Ebb Tide

The Aggies beat Alabama. 



Props to the defense that came through when it had to, to the O-line, to Ryan Swope for taking the hits and holding on to the ball, to Malena, Michael, and Evans.....

And what can I say about JFF that hasn't been said?  More than his athleticism and his competitive spirit, I am impressed by his presence on the field.  The guy seems impervious to nerves, to jitters, to fear, to mistakes, to hits, to noise......He is just so fun to watch.



Now, the Aggies need to moidleize Sam Houston and then take care of Missouri.  I heard this morning that the Ags have jumped to number 8 in the polls.  If they can win out, then they likely will go to a good bowl game.  Whoda thunk it.

This Is What College Football Is About

University of Texas --49, Texas A&M University--39.

Goshdarnit, that was a gut-bustin, rip-snortin, sidewinder of a game. Most points scored ever in this matchup. A kickoff return and a missed field goal popped the Aggies' balloon and sure, I wish the Aggies had won, but even so it was a great game.  I am so, so proud of those guys.  But let's give Texas its due.  The Horns generally and McCoy in particular rose up and showed why Texas is No. 3 in the country.  They made only one error (lost a punt) and didn't lose their cool.  Congrats to sbaskind and all Horns fans.  Take care of the Huskers and you'll be playing for the National Championship.

As for the Ags, they should be confident going into whatever bowl game they draw.  Also, playing well on ESPN on Thanksgiving against the No. 3 team should help recruiting (wishful thinking, much?).  Final word:  Jerrod Johnson played lights out last night.  I hope someone out there saw how good this guy is.

For game stats, which are stunning, go here.

Agony of Defeat

Jen and I were in DC last week for a show. We were staying in the Suburbs because driving and parking our giant white panel van around town did not seem like a good idea. (I wanted to put a turban on and drive by the White House honking, Jen said no). Anyway we had to take the subway to get downtown and see the sights. We had dinner and took the train home. The train was packed with Washington Capitol fans returning from game 7 against the Penguins. It had been a great series with several overtime games and arguably the 2 best players in hockey. The Penguins killed them getting out to a 5-0 lead in the 2nd period. You have never seen such an angry, disconsolate group of people (outside of Kyle field) in your life. They were all in bright red Caps jerseys and hats. They were griping, moaning and cussing. I know how they felt.

Baltimore beating the Cowboys in the Superbowl. We were jobbed.
Texas beating the then #2 Ags in '75, getting a 17 point lead in 90 seconds. I am still PO'ed.
Plano beating Highland Park by 1 point in '78, when the Scotts had a 28 pt halftime lead. Plano went on to win the State championship. Bastards.
F***ing 49ers and Dwight F***ing Clark and Joe F***ing Montana in 1979. Danny White still almost won that game.
Romo fumbling the snap for a game winning chip shot field goal against Seattle. Dummy.

I had better stop. I am getting worked up. I know exactly how the poor Capitols fans feel.
I root for the Cowboys, Aggies, Rangers, and Mavericks.

GET some THERAPY

Aggie football. (heavy, heavy sigh). All of you Aggies out there...you know. You know about suffering, about struggle, failure, redemption, despair, and in the end, hope. You know about hope. These are the things we Aggies live with but it is the hope that keeps us going. So, this is me in 1995 during the Alamo Bowl, #19 Texas A&M vs. #14 Michigan. Sometime during the 4th quarter, Aggies leading 22-13 after Kyle Bryant's 5th field goal:

phone rings.

me (certain that it is Oxey, with whom I speak regularly during Aggie games): Hello.

caller (not Oxey): Are you watching?

me (wha...this isn't Oxey, this is Sean*): Not exactly.

caller: What do you mean, "not exactly"?

me: I'm listening.

caller: Huh?

me: I'm in bed. Under the covers. Really under the covers, over my head...under the covers. TV is on, and I'm listening.

caller: Listen to me. Get up, put on your glasses, and look at the tv. Do it. Right now.

me: I can't. I can't take it. I just can't take it.

caller: Yes, you can. Now get up.

me: (heavy, heavy sigh). Ok.

And I did. And despite Michigan scoring with 5 seconds left (Griese to Toomer), the Aggies held on to win, 22-20. And Sean stayed on the phone with me until the game was over. Talked me through it. That is friendship; that is Aggie love.

*Sean is the husband of one of my partners and, as you might have guessed, he is an Aggie. He also is a world class professional photographer. Check out his website: http://www.seanfitzgerald.com/.

The greatest football game I ever saw.

Thanks to my sister for initiating this blog. Our family has always been full of sports fans and enjoyed talking about and/or arguing about what the Aggies are doing wrong at any particular moment So I expect to have fun with this and I wanted to contribute right away, but, what to write about. No football right now. Basketball has been destroyed by the fact they don't enforce the rules any more. Important rules like traveling or moving the pivot foot, or carrying the ball face up like it is a loaf of bread instead of actually dribbling. Just not inspiring stuff. So I decided to get formulaic like"who is best running back ever" etc. That led me to remember the best football game I ever saw.
So I went on google ans sure enough I found a discussion on the "best high school football game you have ever seen" and one of the commenters probably an old guy like me described the same game I would pick: The San Antonio Lee vs San Antonio Brackenridge game for bi district championship in 1963. I saw the game on televisionand it is still clearly the most exciting game I have ever watched. Both teams were undefeated, Warren McVea was the running back for Brackenridge and Linus Baer played for Lee. both of these backs were averaging around 10 yards per carry and were maybe the top two recruits in the nation and boy did they deliver.
As I remember it every kick off in a game that finished 55-48 was an onside kick except for the one to lead off the second half which was run back for a touchdown.
Mcvea started at quarterback to eliminate fumbles on handoffs which were unnecessary since every one in the state knew he was going to get the ball. Once when Lee managed to force a punt Mcvea came out as the punter which he normally was not. Once again everyone knew it was a fake punt, no one could conceivably have been fooled and yet Mcvea ran for a huge gain and probably scored though I don't recall.
Linus Baer was equally brilliant and emerged from the game as my personal favorite. I saw him play in the Texas State High School All Star game later that year during which he he experienced a terrible knee injury. He was never quite the same. He started at runningback for the Longhorns when they were a perennial power and had a good college career, but I sure would have like to see him play college ball without that knee injury because he was a superstar.
David you probably remember that game I believe I was in Lockhart when I watched it but most of you are too young.
What about the rest of you? What is the best game you remember seeing?