Following an embarrassing 20-13 home loss by the Texas Longhorns to the TCU Horned Frogs, the goodwill cached by Mack Brown and company during a 4 game winning streak all but evaporated.
Watching Twitter, Facebook, and the Internet, it was easy to see the vast majority of fans wanted blood, and wanted it now. Even the hard core fans, ones who never wavered after Texas was again nuked by Oklahoma, had seemingly crossed over. Of course some folks out there are just way too overboard to be believed, and I had to sort through the fanatics and foolhardy. Once I did, it seemed people were basically saying this:
“We love you Mack. We appreciate everything you have done, but we are tired of the embarrassment. Time has run out, and its time for you to do the honorable thing and leave. We’ve been fooled for the last time.â€
Now this sentiment, in its many forms, did in the past and again this day generated a response from the blind faithful and the players who serve under Mack. One tweet in particular by freshman LB Peter Jinkens summarized the rift between this program and its fan base better than any tweet I have seen this year
https://twitter.com/RIPS_SHIRT_OFF/status/271853111344238593
There it is folks, and from a guy who I have high hopes for at Texas. One of the freshman I see playing like his ass is on fire every chance he gets. A guy we should support. A guy many do support, telling each and every one of you who read his tweet an 18 year old kid’s version of the Mack Brown “bad friends†line. Before we go on, I am NOT criticizing this kid for what he had to say, but illustrating a point coming from it.
Does everyone know what they are talking about? No, of course they don’t, and you would be foolish to think they do. So lets apply this mantra to a real life situation. How many of you reading this have degrees in mechanical engineering? Very few? Obviously.
Now, those of you who don’t have degrees tell me this: If I go outside, start my car, and hear knocking from the engine, is something wrong? Yes of course it is…..but by the “bad friends†mantra, none of us without that degree really know what we are talking about. We should trust that the car will fix the engine a few miles down the road on its own and drive accordingly. We should not question if something is wrong under the hood. Now, if we’re silly enough to follow this logic we shall soon be enjoying some quality time in a roadside ditch.
The point I’m trying to make? You don’t have to know everything about something to know when its not functioning properly. The guys here on Horn Sports and on other sites around the web know a thing or two about football. They may not know the play calling vernacular or have had the rare fortune to wear that uniform, but their points are not less valid for it.
You don’t have to be a head football coach to see a lack of preparedness, an epidemic of missed tackles, a rush defense that cant stop air vs good teams, and so on and so forth.
Are things as bad as they could be? Of course not…just look at SEC powers Kentucky, Arkansas, Mississippi State, Auburn, and Tennessee (yeah all those schools that dominate the rest of America). Hell we could be New Mexico State, but thank God we aren’t. We’re Texas, …………and we are probably headed for an 8-4 finish this season.
Mot schools would be thrilled to be 8-4 and headed to a nice bowl game, but we aren’t most schools. Most schools don’t have the advantages we have, the facilities, the rabid fan support, the recruiting cache, etc etc etc. 8-4 at Idaho gets you a 20 year contract. 8-4 here is unacceptable. You buy the tickets, the gear, and you may have went to the school. Your money pays for all this. You have every right to want a good product on the field and you are entitled to speak your mind.
So here is the summary. The coach says you’re wrong if you question whats knocking under the hood. The current players believe none of you know what you’re talking about, (and it says something they even pay attention to it). The former players are unhappy with the tarnish on the program they helped build, the fans clash with the coach, the players, and each other. Big games keep getting lost, and our enemies laugh at, and take advantage of, the fractures in our house.
We’re Texas, and right now we’re a friggin mess. Can we get back to the good old days? I certainly hope so, but until we all start to come together again, average is all we are going to be. How can we fix this? How can we become truly great again? If Urban Meyer can take a 6-7 team at Ohio State and go 12-0, imagine what could be done with the talent on the roster at Texas.
We have a show on Wednesdays at 8. We have another one in the works. We have message boards. We all have Twitter. Read this…..take some time to consider what you really think, and come talk to us about it. Don’t be crazy, really think……and come find us.
Follow Johnny on Twitter: @Texas0205
