Texas and Oklahoma to the SEC? Part 3
It’s settled: Bevo and Boomer are coming to the SEC. So what are the positives for A&M?By: Slim Slocum
Welcome, horns and Sooners!
With all the great points The Hammer laid out (Texas blew up the Big 12, it made sense how A&M reacted at first, letting the horns in is like letting the wolf in the henhouse, etc), there was still one aspect we have yet to cover: the positive spin on this for A&M. And frankly, this doesn’t really need much spin. Are we pissed that our estranged, funny-looking burnt orange cousin who we’ve avoided for 10 years is knocking on our door? Hell yeah, I wish he would break his wrist, give up, and go home back to his mediocre life. But that’s not going to happen. So what are the positives for A&M?
Humble Pie
We can serve this humble pie a few different ways. First, let’s take it all the way back to 2011. Remember all the jeers, laughs, snickering and hate thrown A&M’s way from UT? “You’ll never make it without us. Silly Aggy. Enjoy 4-8 every year little brother!” I remember, and it’s something I’ll never forget. And over the course of the last decade since we left, all the horns have wanted to talk about both overtly, on Twitter, and in recruiting pitches was how overrated the SEC was. Well, Texas (AND OU) are now eating crow on this one. Joining the SEC is tacitly saying that the SEC is a better conference and a better brand. If you can’t beat’em, join’em. A&M saw that 10 years ago, broke off on their own, and thrived. Texas saw the Aggies success and saw their “advantage” slipping further and further away. So they bent the knee, took off their ten-gallon hat with no cattle, and admitted their own hypocrisy. It’s also a tacit endorsement from Austin of A&M’s foresight to move to the SEC. How’s all that for a little brother move, following in the Ags footsteps to the big bad waters of the SEC? Humble pie is best served cold.
Renewal of Traditional Rivalries
A best selling shirt design I completely wore out.
Can you sense from the opening that I’m still simmering on this one? Well, the rivalry has been simmering below the surface for years. And now, the fake smiles and niceties brought on from “we don’t play anymore” are gone. The vitriol between the fanbases has erupted like a volcano. I don’t think the rivalry has been this heated, ever. Aggies are famous for being “above it” when it comes to throwing shade at opposing teams and fanbases. We “hiss” instead of booing. To hell with that. When Texas runs through the tunnel at Kyle Field for the first time in over a decade, I expect it to be a deafening chorus of boos raining down from the 3rd deck of the student section and the rest of the 105,000 strong. I know they’ll return the favor when the Maroon & White travel to Austin. And I relish this chance to kick their ass every year now. I think most Aggies agree.
One of the frustrating parts of realignment over the years has been the loss of traditional rivalries. Think West Virginia/Pittsburgh and the loss of the Backyard Brawl, the loss of A&M/t.u., OU/Nebraska, etc. And while the horns and Sooners move to the SEC will kill some great games (is Bedlam gone? Texas/TCU since the horns just can’t get over that hump?), it will also bring back some old rivalry games - namely the one we’ve all missed (even if we defiantly wouldn’t admit it), the Lonestar Showdown.
A&M is ready
The Aggies are in their best position in decades largely thanks to Jimbo. (Photo: Marta Lavandier, AP)
On November 24, 2011, opera singer and part-time kicker Justin Tucker kicked a field goal in Kyle Field that sent A&M into the SEC with their tail tucked between their legs. I was there that night, and it was a bitter loss. Someone’s girlfriend made our crew take a picture after the game, and I looked like I was ready to jump from the second deck. I don’t think I spoke for a full 24 hours. That loss relegated A&M to 6-6 and put the final nail in the coffin of the Mike Sherman era. It also increased the chorus of “what are they doing!?” from the national media about A&M heading to the SEC.
But since that day, Texas A&M has grown up. The Aggies left for the SEC, won a Heisman and smoked OU in 2012, won more games than UT in the last decade, and have a better foundation than the horns in football. Horns would never admit it, but they would trade places with us because of our foundation in a heartbeat. The last time t.u. finished in the top 5 was 2009, back when Blackberry was still popular. A&M finished in the top 5 just last year. And that’s just football. A&M is now the largest university in Texas, has facilities that rival any school in the country, and are fighting to be the top institution of higher learning in the state.
Jimbo said it best after a two TD win in the Orange Bowl: “We ain’t done yet.”
Rude Awakening
Oklahoma has won the last six Big 12 championships. Texas has not won a Big 12 championship since 2009 when Colt McCoy was walking campus. The conference was a cakewalk for Oklahoma, and Texas has had a real tough time dealing with the Sooners and the rest of their conference mates, even though they are “big bad Texas.” Now, the two will no longer be competing with Oklahoma State, Baylor, Kansas and Texas Tech. They’ll replace those schools with Alabama, LSU, Florida, Georgia, Texas A&M, Auburn, etc. Think Oklahoma is going to walk in here and win the conference right away? Think again. More like 1-2 conference titles in 10 years, if you’re lucky. And Texas? How would you like to rebuild in the SEC instead of the Big 12?
“Be careful what you ask for if you jump in this league.”
Another thing: Texas owns the Big 12. They’re used to being the bully and using their money and arrogance to get what they want. The Burnt Orange power brokers are in for a rude awakening in the SEC. Alabama won’t take their bs, nor will the other members who have been in the conference since its inception. Texas has no history here, while Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee and Florida all have deep-rooted history and swing a big stick. Make no mistake, Texas will try to be the conference bully, but don’t expect them to get their way.
Donor Enthusiasm
An aspect of this that has been overlooked is what this will do to A&M’s alumni, fanbase, and donors. A&M has been swimming in cash since the oil boom of the 2010s (just see The House That Johnny Built, Jimbo’s contract, and take a walk around campus) and the gravy train hasn’t slowed down. So it’s not like A&M needed much of a jolt in their fundraising efforts. But A&M wants to excel in all facets of a university, and that is led by football. We’re a football school, we always have been, and we always will be. Having the horns back in our conference will have donors and alumni opening their checkbooks like never before. We have a nice head start and we can now compete with anyone in the country when it comes to facilities. Texas and OU joining the SEC will only give A&M fat cats the resolve to squash their former Big 12 counterparts and show them that this is a new A&M, and we are now on their level.
So welcome, horns and Sooners. A&M has never been in a better position. We look forward to hosting you in Kyle Field and whooping your ass. WHOOP!
#BTHOEXPANSION
