Friday, October 23, 2015

GUEST POST: East Texas P1 Schools Superlative Corby and Mike on Texas-A&M "Hatred"


You guys know how I like it when a Confessor volunteers a piece I can use here.  Long-time responsible Confessor East Texas P1 asked some time back if he could do a piece on a Hardline segment that struck a nerve with him.  Sure, I said, would love to see it.  He cranked it out over a weekend and sent it to me and I offer my sincere apologies to him that it took me this long to get to it -- he and I both would have preferred that it have run closer to the segment he's commenting on.  Sorry, Tex.

And you have got to love a Confessor who supplies his own redhead, in this case his favorite East Texas beverage consultant and technician (who, he assures me, has given permission for her photo to appear here).  

I have edited very lightly for clarity but left it pretty much intact.  Please send your submissions to theplainsman1310@gmail.com.  After six years, my topic wheel needs some air.

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On Thursday, September 30th 6:40 segment Corby took the stage about “bits going on at Texas A&M."  Evidently a regent at A&M posted a message on Facebook that the A&M/UT game should be reinstated. However, his reason was not to restore the rivalry but because UT had become a “cupcake” program and would offer a rest between the SEC schedule and A&M's current non-conference schedule.  You can find the audio here about 3:47 into the program.




I agree that all schools have the 1% - 3% of knuckleheads, whether they are students, alumni or regents, that positively “hate” the other school.  The TAMU regent who posted about the “cupcake” school was definitely wrong, maybe trying to be funny or tongue-in-cheek, and it did not work.  Corby exposited that most TAMU fans would shake their heads and be like: "Dude, shut up."  Mike, however, offered the observation that no, most Aggies were more like "hell yeah!" (my words, not his).  



This is where it turned weird, to me.  Corby (and to a lesser extent, Mike) went on a long rant about how much each school “HATED” the other and did not respect one another.



My question to Corby:  Where doe you infer this so-called hatred?  There were phrases thrown out that there was “a superiority complex,”  “no respect between the two and never has been,” and, “the hatred is so strange to me.”  And then the references to schools like Notre Dame v. Southern Cal, Ohio St. v. Michigan and even Oklahoma v. Texas, who do things right.  Give each other the “knowing nod.”



I am not a multi-generational Aggie though I have been a fan since 1979.  My daughter graduated from there, class of ’10.  My family is a mixed family, with some nieces and nephews graduating from both schools.  My brother graduated from UT.  I don’t know of any “hatred” between the schools.  I asked my daughter and her answer (and her husband’s, Class of ’09) was that it was a friendly rivalry, intense at times but nothing more or less.  There are well-entrenched opinions on both sides of the ball but that is true at all schools, not just these two, whether they be SEC, Big 12, FBS, FCS or whatever.  (Again, we'll put aside the small number of knuckleheads at any school.)



My first point of the bond between the schools would be to reference “The Burning Desire,” the documentary about the bonfire collapse.  Unfortunately, copyright protections keep most of this off the internet so I can’t post a link.  However, in this documentary, produced by A&M, the uplift and support by Texas students in the days after the collapse and preceding the game was very well recorded.  Blood drives, cancelled hex rally, Mack and Sally Brown’s support, etc.  Believe me, there was no “hate” during that week and the same feeling has continued.  Look at the respect the UT band gave A&M during halftime.  Brought everybody to tears is what it did.




Last 2:32 minutes of the Longhorn band performance.  Watch that and tell me if your allergies didn’t act up just a little.  



There was another article about the meeting of mascots.  Interesting read.  http://www.texasmonthly.com/the-culture/the-meeting-of-two-mascots/  I



I think the interesting quote from this article is from Daylon Koster, Reveille VIII’s handler:  “It was a dot dot dot moment. To be continued,” Koster said. “I wouldn't say friends, I wouldn't say enemies. There was utmost respect between schools and mascots”.  Please note in the story this was in 2013.



Then there is this from 2011, 12 years after the collapse.  A UT fan left a piece of paper at the Aggie memorial to the bonfire collapse.  It references the statements made at the time by UT vice-president of student affairs at that time, Eric Opiela (also referenced in The Burning Desire).   Are we seeing a trend here, Corby?




