Till Gabriel blows his horn

[txex1998]

First-time poster, long-time lurker, but the greatness of this thread compels me to add my story.

First day of second grade, some yahoo in my class was going on about being an "Aggie." I went home and immediately asked my dad what an aggie was. I don't remember anything about his answer other than being told, "You go back there tomorrow and tell everyone that you're a Longhorn." I never wanted to be anything else after that day. I can even say that I made my first bet on Texas Football as a 7-year-old. (I won $2 from that stupid kid.)

My dad has five girls, and only one of us followed his path to UT, which makes our bond even more special. We watch almost every game together, and if for some reason we can't, we spend a fair amount of time on the phone during the game. Some of my favorite memories with my dad are based on UT, culminating with us with us watching Vince Young run those eight yards to immortality.

I had an amazing experience as a UT student, and what it has meant to my relationship with my dad makes it that much sweeter.

Hook 'em Horns

P.S. My grandmother was also a huge Texas fan since her only son had gone to UT. Two of my sisters went to A&M, and Grandma would always say, "I hate Texas A&M. And don't tell your sisters, but your grandfather hated it, too." I sure do miss that lady

 

[BostonRC]

GREAT thread...I'm getting emotional reading all of the awesome stories. It reminds me so much of the "Win it for..." thread on the SOSH boards during the Sox run to the WS title, & that thing had me straight bawling.

My story is one for the moms. My parents divorced when I was four and we moved down to Austin. My mother had been taking night classes before I was born, but had to stop once I came around. Once we got to Austin, my mother took a part-time job & student loans so she could finish her degree at UT & suport us. Later that year I "graduated" from pre-K & at the ceremony the blurb they read about me said "he plans to graduate from the University of Texas like his mother." She'd definitely done her job.

I can still remember her taking me to my first UT baseball game - an Alumni game in the late 80s or early 90s (Spike Owen was in the game). She tricked me into thinking they were selling programs at 2nd base in the middle of the 2nd inning. I did end up getting one later, but I'll never forget that prank.

She took me to more football games than I can count, even though I now realize we really couldn't afford the tickets...the game against UVA with the 50+ yard FG into the wind...the game against Mizzou in the pouring rain (the first Big 12 game I think?)....the one against Colorado & Kordell Stewart a week after he threw THE pass against Michigan. I still laugh to this day when I remember how dejected I was when they fired Mackovic.

Now that I'm a student, she calls me after every game I go to, be it football, soccer, basketball, or baseball. She watches the Horns on TV every time they're on & texts me when they invariably show my goofy *** in the O-Zone or DKR.

& when I told my mom I'd have to take one more year to finish my degree, she didn't freak out like I'd anticipated. "Well, that's another season," she told me.

 

[honolulu horn]

Boston RC--your mom's response was right on.

 

[MikeUT00]

This thread deserves another

.

 

[BrntOrngBld]

That was great. Here's to you and yours honolulu horn.

 

[WabashCannon]

Hook'em honolulu horn

 

[GardnerMS]

I get chills every time I read this thread....

mG

 

[DoubleMaduro]

 

[98HornGirl]

My Dad went to tamu his freshman year and was in the corps. One day when he was coming out of the john, a senior stopped him and said "Fish Harper, did you wash your hands?" My Dad (cocky SOB) said "No, I didn't pee on my hands". I think that was one of the defining moments that convinced him to transfer to UT. He was there from 61-64. He was a rabid Longhorn fan and he quickly converted my mom into a Longhorn when they married (she went to Kilgore and would perform as a Rangerette when Texas played the Cotton Bowl). I still remember watching Texas games as I was growing up, and my parents bursting into hysterics when UT was making a good run or throwing the ball well. My mom, actually, was the loudest, screaming her head off and jumping up and down on the couch - I definitely know where I got it from. Being the 70's, we had orange carpet throughout the house, my dad's office and my brother's bedroom were burnt orange, and a beautiful sofa-sized oil painting of a white and orange longhorn hung in his office. My dad also has a beautiful mahogany desk where the drawer pulls are longhorns, and he has promised it to me when they pass away.

