Great tailgate. Amazing seats. Fun atmosphere. Lousy outcome.
Defensive star Breckyn Hager said he wouldn’t cut his hair until the Horns won the Big 12, and we were hopeful that boy could get a trim. Alas, the cut had to wait.
But hey, we got to meet Mr. Peanut.
The Cyclones blew into town, but the Horns, still sailing on the strong West Texas win from the previous week, withstood the storm. Our guys never trailed in this one, and with a win, came to within one win from clinching a spot in the Big 12 championship game.
The win (and fireworks!) capped off a fantastic day. My niece’s family joined us at Bevo Blvd. and the tailgate, and because this was our home finale, we relished our time with our football family, too.
The last home game is always sad, but it’s a good time to recognize how lucky we are to have shared those special moments on the Forty.
After the previous week’s big win over our biggest rival, Bevo Blvd. was rockin’! Ryan and Katie were with me to see Bevo’s grand entrance, and then we got to pose with the star of the moment, the Golden Hat trophy.
Later, I ran into an old friend from church, and then we caught wind that online quiz show host Scott Rogowsky, the HQ-tie himself, was at the Chase booth, we managed to find him in the crowd for selfies.
In the game, QB Shane Buechele came up big, helping us get a good lead at the half that Baylor couldn’t quite overcome.
What. A. Day.
ESPN’s College Gameday AND Fox’s College Football Saturday were at the fairgrounds for this showdown. The band serenaded us near the Gameday set, and over with the Fox guys, we saw Matt Leinert hanging out with his daddy, VY. (I kid, I kid…)
After our traditional Texas-ou breakfast (Fletcher’s corny dogs—duh), we headed to our usual meet-up spot (the food court, near the cheap beer stand). At our table, we soaked in the atmosphere as we stacked up those wax cups.
After all that hype, you’d think the actual game would be a let-down, but no. Our guys led for most of the game until the sooners tied it up with 2:38 left. It took Cameron Dicker’s 40-yard field goal with 9 seconds left to put the Horns on top. But even before the snap, a legend was born with these 2 epic seconds of screen time:
Because it was an 11 o’clock kick, we stayed at the fair a bit after the game. We checked out the butter sculpture and the creative arts pavilion, but the best thing we saw all day was that stunning Golden Hat.
And for the family archives: For this Red River Rivalry, we hosted a gaggle of Ryan’s college friends at our house the Friday before the game. It was fun to see him and his friends hangin’ out just like we had a decade or three ago.
The grilled frog legs at the tailgate were pretty darn tasty, but beating the Frogs was even more delicious!
In 2017, the Horns rebounded from a disappointing loss to Maryland by coming THIS CLOSE to beating the favored SC Trojans. Some might call it a moral victory, but as encouraging as it was, it still counted as an L.
Because of that, the hype for the Trojans’ 2018 visit to Austin was off the charts. Pregame, Nissan’s Heisman House was on the 40, hosting our own Ricky Williams. Once again Bevo Bold was hoppin’, and a huge crowd migrated from the streets to the stands, ready for a great game.
Boy, did our Horns deliver!
A record crowd—including Trojan-conqueror Vince Young—watched the Horns get win #900 handily. What an amazing day!
After the disappointing loss to Maryland, the Horns came back in the home opener to beat the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. As mighty winds blow, so did our defense. After shutting out Tulsa in the first half, we gave up 21 points in the second. Thank goodness for Sam & Co. managing to score in the fourth to keep our Horns on top.
The game might not have been the show of power we were expecting, but Bevo Blvd. certainly displayed all that is great about Texas football! With vendors and games and “Longhorn City Limits” music, the pregame party was a fitting celebration of the reunion that is a Longhorns home game.
Back in DKR’s day, the Frogs were “cockroaches”—just messing it up for everyone else. Not so much anymore! They’ve been messin’ with Texas lately, and that just ain’t right.
At least this “road game” is a local one for us Fort Worth residents!
In just his third start of his college career, true freshman Sam Ehlinger came through in a big way, leading our guys to this big double-overtime win under the lights at DKR.
Both teams scored in the first OT, but in the second, K State kept moving backwards thanks to holding penalties. Then their field goal attempt clunked off the upright, opening the door for the Horns.
Our young QB was a beast in this game, but the game-winning TD was a team effort. Chris Warren took the ball and looked like he was stopped 3 yards short of the goal, but our big ol’ O got behind him and pushed him across the line and into the win column.
Making this double OT doubly fun? Katie came home from Lubbock so she could accompany me to Austin, where we met up with Ryan for the game. In his time at Texas, Ryan saw enough bad games, and even when we played well, too often we would lose the close ones. It was fantastic that in his senior year, he could see the Horns FINISH.
This was a first for us: enjoying UT’s mariachi band pregame!
Love, love, love when I get to spend time with BOTH of my babies!
Obligatory stadium selfie
Great day for football
TOUCHDOWN, TEXAS!
Under the lights
❤ Austin
Celebratory Eyes
Thrill of victory
Isn’t she lovely?
Magical fun at the Griz house
Charlie loves Katie
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.
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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