Finally, and while this is not directly applicable to the A&M/Texas situation, I think it goes to the culture of TAMU from someone who is not indoctrinated / drinking the Kool-Aid that sometime infects A&M fans and others.  A Florida fan comes to TAMU for the first ever TAMU SEC game:




So if Corby was doing a bit, then I get it.  But I don’t think he was.  I was speaking with my brother after the Texas-Oklahoma State game about all the freshman / sophomores on the Longhorn team.  Corby and Mike opined that Texas will be back sooner than later.  As a TAMU fan I agree.  I told my brother that I did not see any quit on this team from any of the players, and the malcontents that did not like playing under Charlie Strong are gone.  As superlative Corby spoke “I don’t know when they will be back but they will be back.”  I agree, and I give it two years.  Give Charlie Strong two years and that A&M regent will be eating that “cupcake”.  (This piece was started before the TCU game but I still stand behind my opinion.) 

  

Yes, I want an A&M-Texas game.  As a mixed family (as noted above), Thanksgiving dinners were so much fun when half the house was for one team, half for the other.  I may be wrong, but this is how I feel it is between the majority of fans of the two schools.   I want that atmosphere back.  So Corby, come eat Thanksgiving with us.  We don’t hate.

41 comments:

  1. No disrespect but lets keep the red heads pictured at MTC at a solid 8 rating and above. Again no disrespect.

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  2. I graduated from UT in 1972. I've seen my share of UT-Aggie games and for a lot of us the UT-Aggie game was a much bigger rivalry than UT-OU because for most of our lives A&M was a conference game and OU was not. As far as I'm concerned it was a healthy regional rivalry between two schools that were fiercely competitive. But it was never about hate.

    Even though I am a UT-ex I have a lot of ties to A&M. My grandfather was a Ross Volunteer. My great uncle gave them a bunch of money and got a building named after him. I have even stayed at the Memorial Student Center. So I was sad when the Aggies departed for the SEC. I didn't want them to go. But they made it clear that they were tired of playing second fiddle to Texas and wanted to get away from the big orange bully. Fair enough. Enjoy your stay in the SEC. But if UT was their excuse for bolting to the SEC then I don't want to hear any talk about trying to keep the football rivalry going. The UT alumni I know have moved on. But hate has nothing to do with it.

    If you have listened to THL for a long time, it should be pretty apparent that Mike does not like UT and does not like what he considers to be spoiled, entitled orangebloods. So that's where Mike is coming from. Corby has a more legitimate claim to disliking UT, given his ties to both TCU and OU. And it's not too hard to figure out where Danny stands: "It's just a cow."

    So I don't expect much Hardline objectivity when it comes to UT.

    Like I said, UT fans have moved on. And as each year passes, interest in regenerating the game will lessen as the percentage of UT alumni who never experienced the rivalry first hand will increase.

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  3. Did my post get deleted because it was a dissenting opinion?

    Because I'm a UT alum and I can tell you there is an absolute hatred between the two schools/alumni/fan bases and THL was right on about it.

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  4. Sorry to change the subject, but just wanted to give props to the Sat morning show with Rhyner. I'm not real familiar with those Sirois boys, but really enjoy the times I do catch them. I thought the guy did a great job at what was basically a Rhynes interview. When speaking of Greggo, I could tell Rhynes still harbors a lot animosity. But Rhyner was quick to say that how that was the best time ever for the show and how much he enjoyed the Greggo years, as we all did. Personally, I wish they had not brought in a permanent third person. Maybe just used Corby on the side for the sporadic yuk bits, but kept it strictly Hardline with Greggo and Rhynes.

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  5. The A&M-UT issue is more of a Regents thing than it is between the fans. This was more a case of "don't let your money get mad" as Jerry would say. A&M would like to continue the game, but right now Austin is preventing that. The Admiral in Austin floated a balloon out the other day saying he would like to see the tradition come back.

    If Strong brings the program back and the alums think they can beat A&M on a regular basis again, it will return. The T-shirt fan can bark all they want, this will be decided by the folks who write the big checks.

