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Whether they are playing or not the two schools will forever be rivals so the lack of respect should not be surprising. What may be surprising to some--especially Texas A&M fans--is the amount of respect and the regard in which he held his school's hated rival.
When asked about what he would change if he could he stated (USAToday):
"There would be two things," he said. "I would want Cole Pittman back. And I would want the bonfire (tragedy) not to have happened at A&M."
Cole Pittman was a sophomore defensive end for the Longhorns that died in a car accident about 13 years ago. Back in November of 1999 a terrible tragedy involving Texas A&M's traditional massive bonfire took the lives of 12 students.
When asked about things he could change any number of things would have been good answers. He could have talked about the injury to Colt McCoy in the BCS Title game against Alabama. Maybe if Colt has been able to play the Longhorns could have won, Alabama would not be the powerhouse they are today, and Texas would still be on top.
He could have talked about the struggles against BYU and Ole Miss or missing out on certain recruits or losing a valued assistant to another school. There is an endless number of things from his many years in Austin that he could have said that would have related to his football team, but instead he talks about his team's greatest rival.
Aggies--I don't care how much you despise the Longhorns. That's class. Mack Brown deserves your respect for that comment alone (if not for the fact that he is a damn good football coach).
Certainly his 10-4 record against A&M, or the fact he has accomplished more in 16 years at Texas than A&M has accomplished in 120 years should be enough to earn a little aggie respect, but good article...except for the part where you called A&M Texas' "biggest rival." While Texas is certainly A&M's biggest rival, Texas has always looked at OU as a much bigger rival, even back in the SWC days.
ReplyDeleteI don't think beating a team means you deserve their respect. If anything it is going to give them more reason not to like you. Comparing 120 years to 16 is a bit ridiculous too--you must be a Longhorn. You guys always have held yourselves in such high regard its insane.
DeleteI have to agree with the second Anon dude. Beating another team or just winning period has nothing to do with respect. I think you're a little off-base with the OU claim too. I was born and raised in TX and you rarely heard much about UT/OU unless the game was being played that week. People talk UT/TAMU year round.
ReplyDeleteAlso, in the last year I've been on message boards for UT quite a bit. From what I've read there it is pretty clear that the rivalry is alive and well--and intense. To each his own though.
As a graduate of Texas A&M '84 I will always hold Mac Brown out as an outstanding individual. The way he responded to the bonfire disaster goes beyond being a coach. It shows the soul of a fine man. Mac IS a great coach and individual. He changed the way many Ags looked at the rivalry. Before the disaster, many (on both sides) hated the other school. The way he responded changed that for many into a rivalry with respect for the other school. My hat is off to a man with integrity, to a man that faces
ReplyDeleteW&L with respect to the other team, to a man that is more about the value of the person than the score of a game, and to a man that has shown class over the past several months when some coaches just cry about it (Nebraska): Your an outstanding individual MAC BROWN.