I know I have made fun of the Aggies who live for the rivalry and the 1 game season. And I still believe that attitude has held back our success for generations. And I am still hyper-pissed that the SEC stabbed us in the back and allowed the sips in the conference.
But this story is about my wife's Dad, class of '65. He was definitely one who lived for the rivalry.
In early 2006 he was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors thought they got it all, but sadly didn't, and it progressed to brain cancer. In early fall of 2006 he was told it was a matter of months.
He was in Snook, and we lived 600 miles away. But we still kept season tickets at Kyle. So we came down to visit on every game weekend that fall, and left the kids to stay with him and his wife, while we went to games. I generally came back pissed and screaming. We were "Frantastic" that year, and lost 3 games that came down to the last possession due to stupid coaching.
But her dad was always positive and optimistic. He would say that little quarterback is something else. I thinks he's gonna be a good one.
As the season progressed, his condition deteriorated. By the time we played the sips he was pretty much bedridden. But he got up and watched the game. And smiled the whole time. After we won, my son who was 8 at the time, made him a crayon drawing of the scoreboard, complete with sawed off horns.
In his final 2 weeks he rewound and re-watched that game at least 20 times. And smiled every time.
At his funeral the crayon drawing was in his hands in the coffin, and just about everyone who walked passed whooped at the sight of it.
Scoreboard forever. 12-7.
So for everyone who thinks it's just a game, and not a matter of life and death... Sometimes it is.
But this story is about my wife's Dad, class of '65. He was definitely one who lived for the rivalry.
In early 2006 he was diagnosed with cancer. The doctors thought they got it all, but sadly didn't, and it progressed to brain cancer. In early fall of 2006 he was told it was a matter of months.
He was in Snook, and we lived 600 miles away. But we still kept season tickets at Kyle. So we came down to visit on every game weekend that fall, and left the kids to stay with him and his wife, while we went to games. I generally came back pissed and screaming. We were "Frantastic" that year, and lost 3 games that came down to the last possession due to stupid coaching.
But her dad was always positive and optimistic. He would say that little quarterback is something else. I thinks he's gonna be a good one.
As the season progressed, his condition deteriorated. By the time we played the sips he was pretty much bedridden. But he got up and watched the game. And smiled the whole time. After we won, my son who was 8 at the time, made him a crayon drawing of the scoreboard, complete with sawed off horns.
In his final 2 weeks he rewound and re-watched that game at least 20 times. And smiled every time.
At his funeral the crayon drawing was in his hands in the coffin, and just about everyone who walked passed whooped at the sight of it.
Scoreboard forever. 12-7.
So for everyone who thinks it's just a game, and not a matter of life and death... Sometimes it is.