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  6. I only caught bits and pieces of CdS while I was running errands Saturday. I plan to go back and listen to the archive of the show. If you need a primer or a refresher on how the Ticket came to be, this would be a good way to do it.

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  7. http://cirquedusirois.com/listen-to-cirque/

    The show starts at about the 22 minute mark.....Thanks for those that listened and thought enough to tweet and email...Mike Rhyner is an effing legend and getting to share the airwaves with him was fantastic...The chat on the start of the Ticket, and the Greggo stuff was fun for sure...

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  8. Sooo...is there a reason my 2 attempts to respond have not been posted? Feel free to post an explanation so I understand.

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  9. I appreciate your passion for this ETP1, and I also appreciate that Pman is open to Confessor Confessional Columns; but this seems to me something for forums that specialize in such topics.

    Did anyone get to listen to the CdS slinky refers to? Cash posted a URL to it on the reddit site. It is WELL worth your time. What's really interesting is when Mike admits that the old days were the best times of his life, when the station was at its best, and how awesome Greggo was back then. I implore all you (Pman included) who weren't around during the early days, and especially those who like to "nothing but good old day syndrome, it's just as good-maybe even better now, but only a bit different" us D1P1s or early adopter P1s when we say how different and better the station used to be. Mike truly brings back that feeling while describing those days. He also pointedly stated that GW tries to contact him from time to time but that he doesn't respond, that he can't "go there"/begin to try to reestablish two way contact and even some sort of relationship until after he retires from the biz. His reasoning was that once he's out of the biz, Greggo would no longer be able to use him. Mike didn't go any further into what that means, and Cash didn't push him on it. It was interesting, though.

    I used to enjoy listening to the Cowboy postgame show. Now that TIoNaD is both a daily show AND the postgame show, I'm more than burnt out on their pairing. They're both over emphatic in making their points - - points that they, but specially Donnie, make a million times in a row and all throughout the presentation. Even 2 hours a day of them together is MORE than enough. I can't take the additional 2+ hours every Sunday. Either find Norm a new postgame partner, or keep Donnie and find him another postgame partner, or find a new host(s) entirely. As it is, it's too much of TIoNaD.

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  10. What a fantastic football weekend. Aggies lost & cowboys lost. Wonderful. Clearly weeden was the problem & cassel was the answer. Dez can't keep his mouth shut & hardy is about to body slam him on his machine gun couch. We had sideline chaos....untimely penalties...turnovers...what a great day for the anti-cowboy faction.

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  11. Sam Bradford and the Philadelphia eagles are just awful. 8-8 wins this awful division.

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  12. I'd like to offer an opposing viewpoint on the Longhorn-Aggie rivalry.

    I am a Longhorn alum. From Shock the Nation to 4th and 5 and down to the recent depths.

    I think THL was dead on in their description of the rivalry. Longhorns and Aggies hate each other with a passion. There is absolutely mutual disdain and lack of respect for each other's programs. The Aggie cult is and always has been deluded about the state of their program. Outside of a brief 10-year period the Aggies have been a mediocre program since any of us have been born. Just look at the records.

    I really can't even comprehend how those of you who have any actual ties to the two schools could ever even dream of saying that the rivalry is overblown and that there really isn't any true hatred there anymore. I'd say the bitterness and hate runs as deep as ever. The bonfire aftermath was but a tiny blip in the landscape.

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  13. Housekeeping:

    (1) I didn't catch nearly enough of Cirque featuring Mike Rhyner, but what I heard was great. Gonna have to go back and check that show out. Cash, thanks for checking in.

    (2) I like to keep things Tickety around here, but I think we can all tolerate a little off-topic post now and then. Besides, East Tex began and concluded with a tie in to The Hardline. I am always delighted to entertain any submission for a possible post, and if I can find even the slightest hook to the site, and the content is suitable, I'll toss it up there. Please send your submission to ThePlainsman1310@gmail.com. Redhead optional.

