The Eyes of Texas
It's September, Fall is approaching, school is back in session and football season has started. I grew up going to OU football games with my dad. For several seasons we made the trip to Norman on Saturdays, parked the car miles from the stadium and made the long walk across campus, stopping only long enough to buy a great big brownie, carefully wrapped in plastic wrap, that was just big enough to sustain us until we got to our seats.
Being raised an OU fan not only made me want to cheer for the Sooners at every opportunity, but it also conditioned me to cheer against Texas every chance I had. Texas is OU's biggest rival. You just can't be an OU fan and a Texas fan at the same time, so I cheer for OU and against Texas. That "us against them" mentality seems to find its way into politics as well. The idea of keeping up with Texas was used in ad campaigns to help promote the lottery in Oklahoma. In recent years Texas has taken some of Oklahoma's larger companies and relocated their headquarters south of the Red River. These are just a few of the many reasons to be down on Texas.
After this past week I may have to change my attitude towards the Lone Star State. I traveled with my family to the Houston area to spend Labor Weekend with Brad and his family. While we were there the city of Houston was receiving thousands of evacuees from New Orleans and other coastal cities whose homes had been destroyed by hurricane Katrina. During one of New Orleans' darkest hours (literally and figuratively) the Houston Astrodome, which must have seemed like the Ritz Carlton compared to the decimated Louisiana Super Dome, was opened to house thousands of people. In a time of need Texans welcomed their neighbors with open arms. Thousands of well organized volunteers prepared cots to sleep on, food to eat, clothing and other supplies to make these victims feel comfortable, safe and secure.
The citizens of Houston rallied together, donating supplies to fire departments and churches, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army to the point where donations and volunteers had to be turned away. Since then many cities and states, including Oklahoma I'm proud to say, have shared in the responsibility of caring for those made homeless by the hurricane. A month from now when the OU and Texas football teams meet at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas I won't have any problem pointing my horns down and cheering against the University of Texas. But for now this Sooner fan will gladly give credit to Texas for leading the way with their initiative, their organization and their generosity, and I'm sure many citizens of New Orleans are glad that the eyes of Texas are upon them tonight.
Being raised an OU fan not only made me want to cheer for the Sooners at every opportunity, but it also conditioned me to cheer against Texas every chance I had. Texas is OU's biggest rival. You just can't be an OU fan and a Texas fan at the same time, so I cheer for OU and against Texas. That "us against them" mentality seems to find its way into politics as well. The idea of keeping up with Texas was used in ad campaigns to help promote the lottery in Oklahoma. In recent years Texas has taken some of Oklahoma's larger companies and relocated their headquarters south of the Red River. These are just a few of the many reasons to be down on Texas.
After this past week I may have to change my attitude towards the Lone Star State. I traveled with my family to the Houston area to spend Labor Weekend with Brad and his family. While we were there the city of Houston was receiving thousands of evacuees from New Orleans and other coastal cities whose homes had been destroyed by hurricane Katrina. During one of New Orleans' darkest hours (literally and figuratively) the Houston Astrodome, which must have seemed like the Ritz Carlton compared to the decimated Louisiana Super Dome, was opened to house thousands of people. In a time of need Texans welcomed their neighbors with open arms. Thousands of well organized volunteers prepared cots to sleep on, food to eat, clothing and other supplies to make these victims feel comfortable, safe and secure.
The citizens of Houston rallied together, donating supplies to fire departments and churches, the Red Cross and the Salvation Army to the point where donations and volunteers had to be turned away. Since then many cities and states, including Oklahoma I'm proud to say, have shared in the responsibility of caring for those made homeless by the hurricane. A month from now when the OU and Texas football teams meet at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas I won't have any problem pointing my horns down and cheering against the University of Texas. But for now this Sooner fan will gladly give credit to Texas for leading the way with their initiative, their organization and their generosity, and I'm sure many citizens of New Orleans are glad that the eyes of Texas are upon them tonight.
posted by Blair | 12:29 AM
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