Texas Football

The Longhorns of the University of Texas are a nationally known brand. The wonderful logo of the Longhorn steer, printed on the sides of the helmet, has a primal appeal. We like animals and used to work closely with them and they have a purity, simple, strong, dependable-- just like a good football player. But has the football experience held on to its primal appeal? I have been attending games with some consistency since around 1996. I was first attracted by the arrival of Ricky Williams, the archetype for a great football player. Ricky was bigger than life and most of his opponents. He literally rambled across the field and brought a certain joy to the game of football.

One of the best things about the UT football stadium experience, watching players on a natural grass field, has since been removed. Football played on a natural field reminds us of our rural origins. People sliding and tackling on grass and the resulting grass-stained uniforms reflect the physical reality of contact. Natural grass fields get torn and muddy depending on weather conditions, a disturbing development for the TV transmission. The TV camera always wants a perfect field, un-muddied by reality. Television makes the game more antiseptic, ready for prime time. And now the experience of going to a Texas football game resembles the couch potato experience at home. The jumbotron screen above the south end zone provides images of players ten time their actual size. Plays are hurriedly repeated, like the instant replay enjoyed in the living room. Ads are displayed in various forms across the stadium. The field has been changed to an artificial surface. The jumbotron screen has dwarfed the student performers and the band members, cheerleaders, and pom squads look like tiny ants fighting hopelessly to compete with the electronic fireworks. I recall the days when people would actually count the points with the cheerleaders doing backflips at the edge of the north end  zone. Now, though the backflips continue the cheerleaders are hardly noticeable. Who can keep their eyes off the mega-screen? Interestingly, the band members got demoted from their seats near the playing field to a remote location in the south end zone. These are student volunteers but apparently their contribution does not qualify for a decent seat!

In the short time since the Big 12 got invented as a combination of the Big Eight and four schools from the Southwest Conference, much has changed. Schools have moved around, changed conferences for physical geography has been replaced by electronic cut and paste. Conferences are aligned on the basis of TV ratings, where the real money lies, and physical reality again gives way to electronic marketing concerns.

Texas has had its struggles this year, another discussion, but a valuable few steps would be tearing down the jumbotron, re-installing natural grass, and moving the band back to their rightful position in the student section. If we choose to go to the stadium, let us watch a football game. If we want a living room experience, we can stay home for that.