    (3) I suppose a little football talk is unavoidable. I was of the opinion that 13-3 was an outlier and that the Cowboys' success last year was fragile. Sure, you lose your two big stars and you're going to be worse. But this much worse? It starts at the top with maladroit drafting, overpaying mediocrity, and general failure to put some talented meat on the bones of this team. Jerry Jones as Executive of the Year? Please. Jason Garrett only got a little bit good when he stopped coaching on Sundays and his stars began to shine. Without the stars, his game plans are exposed as unimaginative, and his sideline in chaos. But perhaps you can't do anything with players who simply don't look ready to play, running sloppy routes, penalties galore, and generally not ready for prime time -- which also reflects on the head coach.

    Somewhere along the line, someone is going to provide a good explanation of how this franchise has become and remains one of the one or two most valuable sports organizations in the world.

    Not a hater. I root for the Cowboys, but even the most diehard fans among my friends despair even of a conference championship while Jerry and Steven are in charge. More than one has expressed the wish for an armed coup by Charlotte.

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  14. Sorry: I dictated that last comment with speech-to-text. Make that "Stephen."

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  15. Really refreshing to hear Jub go off on Hardy & gutless head coach Jason Garrett this morning. This thing is in a tail spin & Garrett isn't a strong enough coach to pull it out.

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  16. Yeah, that reminds me of one other Cowboy-related point I wanted to make:

    Hardy may have been the chief villain yesterday, but I absolutely disbelieve every Cowboy interviewee I hear who say that they are okay with Dez Bryant's sideline rants and harangues. I guarantee you that these exhausted and already highly-motivated athletes waiting their next turn for action are absolutely thrashed by Dez's motormouth instructions, critiques, rah-rah, or whatever it is he's annoying everyone with week after week on the sidelines. A little inspirational pep talk every once in a while is fine, but I have to believe that his act is wearing exceedingly thin among men who consider themselves professionals without his lectures. Garrett should've gotten this under control years ago.

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  17. The outrage over Hardy seems dumb. Does anyone for one second consider that maybe, just maybe, you want a pass rusher who is a little "dangerous". Garrett is smart enough to know what Hardy is and if Hardy can get 8-10 sacks this season Garrett will continue to tolerate this behavior the same why he tolerates Dez who acts the same way.

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  18. From the perspective of someone who has no ties to UT or A&M, I have no problem with corky's take on the rivalry. In my experience, I'd say the rivalry leans more toward the way he described. I've heard some hilarious and ridiculous things said by alums from each camp. I think it stems from the misconception each camp has on the history of their teams.

    Plainsman, I agree with you on the Dez situation. I have to think the team is barely tolerating it on Game day and Garrett hasn't ever handled it right. But when you get way too much credit for 12-4 after all those 8-8's, you can get away with that I guess.

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  19. Donnie's hijacking of the mix between DnM and Norm and Donnie's show is already too much. It started last week and hasn't stopped. You have your own show now, Donnie. You're a full fledged weekday cohost. So let the flippin' game come to you a bit, please. We hear your opinions, your jokes, your everything. OK? Promise, we do. No need to repeat them ad nauseam. No need to repeat every sports point ad nauseam. No need to out and over talk everyone in the room. Let. The. Game. Come. To. You. I think Donnie has talent, but he's quickly wearing thin on me and many of my P1 pals.

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  20. blergoyan -- thanks for the correction; obviously, last year's record wasn't 13-3.

    Dez's tantrums -- even if they're "positive" and "spirited" -- may roll off an auditor's back if the team's winning, but they're intolerable if things aren't going quite so well. Garrett's likable and you always hope that the good guy has success, but sometimes you gotta grab an employee by the scruff of the neck, sit him down, and get him squared away and if he doesn't square away, impose some consequences. The differences between Garrett and Wade are measurable mainly on the scale.

    And let's not overlook the culpability of the Joneses -- Jerry especially, who is terrified that one of his toys won't like him back -- in undercutting their staff's authority.

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  21. Agreed on the "too much Donnie" point. I find myself listening 10-noon much less than I did a few weeks/months ago. It will be interesting to se how this plays out in the ratings.

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  22. @Chris K "Dangerous" to QB's. Not "dangerous" to women and special teams coaches.

