Well the guys at Collegefootball News tried to find out... Check out the t-sip he knows response.
Pretty funny how they see us..
http://www.collegefootballnews.com/2002/Ask_CFN/Ask_CFN.htm
Last week you answered the Michigan, MSU, and OSU dilemma (as far as who's Michigan's biggest rival.) This week I was wondering who's Texas' biggest rival is. Is the Thanksgiving weekend rivalry with Texas A&M a bigger game than the Red River Classic with OU? Obviously the OU game is of more importance because it has a bigger roll in the Fiesta Bowl, but the A&M and UT game has us folks in Texas divided in half during the turkey weekend. In your opinion, who is Texas' biggest rival? - Seth
A: Who better to go to than the die-hard fans themselves? I always assumed, if this makes any sense, that A&M is the bigger rival for Texas while Oklahoma is the bigger game. I asked three die-hard Longhorn fans about this and they all said they'd rather beat A&M. From my man Texas Trey over at Fox Sports, he gave this response (keep in mind this isn't from me Aggie and Sooner fans. This is long, but it's an outstanding insight into the mindset of a rivalry)...
From Trey at www.foxsports.com: That's a good question about the rivalries. I think you'd find that different Texas Exes have different opinions. There's a lot of hatred for both the Aggies and the Sooners for different reasons.
Oklahoma has been a been a bigger rival as far as both battling for national titles during the game's history. in the 60's and 70's especially. They've met as No. 1 & No. 2 a couple of times and Texas and OU have also often met when they were both in the Top 10. And of course there are the recent classics.
Plus there's the whole "our state's better than yours" thing going on. (I never understood how anyone who's even been IN Oklahoma could think it's better than any state other than Arkansas). (Fiu Note: You've never driven through South Dakota.) Also, Darrell Royal went to Oklahoma and really wanted to beat them. He and Switzer hated each other... still do!
We can't forget, it's a neutral site game.. so that plays a huge part. The atmosphere in Dallas is amazing. You can't beat the tension at the Fair Grounds on game day as everyone stands in line silently together waiting for turkey legs and corn dogs before kickoff just staring at each other. Just staring! There used to be rallies the night before in downtown Dallas, but when people started getting KILLED, that stopped. If you lose, you better get the heck out of there quickly!
The A&M rivalry is more about social differences. They were farmers who went to a make-believe military school. Texas is more white collar because throughout history, it was clearly the better academic school. A&M basically HAD to let the farm kids in so they had to lower standards (A&M is MUCH better now, but still lags a tad behind). Texas is city kids, A&M is country kids.
Aggies are brainwashed in "fish camp" which is the first thing they do upon setting foot on campus. (and believe me.. it's not just Longhorns that think that) They have "traditions" like - if their mascot reveille jumps onto your bed, you have to sleep on the floor because the top ranking member of the corps gets the bed for the night and that top ranking member is THEIR DOG! (who would put a dog in charge?) You can't walk on the grass on their campus unless you're an Aggie. Things like drawing a sword on a cheerleader that dared to step onto Kyle Field (that was against SMU) it's hard for Longhorns, and anyone who went to any other school in Texas like Tech, Baylor, SMU, Rice or TCU to understand. They all hate Aggies because they're like a cult. Everyone from Texas tells Aggie jokes and most of the best I've heard were from non-Longhorns. The Aggies are also ultra conservative. Austin is a liberal town so it's a total clash of culture and mindsets The Aggies have total envy of Texas' success. Read the words of the Aggies War Hymn. It's all about Texas. Not just in the chorus.
Hullabaloo, Caneck, Caneck
Hullabaloo, Caneck, Caneck
Good bye to Texas university
So long to the orange and the white
Good luck to dear old Texas Aggies
They are the boys who show the real old fight
'the eyes of Texas are upon you'
That is the song they sing so well
Sounds Like Hell
So good bye to Texas university
We're gonna beat you all to Chigaroogarem
Chigaroogarem
Rough, Tough, Real stuff, Texas A&M
Saw varsity's horns off
Saw varsity's horns off
Saw varsity's horns off
Short! A!
Varsity's horns are sawed off
Varsity's horns are sawed off
Varsity's horns are sawed off
Short! A!
Once you get past the non-sensible words, there are some real emotional problems going on there. By the way, "varsity" was the previous name of the UT mascot (it was later changed to Bevo). In the old days the A&M boys stole Varsity and literally sawed his horns off and returned the animal. Texas has dominated the history.. but the 80's and much of the 90's were theirs. Thanksgiving does play into it, but to be honest, not as much as Dallas plays apart of the OU game. Most of all though, we all live in the same state.. so we're around each other more.
One thing that helps Longhorn fans is the games are close to two months apart. OU happening in early October and Aggies on Thanksgiving breaks them up and let's Texas fans focus on each one separately. Personally.. and I'm not alone.. I think Aggies are possessed by the devil and it has somehow made them a lower life-form. That's why I'd say for "most" Longhorns.. the Aggies are the bigger rival.
