TCU 31, Texas 9

Nov. 25, 2016 • DKR

I had the cutest little gummy frogs for this TEXAS, and I was optimistic that our team would really show up for Coach Strong.

But instead, our team was shown up. The gummies were extra-chewy, too.

 

Gummy frogs for the Horned Frogs

Waiting for the team in the rain

Love Hook ’Em’s coach attire

Still waiting for the team

Nice hats

Bevo’s 100th anniversary card

The front of Bevo’s card

The back of Bevo’s card

LOTS of well wishes…

…including one from me!

Longhorn legends

And the legend whose name is on the stadium

LHB

Bertha

TCU band

We’ll miss you!

SWOOOOOOOPES!

Hi, Matthew

LHB’s Bevo

I spy my signature!

Mighty Fine comfort food (while mourning Florence Henderson)

So that’s all she wrote on the Strong era, D’Onta’s Heisman that could’ve been, the loss of all that promise we felt on opening night after beating Notre Dame.

Here’s to fresh starts, stud recruits, and WINS.

Hook ’em.

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So Seedy

Kansas 24, Texas 21 (OT)

Nov. 19, 2016 • Lawrence, Kansas

I got all fancy with this TEXAS, seeing as how SURELY we’d win this one! It’s KANSAS, after all! Our coach might be in hot water for losing all those other road games, but KANSAS? As sure as sunflowers grow in Kansas, I was certain Texas would win.

*cough cough*

After this debacle, Coach Strong was as good as gone, and shortly after the season ended, he was officially on his way out of Austin.Was this loss all his fault? Not hardly. Did he run the routes, block, tackle? Nope. I liked the guy as a leader, as a man, but I can sum up why I think he had to go in four words: Can’t. Lose. To. Kansas!

There really isn’t a bright side to this embarrassing loss, but if there were, it would be that I saw very little of this game. I was lucky enough to accompany Ryan to New Orleans, where he was auditioning for College Jeopardy! He didn’t get the call, but he had a blast going through the process. We had a great day tooling around NOLa, too!

Mounds of Trouble

West Virginia 24, Texas 20

Nov. 12, 2016 • DKR

I never buy Mounds or Almond Joy. Why would I waste a caloric splurge on anything with toenails, I mean COCONUT, in it? Disgusting! With West Virginia next on the schedule, though, I made an exception.

We Texans are quick to point out that the Mountaineers’ home state’s “mountains” aren’t so mountainous. The highest point in Texas is nearly 4,000 feet higher than West Virginia’s tallest mountain! To rub it in, instead of finding mountains, I spelled Texas with mere Mounds.

Almost as disgusting as coconut? Losing our first home game to the #11 Mountaineers.

Much sweeter? Having Katie surprise her brother when we picked him up for the game. 🙂 She drove in from Lubbock Friday night, and we left at early:30 to get Ryan and head to the stadium.

Why I don’t care for 11 a.m. kickoffs

Aren’t they cute?

I made them pose with their dad’s books. They were thrilled.

Hook ’Em dressed in camo for the armed services tribute.

Big fan of the flyover!

UT System Chancellor William McRaven honored.

Lifetime Longhorn Olympians were honored.

Then the LHB did its armed services medley, one of my faves.

Coast Guard

Army

Navy

Marines

Air Force

A Plain Ol’ Good Time

Texas 45, Texas Tech 37

Nov. 5, 2016 • Lubbock

After a couple of unpleasant fan experiences in Lubbock, I thought my days in Jones AT&T Stadium were over. Then my Katie Bug ended up at Lubbock Christian, and suddenly, I was all for an excuse to see a game on the South Plains!

The rainy/cool “football weather,” a rare but big win on the road, and time with my girl made for a fantastic day!

Just Bearly

Texas 35, Baylor 34

Oct. 29, 2016 • DKR

Another season, another “Who’da thunk it?” win over Baylor! The Bears came to Austin undefeated. The Horns, battered and bruised from four road losses, were heavy underdogs to #8-ranked Baylor.

Guess this is why they play the game!

Nobody expected D’Onta Foreman to gain 250 yards on the ground. Nobody thought the Horns’ D could force the Baylor offense to turnover the ball or settle for field goals. And after the way this season has gone, nobody felt super confident about that 39-yard field goal attempt with less than a minute to play.

But D’Onta is a beast, the defense was strong, and the kick was good. Horns win!

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The Way the Cookie Crumbles

Kansas State 24, Texas 21

Oct. 22, 2016 • Manhattan, Kansas

Early in the season, I was walking through IKEA and spied a box of alphabet cookies. The outside of the box had only K cookies on it (probably because the Swedish brand name for the “biscuits” is Kex), so I grabbed it. What could be more perfect than to spell Texas with a bunch of K’s for K State, I thought.

I brought that box home and hid it in the pantry, making sure it didn’t get mistaken for an up-for-grabs snack. The day of the K State game, I pulled out the cookies and got ready to spell Texas with a bunch of K’s.

Except all the cookies weren’t K’s. Well, duh—of course they weren’t! I thought it was a little odd that a whole box of cookies would be a bunch of one letter, but it’s IKEA, right? Ugh. So dumb. Once I got over my chagrin, I made quick work of picking out the letters I needed. Easiest spelling ever, even if the connection to K State was completely lost.

Speaking of lost, my Horns lost this one, too. Blech.

The Eyes Have It

Texas 27, Iowa State 6

Oct. 15, 2016 • DKR

After a three-game losing streak, all eyes were on Eye-owa State. Now that the Horns were finally back home, could they get back to their winning ways?

It had been more than a month since we’d won a game, so this victory was sweet! What made it extra special: It was my grand nephew’s first Texas game AND the Alumni Band performance, too!

 

Too Late

ou 45, Texas 40

Oct. 8, 2016 • Cotton Bowl, Dallas

If only… But we shoulda… Then we coulda… Aw, crap. After going back and forth, we got down by 15. We almost came back, but no.

Budweiser Clydesdales

The Bud dalmatian

BREAKFAST OF CHAMPIONS

Obligatory Big Tex selfie

Cookie Fries

Butter sculpture

Lego tribute to Dallas PD

Shoe contest

Shoe contest

Shoe contest

You don’t say (take 1)

You don’t say (take 2)

Postgame medicine

 

And ou still sucks.

 

 

 

Still Salty

Oklahoma State 49, Texas 31

Oct. 1, 2016 • Stillwater, Oklahoma

With apologies to all the good and fair referees out there, the officiating at last year’s Okie State game in Austin was a travesty. I even broke my own rule about not blaming a loss on bad calls. When this rematch rolled around, I was still salty about that loss. I was in Lubbock for LCU Parent Weekend for this game, so salt packets from our hotel breakfast bar filled the bill.

Good news: This loss was all on our play and not bad calls. Oh, wait. That’s the bad news, too. Ugh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unbearable

Cal 50, Texas 43

Sept. 17, 2016 • Berkeley, California

And just like that, our season comes crashing to a halt. The Haribo Gold-Bears were good luck last time we beat Cal, but this season, not even the chewy sweetness could overtake the bitter taste of this loss.