Jc Dobbs

At one time I had been to 30 consecutive Texas -OU games. Enjoyed every moment of all the traditional things surrounding the games. Had good seats and bad seats, hot weather and really hot weather. It even rained one year (2000?). Cactus Pryor interviewed Darrell Royal on TV the week of the OU Game in Coach Royal's first year of retirement. Cactus asked DKR what it was like going to the game as a former participant -- now merely having gone to the game as a guy with a ticket. Coach Royal's response stuck with me. "You know, Cactus, you've gotta really want to go to that game in that stadium in the middle of that State Fair crowd to endure all the hassles ( a good 1976-77 word) you have to go through just to get to that game!" One year a lady was seated behind my crew and she was brought to the Cotton Bowl Stadium obviously as a friend or a spouse because she was naive about what Coach Royal had noted to Cactus. And, it seemed as though she thought she was just along for a polite college football game. It was obviously her first Texas -OU game in person. Long before kickoff, she was asking if "these people" calm down when the game starts and if she was going to have to stand up for three hours to see any of the game, etc. A young man had enough of her soft attitude. He raised his voice and said, "Ma'am, with all due respect, we are wedged in here on this hot afternoon for a really big event. We merely SUBSIST for 364 days every year waiting for this moment to arrive." His language was a little more colorful, but you get the picture. The thought struck me then that the 45,000 Longhorns fans wedged into the Cotton Bowl Stadium's legendary small-ish seats for the OU Game every year are the most serious BEVO-loving fans in all of Longhorns Nation. Because they gotta want to be there to go through all the hassles like traffic, long lines to buy "tickets" as an added extra step to purchase a Fletcher's Corny Dog ( with or without mayo) and contribute to the University, etc., just to have a shot at getting to buy a game ticket. Or purchase tickets online, etc., at a considerable premium. To me, OTF is like the serious Texas fans at the OU Game every second Saturday in October. The OTF people are the fans who really, truly care. Their enthusiasm is sprinkled with Burnt Orange class, manners, humor and respect for their fellow alumni and friends of Longhorns football. . Looking forward to a championship season on OTF, Hook 'Em!

I've been to a lot of Longhorns road games. Never been to the 'Shoe. Watched VY and crew win there on television. Under normal circumstances in '05 I would have gone to Columbus. But I was in the process of getting a divorce (and giving up the season tickets I had for many years at DKR) ... the painful part of divorce. Friends have told me the "fans" at Columbus made sure that Texas people knew they were not welcome. After hearing how our folks were treated, I was glad the Longhorns played well and won the game. The most hostile venues I have experienced were Kyle Field in the 1970s and Arkansas in the 1980s. Never been to Lubbock but a buddy had a bad experience there in '08 ( so did I watching on TV). OSU gave Texas such a small number of tickets you're fortunate to get to attend in person. Maybe the Bucks fans will be in a bit more sportsmanlike mood for the season opener. I have a better feeling about this year's game going in than I had before the game in '05. I hope you have fun and Hook 'Em!

I'm guessing Texas will see both #3 and #10 in the opener. Hook 'Em!

Blake -- I went to the LBJ School of Public Affairs so that will explain the nerdiness of my Non-Sports interests... Inside Russia with Konstantin (YouTube) Ms. Lei's Real Talk ( USA -China Issues) (YouTube) America's Untold Stories (American History, Politics and Pop Culture) (YouTube) The Victor Davis Hanson Show/Stanford University (YouTube) THANKS for all your excellent work on OTF. I never miss on YouTube and I check the site daily. I go way back to Robert Heard at Inside Texas and followed Max Emfinger, Jerry Scarborough, et al. OTF is so good I have lost interest in all the others except Third And Longhorn. Best wishes to you and your family. Especially your son and hope he is healthy for the upcoming football season. jcdobbs3@gmail.com

Agree with you about Corbell. I've followed George Knapp for many years and I respect his honest analysis of the interesting issues. I'm really not a "Goody Two Shoes" kind of guy, but Corbell's gratuitous use of profanity is inappropriate and harms the work product that he produces with George Knapp. Jeremy's foul mouth detracts from the presentation by drawing attention to his language instead of the content of what he and George present to audiences.

