With our return to College Station on the horizon, I wanted to bring this up to our OTF family.
Many of you were born into Texas fandom. Others went to the University of Texas and fell in love with the Longhorn logo.
For me, that fandom started in my grandparents home in Western Pennsylvania in the late 1990s.
Unlike many of the OTF family, I did not have the pleasure of being from Texas or attending the University. Rather, my upbringing is in a modest home in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. Far closer to Pitt and Penn State than Austin, Texas.
My grandpa didn't have a particular favorite team (aside from the Pittsburgh Steelers), but he would watch Penn State and Pitt when he could. And when my mom would work weekends, my grandparents would babysit me. Saturdays were for college football.
My grandpa and I would watch Gameday on ESPN and then wait to see what games were on that day. We'd have to look in TV Guide or our newspaper (the good old days). On one day in particular we landed on a game where a team with orange uniforms were playing. Now me all of six years old was transfixed on the screen. I remember asking my grandpa who that team was?
"Oh, that's Texas," he said. "They're the team in orange."
I've been a fan ever since. It's a simple story with no frills but for a six-year-old kid the burnt orange uniforms racing across the TV screen was enough for me. And for this now 31-year-old man, the love for the Texas Longhorns will never waver. Hook'em!
I wanted to ask my fellow OTF members when your fandom started as we gear up for the Lone Star Showdown this Saturday. Thanks for making this non-traditional Texas fan feel welcome!