Yet again, we blew a lead. As we headed into the fourth quarter, one Texas fan stood up and proclaimed, “WE ARE NOT BLOWING ANOTHER LEAD IN THE FOURTH.” I guess the team couldn’t hear him from our far corner of the Baylor stadium.
My special guest this week was Ryan! It was a bummer that he didn’t get to see a win, but it was fun having his company!
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!
No secret that I love bowl games! I love the travel, I love the hoopla, I love the let’s-get-one-more-chance-to-see-our-team-play of it all. And when we win? It’s the best!
Ryan, Katie, and I headed to the Alamo City the day before the game, just in time to visit Fiesta Texas. The next morning, we were up early to tour Mission San Jose, taking lots of photos for Ryan, our Texas history teacher. Then we made it to the Riverwalk where we feasted on the traditional pregame meal at Casa Rio and did the river taxi tour.
And then gametime! We had great seats in the lower bowl, so we got some great views of Sam’s touchdowns. Our defense really put this one away, though, holding the favored Utes, ranked #11 at the time, to just 10 points.
And that’s a wrap on the 2019 season! As we looked forward to seeing our Horns back in DKR the next fall, we had no idea how different games would be in a pandemic. But we knew no matter what, we’d be there!
The day before the game, stopped at Buc-ee’s on our way, naturally. At Fiesta Texas we took in the Holiday in the Park decorations, and we got to ride the new Wonder Woman coaster. With its single-rail construction, it makes you feel like you’re really flying!
The morning of the game, we headed out to the San Antonio Missions National Historic Park. This time we visited Mission San Jose. Out of all the times we had been to San Antonio, this was our first trip to one of the famous missions (besides Mission San Antonio de Valero, a.k.a. the Alamo).
From there we went downtown to park for the Riverwalk, Alamo, Tower of the Americas, and the game, of course. For lunch we ate at Casa Rio, and when I recognized the brick wall next to our table, I got Ryan and Katie to recreate their pose from 2006.
Thanks to an Alamo Bowl hashtag, we also got this pic on the big screen at the game!
We also did the river cruise, visited the Alamo (it’s a law), and went up to the Tower of the Americas observation deck. Did I mention how much I enjoy being a tourist on these bowl trips? After all that exploring, we were ready to settle in for the game.
On a day when the cast of The Sandlot made a sideline appearance, my team could’ve used a heavy hitter like the Great Bambino, the Sultan of Swat. Sure, Babe Ruth played baseball, but we needed every bit of help we could get to pull out this win!
Coach Tom Herman knows that losing to Kansas can end your time at Texas pretty darn quickly, but maybe he should’ve known that ALMOST losing to Kansas will be ALMOST as bad! Dicker the Kicker had to save the day, kicking a 33-yard field goal as time expired to cap a wild fourth quarter.
But hey, sunflower seeds aren’t always pretty, but the flowers that come from them are. So will this game be a sign of beauty to come, or will the rest of this season be seedy?
Before the game, Ryan and I walked through the Capitol instead of hanging out at the tailgate. Now that Ryan’s a Texas history teacher, he enjoys getting to visit that historic site when he can. We have seen (and photographed) the Capitol countless times, so for this walk-through, I looked for interesting shapes among the familiar sights.
It’s not every game that the MVP award goes to the punter, but man, did Michael Dickson deserve it! Ten of his 11 punts pinned Mizzou inside their own 15, and the Horns made the most of that. Our D score 9 points and forced four turnovers in this big win, which we hoped would send us into 2018 with big MO on our side.
It was great to get back to our bowl game ways, and beating Mizzou? That was SWEET.
Even sweeter? Getting to spend time with our Houston family while we were there.
On the road for Houston
Playing dominoes with Aunt Berniece and cousin Susan
So good to finally meet sweet Baby Benjamin!
Not bad seats
Always good to have a view of this guy (the four-legged one)
Horns score!
Selfie snap with my girl
Fight!
Raise that trophy!
He IS the GOAT! Dickson was a most-deserving MVP.
Another selfie snap
My babies at bowl games: Alamo Bowl 2006 and Texas Bowl 2017
Hey! We’re famous!
Hook ’em!
When people called for Charlie Strong to be fired during his tenure, he weathered the storm. Then he lost to Kansas. There’s grace, there are second chances, and there are mea culpas. But you can’t lose to Kansas.
In spite of the embarrassing first game loss to Maryland, coach Tom Herman was able to check the “didn’t lose to Kansas” box in this, his first season at UT.
Fun to have Anne join us for this one
Quality time with my Austin boy
Horns win!
Ryan’s last Eyes in DKR (as a student, anyway)
11/10/2012 and 11/11/2017
When in ATX…
Hook ’em!
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
I was fresh out of ideas. What could we use to represent the Spartans? I walked through convenience store snack aisles, and nothing jumped out at me. If only I had some Jose Cuervo—but then again, I probably would’ve drunk it all after that Maryland game.
Then Brett suggested I make a spartan spelling, drawing on this definition of “spartan”:
Voila! This time I would spell Texas in the most frugal manner possible. No candy, no flowers, no toys—I would spell Texas with NOTHING.
Turns out, NOTHING is what the Spartans scored. Some might call an eight touchdown blowout boring. I call it DELICIOUS.
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.
Spell Texas 
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