Anyway, during the lean years, Dad sorta lost interest in the horns under John Mackovic. During that time, my brother was at the Air Force Academy so he was rooting for them, and my sister and I were at Baylor. When I went to UT for grad school, and the first time he saw me wearing the burnt orange, his face lit up with pride. The day I graduated was the first time he had been back to campus in years, and you could see something reawakening in him. Shortly after that I started dating my husband, another huge Longhorn fan, and that was the first thing they had to bond over. My husband and Dad now share a really wonderful relationship, and I love listening to them talk Longhorn football. Dad now calls us each weekend to make sure he knows what time/channel the game is on, and he even painted the propane tank outside their house burnt orange and white. My sister and BIL are aggys, and we are all doing our best to teach my niece and nephew the Texas traditions so they'll make "the right decision" when they grow up.

Thanks for starting this thread, Honolulu, I'm getting all choked up reading about Longhorn family!

 

[meb70]

 

[bravobevo]

Hiya Texanne ~ I'm thinking our paths probably crossed on the 40 acres being there 74-78 (during Earl's years). I also was born in '57 and my dad died in '83.

But I grew up in Dallas and it was a haul to get down to Austin back then (now I-35 trip doesn't seem as much of a chore), so we focused on getting into the Cotton Bowl for all of the games that we could. I remember beginning to go to Texas games starting with the '70 o.u. game (yes, o.u. sux) for the next dozen years, and the New Year's Day Cotton Bowl game every year that Texas played.

Including the '77 undefeated season with the ND game ('78 Cotton Bowl) that Akers boneheadedly let the team get over-confident, unfocused, and out of shape, and the '82 undefeated season ('83 Cotton Bowl) that Akers bonheadedly screwed with the "unsure defense" formation call on 4th down, that led to the "batted down" punt on our 8 yard line with 3 minutes left. The most amazing, but under-recognized, aspect of the last year's '05 undefeated season is GDavis having finally learned to get out of the way. Obviously, we have a completely different qb make-up this early in the season with Colt and Jevan being newbies. Mebbe old dogs can learn new tricks. Maybe we and GD have learned in the process after all.

Hook 'em! Beat tOSU.

 

[ORLdyfan801]

This is a great read! I've enjoyed it more than once!

 

[EDT]

Wow ! Honolulu Horn I am that Dad now (no disrespect meant). I got diagnosed with cancer last Sept and have had two surgery's. I watch every game and go to some. I act a lot like your Dad did at games. I am even worse at home, I am doing better so I am digging up some tickets to take my kids and son in-laws to the
TEXAS /ou game . When I hug my kids and YELL TEXAS FIGHT. I will think of your wonderful family Thank YOU
p.s.Honolulu Horn If your ever in Houston PM me and I will treat you to dinner.

 

[Olhorn]

This is an important thread and a pleasure to read. So, to true fellow Horns, and fans, till Gabriel blows his horn.

 

[boom]

Hook em, Son.

 

[PacSER]

Honolulu Horn, superb thread. Longhorns like your father always make me proud to be a Longhorn.

As a father, I'm doing my best to share similar moments with my daughter. We have the season tickets and she loves every minute of it. She has been doing the Hook 'Em since she was 1 years old. She loves the Eyes, the cheerleaders, the band, and touchdowns. If she talks about me with half the pride some of you have shown today, I will consider myself a successful father.

Thanks for the thread. We'll be watching the TX/OU game with my soon to be 86 year old grandfather, a Longhorn graduate. Can't wait..

 

[honolulu horn]

This post may not belong On the Field, but I'd like to respectfully request the mods to keep it here for a while if possible. If not, that's cool.

