One More Time: Why This Game is Special

Excellent read.

Royal was an idiot and weak. I’ve heard this story a million times. He was an idiot to give away his offense to a rival and he was weak to allow them to spy on him without reciprocation. They wanted it more and went and got it. Frank Erwin famously told him to cheat back and quit crying. He should have. That is if spying is cheating. He let his naivety get in the way of what was best for the people that relied on him. (team, fans, employer).

Good stuff, though. Always a trip down memory lane, helps get people going.

This really is the best rivalry in college football. Michigan vs. Ohio State has been good, but you don’t really sense the hatred between the two fan bases and between the coaches and players. There is just too much respect between the programs.

The Red River Shootout straddles the line perfectly between hate and respect. There is no better atmosphere than the Cotton Bowl. Its one of the best atmospheres in all of sports.

I remember you from those days, you were very good.

It may be hard for some to imagine the intensity and violence of triple option football with every player, on both sides of the ball, having to show such discipline with assignment and attack with such power. Everyone committed to head-on attack. No quarter given, none sought.

The 1976 game was like World War I with a major offensive everyday.

The games in 74 and 75 were intense as well. I remember a goal line stand by Texas at the end of one of those games. Oklahoma had the game won but were trying to punch it in to make the score look better. The Texas defense wouldn’t yield and kept the Sooners out of the end zone. Pride.

Brilliant article, Srr50. The best historical capsule of the series that will be written this year. Or any year for that matter.

Fear the cow is now an official idiot and needs to be mocked as much and as often as Switzer mocked Lacewell as he played Round the World with his wife.

Beowulf -

The word you’re looking for re: Fear the cow is “fucktard.” And I wholeheartedly agree, for what it’s worth.

What a dipshit.

Mac needs to step down so Muschamp can take over. Look, Mac turned the program around and I give him credit for that but it is a new era. To be honest, with the amount of in state talent available every year we should have more Big 12 titles and at least 3 national championships. Mac has done his job and brought respect and notoriety to the program. If Muschamp were to take over he would capitalize on the recruiting and most importantly developing and scheming his defense the way he has since he got here. Most importantly he would make sure whoever he picked as his OC would do the same on the offensive side of the ball. I love Mac but unless he cleans house on the offensive side he should turn over the reigns and let the new era begin before we lose him to GA. We might even lose Malcom Brown. He was promised a commitment to the running game. I wouldn’t blame him if he decommitted and went to Bama. Wouldn’t it be a kick to Mac’s gut if we lost both Malcom Brown and Muschamp at the end of the season because of Greg the pussy Davis.

Coaches’ records vs OU starting with DKR

DKR—12-7-1
Akers-5-4-1
Mcwilliams—4-2
Mackovis—3-2-1
Mack—6-6

Mack will be even Stoops with a win on Saturday and take 7-6 record all-time vs OU, and join the likes of McWilliams and Mackovic with a winning record against the SOBs.

Interesting a bit that McWilliams has the best percentage against OU. Bring Back David

Great stuff, srr.

Your perspective never gets old – don’t stop bringing it.

Roma: Thanks, and you’re right — I’ve seen hitting at the level of this game since, but I don’t remember it being sustained over the entire game as it was in 1976. The fact that the game was dominated by both defenses, was contested literally down to the last seconds and the stands were feuling the hate as well helped sustain the intensity.

’Wulfie — getting Mack above .500 and putting another knot on Stoops head is a very pleasant thought for Saturday.

Levander — I find posting this week to be the cheapest therapy availabe to get through this damn week

This is my favorite college football game, probably favorite sporting event. srr captures the reasons why. I have tried to explain it to others who have never experienced it and you can’t. Like Schembechler, who knew quite a bit about the game and its rivalries, you have to see it for yourselI.

Its intensity and evenness are what set it apart. The margins are insanely small and the stakes are huge. Being a part of it makes both programs better. Those wanting to change it are foolish.

Great read.

Fucktard… .er… Fear the Cow: I know it’s the “American” thing to win, but I would rather lose than violate my own principles of ethical behavior. If that makes me an idiot and weak, then I take comfort from being in excellent company. “Win at all costs” as a philosophy is only morally justifiable when the alternative is certain destruction. Football is not that. The single greatest quality Mack Brown has is his standard of ethics in his chosen profession. I might question his football judgment at times, but I am proud he is the Longhorn coach and not an unprincipled jackass like Switzer, or Stoops. I am proud that Darrel Royal was coach of the Texas Longhorns. I am proud that he won or lost honestly.

Awesome read – thanks.

Was it wise to give away your offense to your rival?

Is it unethical to spy? Baseball teams attempt to steal signals. Football teams look for tendencies on audables. Football teams watch the other sidelines sending in signals. Spying is an extension of that. It is not breaking a rule in game. It is not taking drugs. It is not violation recruiting rules. If a coach is dumb enough to let his teams signals get stolen in game, I see it no different than a coach not being thorough enough to prevent unauthorized personnel from wandering around their practices. Instead of making accusations, Royal should have had the man removed or instilled security to prevent it.

ssr50 – thank you very much for these types of stories. I’m 39 and can’t get enough of these. I’m a UT grad but my folks both wen to Tech so I didn’t get a good UT traditional upbringing that my kids are getting now.

• Does someone know where I can see a photo of Lonnie Williams? I swear I sat next to him on a SWA flight a few years ago and he talked about this incident. He told me all about it but I didn’t have enough context to make sense of it at the time. I didn’t have the heart to tell this kindly old guy that I was 5 when all of this stuff was going on and I had no idea what he was talking about.