Pretty funny how they see us..
http://www.collegefootballnews.com/2002/Ask_CFN/Ask_CFN.htm
Last week you answered the Michigan, MSU, and OSU dilemma (as far as who's Michigan's biggest rival.) This week I was wondering who's Texas' biggest rival is. Is the Thanksgiving weekend rivalry with Texas A&M a bigger game than the Red River Classic with OU? Obviously the OU game is of more importance because it has a bigger roll in the Fiesta Bowl, but the A&M and UT game has us folks in Texas divided in half during the turkey weekend. In your opinion, who is Texas' biggest rival? - Seth
A: Who better to go to than the die-hard fans themselves? I always assumed, if this makes any sense, that A&M is the bigger rival for Texas while Oklahoma is the bigger game. I asked three die-hard Longhorn fans about this and they all said they'd rather beat A&M. From my man Texas Trey over at Fox Sports, he gave this response (keep in mind this isn't from me Aggie and Sooner fans. This is long, but it's an outstanding insight into the mindset of a rivalry)...
From Trey at www.foxsports.com: That's a good question about the rivalries. I think you'd find that different Texas Exes have different opinions. There's a lot of hatred for both the Aggies and the Sooners for different reasons.
Oklahoma has been a been a bigger rival as far as both battling for national titles during the game's history. in the 60's and 70's especially. They've met as No. 1 & No. 2 a couple of times and Texas and OU have also often met when they were both in the Top 10. And of course there are the recent classics.
Plus there's the whole "our state's better than yours" thing going on. (I never understood how anyone who's even been IN Oklahoma could think it's better than any state other than Arkansas). (Fiu Note: You've never driven through South Dakota.) Also, Darrell Royal went to Oklahoma and really wanted to beat them. He and Switzer hated each other... still do!
We can't forget, it's a neutral site game.. so that plays a huge part. The atmosphere in Dallas is amazing. You can't beat the tension at the Fair Grounds on game day as everyone stands in line silently together waiting for turkey legs and corn dogs before kickoff just staring at each other. Just staring! There used to be rallies the night before in downtown Dallas, but when people started getting KILLED, that stopped. If you lose, you better get the heck out of there quickly!
The A&M rivalry is more about social differences. They were farmers who went to a make-believe military school. Texas is more white collar because throughout history, it was clearly the better academic school. A&M basically HAD to let the farm kids in so they had to lower standards (A&M is MUCH better now, but still lags a tad behind). Texas is city kids, A&M is country kids.
Aggies are brainwashed in "fish camp" which is the first thing they do upon setting foot on campus. (and believe me.. it's not just Longhorns that think that) They have "traditions" like - if their mascot reveille jumps onto your bed, you have to sleep on the floor because the top ranking member of the corps gets the bed for the night and that top ranking member is THEIR DOG! (who would put a dog in charge?) You can't walk on the grass on their campus unless you're an Aggie. Things like drawing a sword on a cheerleader that dared to step onto Kyle Field (that was against SMU) it's hard for Longhorns, and anyone who went to any other school in Texas like Tech, Baylor, SMU, Rice or TCU to understand. They all hate Aggies because they're like a cult. Everyone from Texas tells Aggie jokes and most of the best I've heard were from non-Longhorns. The Aggies are also ultra conservative. Austin is a liberal town so it's a total clash of culture and mindsets The Aggies have total envy of Texas' success. Read the words of the Aggies War Hymn. It's all about Texas. Not just in the chorus.
Hullabaloo, Caneck, Caneck
Hullabaloo, Caneck, Caneck
Good bye to Texas university
So long to the orange and the white
Good luck to dear old Texas Aggies
They are the boys who show the real old fight
'the eyes of Texas are upon you'
That is the song they sing so well
Sounds Like Hell
So good bye to Texas university
We're gonna beat you all to Chigaroogarem
Chigaroogarem
Rough, Tough, Real stuff, Texas A&M
Saw varsity's horns off
Saw varsity's horns off
Saw varsity's horns off
Short! A!
Varsity's horns are sawed off
Varsity's horns are sawed off
Varsity's horns are sawed off
Short! A!
Once you get past the non-sensible words, there are some real emotional problems going on there. By the way, "varsity" was the previous name of the UT mascot (it was later changed to Bevo). In the old days the A&M boys stole Varsity and literally sawed his horns off and returned the animal. Texas has dominated the history.. but the 80's and much of the 90's were theirs. Thanksgiving does play into it, but to be honest, not as much as Dallas plays apart of the OU game. Most of all though, we all live in the same state.. so we're around each other more.
One thing that helps Longhorn fans is the games are close to two months apart. OU happening in early October and Aggies on Thanksgiving breaks them up and let's Texas fans focus on each one separately. Personally.. and I'm not alone.. I think Aggies are possessed by the devil and it has somehow made them a lower life-form. That's why I'd say for "most" Longhorns.. the Aggies are the bigger rival.