A recent thread got me thinking about this and it felt like the right time to post. I started thinking about my memories of Longhorn football throughout my life, and who has been the most responsible for instilling them there. Like many of us at Hornfans, I was literally weaned on UT football. I have early memories of being at Memorial Stadium before the name change. I heard my dad passionately about the 53-Veer, Street to Peschel, the Wishbone, Tommy Nobis, and Bobby Layne. About '63, '69, and '70. We had gameday parties at our house at Lake Travis, crammed with tvs and extension cords and beer and homemade brisket. We went to as many games as we could, even though we never had season tickets. I saw Earl run while sitting in my dad's lap. We sat next to each other in amazement watching Eric Metcalf. We yelled in the rain while Ricky ran over Mizzou defenders in the deluge. He wanted Applewhite. I wanted Simms. But it was cool. I was always just psyched to be there with my dad, side by side.

Watching games at home meant hearing my dad yell, at the top of his lungs, "Get 'em HORNS! Hit that dude!" It didn't matter when, what game, what the score was, or who was in the house. Always the same. I have crystal-clear memories of VY throwing the game winner at Kansas in 2004 and my dad hoisting up a snifter of brandy, yelling "Get 'em HORNS! Hit that dude!" even though it didn't make any sense. It DID make a lot of sense when we played A&M later that year--sorry Reggie.

That was the last game I ever watched with my Dad. He died of lung cancer on Christmas Day of 2004, one day after his 77th birthday. That last day was grueling and excrutiating, and I won't go into the details, but I can tell you with absolute seriousness that when we finally turned the sound up on the tv--college football bowl season--his body and soul were comforted. The family was there, the smell of barbeque was in the air, football was on, and he was ready to move on.

I don't have to tell you how many mixed emotions were going through me during the 2005 Rose Bowl (vs Michigan). Or how bittersweet the 2005 regular season was. I thought about my dad during every single quarter of every single game. I thought about how much he would love to finally see a championship team again, after waiting 35 long years. I thought about how much he would enjoy watching Vince as a mature quarterback, Jamaal as a future star, our defense as a unit to be feared. I thought about what his reaction would have been to the game in the Shoe. At night. But mostly I thought about what it would be like to sit with him and watch those games together.

I went to the 2006 Rose Bowl (vs USC) with a friend and, naturally, had the time of my life. Anyone who was there knows what I mean. It was an unbelievable highlight of my life. But it would have been a million times sweeter if I had been able to sit there with my dad.

Thing is, I know he was there. I felt him. I know he was watching from the best seat in the house. I know he was watching me and my friend go nuts. I know he was watching my sister go crazy back in Austin, and his sister go crazy in East Texas. I know he saw the tower go orange, and all of the people hugging and laughing and celebrating. His eyes of Texas are upon us.

Look, we all have traditions and foundations unique to our familes and friends. Ours was football. For some of you, it's also probably football. But whatever it is, if you are fortunate and blessed enough to enjoy it with your lifelong family and friends, savor it. Don't shrug it off. Embrace it. Till Gabriel blows his horn.

Hook 'em

 

[ZenSip]

My dad went to UT back in the late 30's, and the first time I realized that we were Longhorns was in 1958. He took the family, mom and four young sons to the homecoming game against SMU. We lost the game, but UT gained four lifelong supporters, students, and fanatics.
My brothers and I lost our dad on July 4th after a lengthy battle with colon cancer, but I can remember his glee when my oldest brother brought him a National Championship/ Rose Bowl cap the weekend after the game.
After he passed, I was over at my mothers changing a light bulb for her, or the like.. just visiting. I told her that one of my bros. and I were heading out to the golf course to try to get eighteen in.
She told me that I needed to take one of the hats to keep my bald head from burning. I looked at the hook on the wall with all my dad's hats. On top was his prize.
As I reached to move it aside, she said, "Not that hat, it is your father's favorite."
Truthfully, each of us boys would have loved to have had that hat. It represented the love my dad had for the University, for his boys, and for Texas football.
It represented the waiting for the success that he knew would come.
My mom passed away not more than two months after my dad... and the hat will hang where it does.
Her sons realize that it represents an even greater love, the one she had for him.