The big game is here, but where's the hate?
Why am I hearing about Texas and Texas A&M players
texting each other and enjoying the friendly banter before the
biggest game of the year?
My, my, my.
Times have changed, but the rivalry is here anyway.
We're going to talk about it next.
Hey everybody, Brian Davis covering the Texas Longhorns for A-Z
Sports.
Now, look, I'm jacked up this week.
Texas versus Texas A&M, Longhorns and Aggies.
We finally got the mega matchup that we wanted.
This game has been 13 years in the making.
Finally it is here and the Longhorns and Aggies are
talking about what a fun game it's going to be
and what an exciting environment it's going to be at
Kyle Field and how the players are texting with each
other an get off my lawn.
I'm just going to say get off my lawn.
Where's the hate?
Where is the brutality?
Where is the we can't stand these people?
OK, look, maybe look, it's not 1970 anymore.
I get it.
Times have changed and the rivalry has changed.
You got to face facts with that.
Talking with the Texas players on Monday, it was very
adamant that they know it's a big game and that
people are telling them it's a big game, but they
don't feel like it's a big game.
Texas has won ten straight True Rd.
games.
So in their mind, they're thinking, hey, Kyle Field, 100,000
people, no big whoop, whoop.
We'll just go out there and just, you know, laying
on laying on the Aggies like we've like we've done
everyone else like they did Michigan, like they did Alabama.
And granted that those were big wins, no question about
it.
But I was going around asking these players about look,
you guys came of age when this thing was not
a thing.
Texas and A&M was not a thing.
And remember these players were six or anywhere between 6
and 10 years old when this rivalry stopped.
Matt Golden, the receiver, he was asked point blank, do
you know who Justin Tucker is?
And he said, no, wait a minute.
He's the kicker, right?
Yes.
He's the kicker that kicked the most famous field goal
that ended the rivalry in 2011.
Yes, yes, yes.
But then you talk to Anthony Hill, who's like and
remember, and Hill, he committed to A&M 1st and then
D committed and then switched the Longhorns.
He said, oh, he says, oh, yeah, I know several
of those players.
I've been texting.
We've been having friendly banter, you know, in the days
leading up to this week's game.
And it's like, you know, Peter Gardere, Bucky Richardson, Ricky
Williams, Jaborski Lane, these guys would be like out of
their minds.
Like, what are you doing communicating across enemy lines in
this thing?
But yet this is where we are, You know, a
series that dates back to to the late 1800s played
for the most of the 20th century.
And majority of that was on Thanksgiving.
Again, it was stopped after the 2011 season when Texas
A&M went to the SEC conference.
Now they're both in the same conference.
You know, it's and I tried to explain this to
a couple players.
I said, tell me what the significance of sawing varsity's
horns off means to you.
And Hill said, I, I don't know what that means,
right?
David Benda straight up said what what are you talking
about, right?
They don't know.
They don't know what some of the Aggies traditions are
and they just know that, hey, this is the 12th
team on the schedule.
We got to go play it.
And if the winner goes to the SEC title game.
So I think it's going to take some time for
Texas and A&M to really, you know, get back in
the swing of things of of how of what this
game really means.
You know, as a person of, you know, if I'm,
let's call it 30 and up, if you're 30 and
up, you know, that's probably a heartbreaker to you.
But if you're 30 and below, you're probably thinking, what's
the big deal?
You know, two big, two big teams, you know, playing
at it.
OK, look, we'll have plenty of time to get fired
up about it.
I'm fired up now, no question about it.
This is but if if you don't know, you're about
to get indoctrinated into one of the greatest rivalries that
I think our state has to offer.
Texas and Texas A&M, 6:30 Saturday night, primetime Cal Field,
100,000 people.
It's going to be amazing.
The two flagship universities of one of the greatest states
in the union finally clashing.
This is how it is meant to be like peanut
butter and Jelly.
They go together but yet they hate each other type
of thing.
It is what it is.
I want to talk more about this match up right
here on the A-Z sports.com Longhorns, YouTube.
Make sure you like it.
Subscribe.
I want to talk about Marcel Reed and what he
will be able to do.
We'll get the Texas defense later on this week, Thanksgiving
week.
So I hope you got big Thanksgiving plans on Thursday.
But don't forget everything will be right here.
A-Z sports.com/longhorns all week long.
I'll be guiding you through holding your hand.
Got midnight yell on Friday.
That's going to be a big one too.
I'll be going to that.
So we're really looking forward to that all week long
right here.
A-Z sports.com/longhorns.
I'm Brian Davis.
We'll catch you next time.