Writeups like these help educate people on how key the Cotton Bowl is to the rivalry. Hopefully the message stays out there and we’re able to avoid the push to move it to JerryWorld or home and home.

Is it unethical to spy? Baseball teams attempt to steal signals. Football teams look for tendencies on audables. Football teams watch the other sidelines sending in signals. Spying is an extension of that. It is not breaking a rule in game.

These all happen during a game — there is a difference between looking for an edge during competition and actually committing trespassing.

And while we are at it, there is still the quaint notion that collegiate sports are part of the University as a whole, and therefore probably should reflect the mission statement of that University — which usually is to strive for excellence while also striving to create an ethical atmosphere.

“He started to walk away, turned back and said, "You know, I have been in this long enough that I sometimes think its now about trying not to lose, instead of enjoying the wins."

That conversation, combined with the game just played made it damn easy to think that Darrell Royal was about to reach the end of his tenure at Texas."

Is there something more here? Do you see this as a parallel to Mack’s “games are lost, not won” comment last week?

srr50, great read. How were the TV ratings that day…

Excellent write-up srr50. Thanks.

fantastic.
my dad talked about this game and the atmosphere up till the day he died. i turned a year old a couple weeks later, and I was called Darrell most of the day… evidently.

this should be in print somewhere. bill little’s whimsical allegory is tired and purple, and if there is a competent history currently being written on Texas Longhorn football, this must be included.

well done, and please please PLEASE do continue to contribute. may these kind words from myself and the other appreciators on here, be compensation enough!

restaurant quality, steve!

“PatronSaint said:
September 30th, 2010 at 8:28 am

Writeups like these help educate people on how key the Cotton Bowl is to the rivalry. Hopefully the message stays out there and we’re able to avoid the push to move it to JerryWorld or home and home."

Could not agree more.

As a child, I watched this game on a small black and white television at my grandmother’s. I was crushed when Suber fumbled; relieved and actually surprised by the extra point mishap.

I think I felt then like I feel now. With Oklahoma, I dislike them so much, I am almost as happy to deprive them of victory as I am for Texas to win. Over so many consecutive years attendance at the game and so many unplanned interactions with Oklahoma fans offering their unsolicited opinions about Texas, Texas football, my attire, my beer, their perception of Austin politics, etc., ad nauseam, that this has only grown worse. This year, my primary hope is that I not be seated next to some Horns-down bozo with a goatee in a crimson jersey, jorts, and Oakleys. Anything else is gravy.

Oh, and finding a cab outside Fair Park late Saturday evening might be nice as well.

Beat the hell out of O.U.

I was in my dorm room watching this game. What I remember was how hot it was that day and how little each team could do against the other. I didn’t have enough perspective to realize what was behind the intensity that day. I also remember the SI recap. I wasn’t too excited about the peg, but I guess Bud Shrake was getting ready to retire.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1091676/index.htm

http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=5630570
classy as always, ou

Thanks for an excellent story, well done.

One of those great games I went to during my years at UT. I remember arguing with my Dad that DKR should retire (he was the only UT coach I had ever known, having gone to games since the early ‘60s). My Dad said to be careful what you ask for, because there won’t be another coach like that ever at Texas. I think he was right.
And there was the Sooner with the can of red paint that tried to douse Bevo – he was intercepted by several of the handlers and pretty much destroyed before the cops got there. Those were the days.

My contribution from the game two years ago.

DKR was right in not stooping down to Switzer’s level and cheat.

But DKR was wrong to give your archrival the tools to beat you.

Great read, srr50. Glad to see it’s become an annual tradition for OU week.

fear the cow, anybody who uses the words “Idiot” and “weak” in reference to Darrell Royal is in fact doing nothing but showing their own idiocy. DKR is about class and ethics and holding yourself to a standard — to hell with what any lying, cheating douchebags decide to do to try and win a game, or do just because they can get away with it. If you can’t understand that, then it speaks volumes about your character.

I’ve been privileged to attend 15 Texas-OU games, and I have vivid memories either in person or on TV of every game since ‘81. It’s easily the most intense, unique and special sports atmosphere I’ve ever been around. Can’t wait for Saturday afternoon.

OU sucks! Beat the hell outta OU!

Fantastic read srr50. Really provides great perspective for the younger generation like myself who never got to experience that kind of a football game. Man I’d kill to go back in time and attend one of those bruising, hate-filled, larger-than-life games with all the circumstances behind them that I always hear about.

Thanks to everyone for their comments — it is obvious that this games histrorical imprint resonates with passion for anyone involved — on the field or as a fan.

and if there is a competent history currently being written on Texas Longhorn football, this must be included.

Scagnetti, we at BC aim to please thanks for the suggestion.

Orale vatos. I, ahem, work with one of the players in that 1976 game (someone that got mentioned here) and he is of the opinion that someone on the coaching staff (whom he knows personally) needs to go. He wouldn’t name names ;) But I wonder who that could be?

Excellent writeup. Hook ’em!

I’ve been to over thirty UT-A. & M. games. None matched the intensity of the 1976 Oklahoma game. My wife and I sat on the fifty, right next to the OU people. When the OU center missed his snap to win the game, I looked two rows behind us and saw a fellow wearing a white oxford cloth shirt with blood dripping onto it from his nose. A couple of seconds later, another fight broke out just below us. We walked to our car, which was the fifth car parked in someone’s front yard and was bottlenecked. As we waited for the driver to show up, we agreed that what we saw wasn’t a game but rather more like a street fight. We could find a lot of other places in East Dallas to see one of those.

I’ve only missed six home games since 1968, but I haven’t been back to the Cotton Bowl.

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