I used to do this. After 21 years I got divorced and now live in peace with no daily drama. Hook 'Em!

I picked up Phil Steele's magazine at Barnes and Noble two weeks ago in Ft Worth. I noticed a couple of the other CFB preview magazines but I didn't see Dave Campbell's Texas Football. I could have missed it and it was a couple of weeks ago. Fwiw, the Barnes and Noble location didn't have the Phil Steele cover with Arch Manning. The cover they apparently chose to stock is the Big XII version. Usually the Phil Steele mag is stocked with a couple of different covers, but I suppose they think CFB fans in Ft Worth only care about TCU. Yuk. I have the magazine on the coffee table with the front cover facing down.

Agree with you Jeff. Most OTF fans understand just how difficult the post-surgery rehabilitation process can be for football players. But many casual football fans don't have any idea about how physically and mentally challenging rehab is. Hicks is one of the extraordinary players who excelled in spite of dealing with Injuries. Congratulations and best wishes to him! Hook 'Em!

I agree. It's partially filling an obvious policy vacuum. A former USFL owner who can't resist. Thanks.

Barstool forgot the "A$M" after Texas. Wrong team, Barstool! Hook 'Em!

IMO it's a "valid" EO, but the question arises regarding what is the impact of an EO in this policy process. It may just be another avenue to Judicial Review of one or (likely) more issues. Again, just IMO, but when the Courts ruled in O'Bannon on the NIL issue, the legal and policy landscapes became what was widely described as "the Wild West," meaning little to no regulations or limits around NIL. I think Texas and Texas one Fund flourished in the "Wild West" environment. Many universities and interested parties called for "Guardrails," meaning rules and regulations impacting how teams could and could not compensate players. What has developed is a classic case of self-interested parties trying to get rules and regulations ("Guardrails") regarding pay for players that would advantage their teams and disadvantage their rivals. This is particularly true for smaller, less wealthy universities trying to craft a "level playing field." Finally, IMO , it seems to me that attempts to develop "Guardrails" will only ensure years of litigation. I know it's not going to happen, but I would like to see the "Wild West" prevail. What's likely needed is a new structure to replace the NCAA with a Commissioner of CFB with strong power to administer college football under a broad set of rules. In some ways, the EO signed by the President is showing how rulings could be made by a future strong CFB Commissioner. Universities are finding out they have to be careful about what they wish for. Meanwhile, some programs are being aggressive in recruiting and paying athletes trying to gain advantages while "Guardrails" are developed and reviewed by the Courts. Hook 'Em!

I used to live in Wyoming and had an Old School cable TV setup. I can't remember which channel carried the CFL but the Canadian network was like a North of the Border ESPN. I watched full seasons of CFL football every summer and fall and enjoyed it more than I expected. Quite a few players and coaches from college football in the USA popped up every week and I thought, "Oh, yeah I remember that guy!" I enjoyed the CFL but I haven't ever been able to get interested in the spring and summer pro football leagues in the USA. Having said that, since moving back to Texas I haven't sought out the CFL in the streaming or broadcast TV. The CFL games also reminded me that Canada loves Hockey. They watch football as a side thing to take up time before hockey gets started again. Thanks and good luck to the former Longhorns in the CFL!

Thanks! Those were the days indeed. Time has flown by. Hook 'Em!

Just yesterday I read about a young man from Edna Karr HS in New Orleans who signed with Ole Miss and was entering his Freshman season. Sadly he was shot and killed in an incident involving other young people in suburban Memphis - Shelby County TN. Details were sketchy but it seemed as though he was with some people he should not have been with. People who, unlike him, didn't have college football scholarships and potentially bright futures. He was a two-time All State DL for Karr HS.

Stay away from too much alcohol and "Just Say No" to drugs. Ozzy's lowest moment.

