I'm the youngest in a family full of longhorns. My mother, father and both brothers went to UT. This weekend my dad came in town for the UT vs Rice game so we went to a family friend's tailgate. I have to admit, as much as I don't care about UT football, there is something quite special about that many people gathering around a single event like that.
The game not starting until 6:00, we approached the tailgating area at around 3:30. Exiting from I-35 on MLK, burnt orange already covered the sidewalks. People even had miniature versions of tailgates behind their cars in parking lots half a mile from the stadium. Closer to the stadium, any combination of beer, burgers, boots, jeans, horse shoes, washers, fake blonde hair, and beer could be seen in any direction. At the family friend's particular tailgate, four massive collapsable tents covered a 20 foot smoker and grill, tables wrapped around a kitchen area, a dual tap kegerator/trailer invention, wide screen TV with satellite reception, an industrial sized misting fan all with space for plenty of seating or standing space to spare.
Like I said, I don't care whether the longhorns win or lose but I can see how fun it must be to go to a school that actually has something that big to care about. When a great play was made, I couldn't help but holler with the rest of them. Granted: the beer helped. A friend of mine left St. Ed's last year. He told me he needed a bigger pond to swim in and wanted it to be in a place where there was a big enough sports team that the whole town invested in it. I get it, I guess.
I would happily attend another UT tailgate in my burnt orange disguise. It's a great way to spend a beautiful almost-fall Saturday.
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