Us Tigers have nothing on University of Texas when it comes to playing football. Well, almost nothing.*
I was a pretty avid fan of the game back in college....ok, let me restate that, I was a big fan of our pre-game parties at Tower (my eating club), filling our cups with hot chocolate spiked with peppermint schnapps, heading out in a big rowdy group completely oblivious to who the opponent was, snuggling with whoever was smart enough to remember the blanket, while getting ready to scream our special cheers somewhere in the neighborhood of "That's alright, that's ok, you're gonna work for us someday!" It was after all the Ivy League. We had to make our own fun.
Flash forward to this year and the Texas/Oklahoma "Red River Rivalry" at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. All I can say is Wow! It was as if I had spent my life watching high school musical productions, and then finally seeing Phantom of the Opera on Broadway. The camaraderie, the excitement, the cohesiveness, the ability to work as a unit. And that was just the fans in the stands during the halftime show as we performed a choreographed cheer complete with props.
It was a great way to spend a Saturday. The weather was beautiful, the company was great (A big Thanks! to Shane for the tickets!!!!), and UT ended up beating OU by a pretty big margin. Which meant Jeff spent the rest of the weekend in an upbeat and happy mood. Not that he isn't always a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day ;) It was also pretty fun dressing up in Jeff's "I bleed orange" t-shirt (I wasn't REALLY cheating on my alma mater...after all, we're orange too...just a different shade) and cheering like a crazed fan (did you know that UT fans are so excited during a game they don't sit down the entire time?!!! Hmm, me neither). And who can't help but get excited by the close up view we had of Bevo XIII, the live longhorn mascot. And as an added bonus, the crystal national championship trophy was on display in the end zone, closely guarded by 4 secret service types. All in all, fun times.
So you may have noticed the * I placed by my earlier statement attesting to UT's performance on the gridiron. I can proudly say there are actually two things Princeton has on Texas when it comes to football. One is that in 1869, we played in what is considered to be the first intercollegiate football game, versus Rutgers. And most important we also hold the record for the most overall national championships of any team in major college football history with 28 consensus and non-consensus national championships dating all the way back to our first in 1869. Ok, so the majority of those took place before 1900...but it still counts as a record! :)
But I can happily say I will stand by Jeff at a UT game anytime, cheering on his Longhorns as they attempt to claim their own national championship record. And if I go often enough, I might just catch on to some of their catchy cheers!
Hook 'Em Horns!
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