Every few years, especially in music, an entertainer comes along and changes things. I was a high school student when Black Sabbath hit the rock music scene. They changed the way rock was going in the late 1960s by introducing what the critics called "Heavy Metal" rock. I always thought the generation before mine took Ozzy too seriously. His act was a new schtick. I heard an interview today from 1988 with Geraldo Rivera and Ozzy told Geraldo he was not an evil Satan-worshiping guy. He was an entertainer who grew up poor in England and he always wanted to become successful. He was a failure in school and in early labor-intensive jobs but he loved music and found he had a knack for it. I liked Ozzy and his music but he was not a favorite of mine. I noticed how the kids who were mostly benign misfits found a rock star they could follow and enjoy while giving their parents another thing to worry about. Like Elvis twenty years before. Ozzy broke into music at about the time the Wishbone Offense of Emory Bellard and Darrell Royal revolutionized college football. I'm glad I experienced both. I still like college football and classic rock. RIP Ozzy Osbourne and Coach Bellard and Coach Royal. Hook 'Em!

And as we all know..."Fong Never Wrong!" Hook 'Em!

In the summer of 1973 I took the first of two required American History courses. Like many requirements at UT, the class was large. It was held in the auditorium of the Art Building across the street to the North from Memorial Stadium. The professor was Dr Norman Brown and one of my classmates was Ben Crenshaw. At the time, Crenshaw was the better known of two All American golfers for the UT Men's Golf Team, with Tom Kite being the other team member. Crenshaw and Kite have been followed by a long line of accomplished championship players in college and on the PGA Tour. Scottie Scheffler is the latest and currently the most famous of the World #1 ranked professionals to have come through the Forty Acres and played for the University. In September, Scottie will represent the USA in the Ryder Cup competition. Best wishes to Scottie in the final round of the Open Championship on Sunday and the Ryder Cup this September in New York. Hook 'Em Horns!

FOUR DECADES of victories!!! Hook 'Em!

Maybe an Ozempic side effect. OTF is smokin'!

And everyone knows "Fong never wrong!" Hook 'Em!

This article is the first time I have read about Deloitte using an ALGORITHM they developed to evaluate proposed deals. There's some litigation guaranteed. I'm so old...I envisioned a dozen or so Deloitte accountants/consultants sitting in a meeting room going over the proposals. Silly old fashioned me. I know it's way early in the new process, but it sounds like the new "rules" are seeking to force each university to pay all 85 of their players under the total of the $20.5 million cap. If done totally equally... one eighty-fifth of $20.5 mil per player. Of course, it won't be done totally equally. Any NIL deals in addition to a player share of the cap $ ... would need to be very directly in service of a player promoting a business/product. The fact that the scrutiny begins at $600 shows how the new regulatory scheme is NOT thinking big. Anyone know if I'm close on this or is it too early to tell? Hook 'Em!

The Longhorns are loaded at the position he wants to play... even though he enjoyed his visit, it's a long way to the top (AC/DC) if you want to be a TE at Texas. I liked his personality and I hoped he would commit to the Longhorns... but that shows (again) how times have changed. Now a young man has to consider how much $ is associated with each offer. So if there is a school he liked but their position room is loaded and their $ offer is not at the top... well, goodbye and thanks. Oh, well. Hook 'Em!

I was at the Texas vs $MU game in Dallas the first year the "Mustangs" were allowed to play football after receiving the Death Penalty from the NCAA for illegally paying their players. The small crowd was 90pc Longhorns fans and the Ponies looked like a 4A high school team. One of the "Mustangs'" DLs had been getting abused by Texas' Stan Thomas as the Horns ran repeatedly behind Thomas' pancakes. The $MU DL had reached his limit and let go with a roundhouse uppercut that just about ruined Stan's manhood. Stan buckled to the turf as the penalty flag fell beside him. Several Texas players converged on the $MU player and the official's effort to get in the middle was useless. When the artificial turf dust settled, Stan was helped off the field. He returned later in the game for the Longhorns. I've followed CFB since 1968. That game in Dallas remains the most mismatched spectacle I've ever seen. $MU should not have tried to play football again until they could recruit and assemble a representative team. That game demonstrated what a Top 10 team looks like physically on the same field as a bunch of high school sized players. Hook 'Em! and I have never cared for SMU since their scandal -ridden days.