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  23. Wow....so Dan hadn't seen the footage of the Hardy blow up before Bob showing it to him on-air during the segment? People here talk about Corby not being prepared (and rightfully so sometimes), but Dan is just as bad or worse. Bob even said something along the lines "If I'd known you hadn't seen it yet..." This was one of the biggest stories from the game. I used to think Dan's disinterest in many things current sport was just a bit, but I think he really just doesn't care.

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  24. Can someone tell me Bob became more concerned about protected his "media empire" rather than calling it like he sees it.

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  25. Exactly Chris K. Charles Haley, anyone?

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  26. I can barely tolerate Cowboys talk on The Ticket, much less on a blog about The Ticket. Please no more.

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  27. I dunno, guys. I get the rhetoric that this team may not be the most disciplined in the nfl, but name another team in the league that would have a significantly better record than the cowboys do right now if their starting qb became injured for an extended period of time. The pats? Probably, but that's about it. This is a qb dominated league, and if you don't have one you're screwed, plain and simple. You can tread water around 500, but no team without an elite, or near elite, qb will be in or anywhere near the superbowl this year. The jets, bills, rams, vikes all have solid squads and if they had the right qb would have a legitimate shot, but as they are now they have zero chance of winning the whole thing. Unless you have one of the 10 best defenses of all time, if you're snapping the ball to a replacement level, middle of the road qb you will never win. Period. I have no doubt if Romo was healthy right now this team would be somewhere around 6-1, maybe 5-2. You can blame garrett all you'd like, and in some ways he is definitely the puppet many make him out to be, but I believe with the right tools around him he is definitely capable of leading a team to a championship.

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  28. hold on to your butts

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  29. Sorry, 836, for the first time ever, this Confessor isn't taking the bait. There's not a damn HoTYB worthy happening or about to happen.

    There's only one major move I can see that could happen, but I guarantee it isn't so I'm not going to waste the time to mention it.

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  30. Solid segment by Danny re: Luke Bryan.

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  31. CMLS continuing its death spiral...

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  32. Can you go a little deeper on that, Shaggy? (That's what she said.)

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  33. @Anon. 3:49 PM

    Just check the stock price. It has lost 20 cents since Monday, hit another 52-week low during trading today and closed at 54 cents/share.

    And part of it is in anticipation of next Thursday's Q3 earnings call which is open to the general public.

    http://finance.yahoo.com/news/cumulus-media-inc-announces-conference-200000619.html

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  34. Why does Corby insist on ranting about the value of the presidential debates when he hasn't watched them?


    What would his reaction be if I said didn't watch Breaking Bad because I knew it would suck?

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  35. All that dry powder and financial flexibility the Mavs built up over the past few years after they tore down the title team has left us with what they're rolling out tonight? Wow. I know they have suffered some injuries but this looks like a D League team.

    Deandra Jordan is a horse's a$$

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  36. Thanks for the substance, DA. Always dig your contribution.

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  37. A David Moore segment and a Mark Followill segment in 1 show. I'm out!!!

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  38. I like both those guys when they call in for a seg.

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  39. I've come to the realization that Corby and Danny look for something to bitch and rant about every show. I swear every show this week they've found something to rant about besides Hardy. It's either something against Dallas, politics, some real estate project, etc. It's gotten to the point where I'm down to listening for no more than one hour of THL. I just can't take the constant old man bitching and superficial sports talk.

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  40. Ratings are in. Musers rule, THL continues to slip. BAD still in 2nd, Norm and Donnie also trail. Hold on to our butts, perhaps after all?

    http://beta.sportsdaydfw.com/dallas-cowboys/moresportsheadlines/2015/10/30/d-fw-sports-radio-ratings-ticket-fan-can-claim-october-wins?hootPostID=2cdce214c24e4779285fba76f6454141

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  41. .02

    I think there is a spectrum of dislike/hate to mutual respect on rivalry schools. I am not sure the desire for a game between Texas and A&M is ever going to completely disappear. Even if we are in different conferences we will still be friends and kin. We inhabit the same space. Is FSU and Fla or Clem and SC a lesser game because they are in different conferences?

    Mike is never going to root for good things for UT. Ever.

    Team reader contributions.

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