Texas and OU to the SEC?
Via @RedditCFB
SEC Media days are always a wild ride. The excitement and build up of the season nearing, coinciding with SEC personalities makes for great entertainment. But I have to say, I didn't see conference realignment dominating the conversation heading into Media Days 2021. Brent Zwernaman dropped a bomb on Wednesday afternoon by running a story about Texas and Oklahoma being in talks with the SEC to join the conference. Fantastic reporting by Brent and I’m glad these backroom conversations were brought to light.
When I first heard the news, I was pissed off, as most Aggies are. No, I’m not “scared” of Texas or Oklahoma as those fan bases are claiming on Twitter. Oklahoma is a great program and would be a fine addition to the SEC. Texas, on the other hand, would not. They cry, whine and cause chaos in every single conference they’ve been in. Not to mention, the idea of any program in America being scared of Texas right now is laughable. They have not been a good or relevant program for over a decade. No one is scared of them, especially not A&M, or any SEC team for that matter. The Aggies have been so much better than Texas over the last decade and anyone who thinks differently is drinking burnt orange Kool-Aid. Texas is not who they once were and no matter how long that institution desperately grasps onto the past, college football has moved on.
This false sense of superiority and arrogance is the exact reason Texas has been the butt of most college football jokes over the last 10 years. They are a walking punchline, and this is their best act yet. When A&M left the Big 12, Texas fans claimed the Aggies were running away from “big brother.” But unlike Texas, I live in reality. And the reality is, Texas had pushed A&M and every other team in the Big 12 around for years, and A&M finally got fed up with it and left. So did Mizzou, Nebraska and Colorado by the way. Texas wanted every school in the Big 12 to bow down, fall in line and get walked all over. They teamed up with ESPN and made their own network for God’s sake (which has been an utter disaster by the way and will not be renewed). Nobody was running because they were scared, they ran because there was an opportunity to leave behind the biggest headache in college football.
Texas A&M was ridiculed mercilessly by Texas for leaving. Horns claimed “they are running, scared, irrelevant, they’ll get pummeled,” you name it, they said it. Then, after A&M found success and proved they could indeed compete in the SEC, Longhorns cooked up another spin zone and clung to the narrative that the SEC was “overrated.” They played the overrated card every chance they got, dismissed A&M’s success on the field, and kept grasping for every lifeline they could find to try and remain relevant while A&M passed them by, and their conference was being squashed by the SEC in every possible category.
Fast forward to the 19:55 mark to hear Jimbo’s reaction to Texas and OU potentially joining the SEC. He sums it up perfectly. I love Jimbo.
Now the horns come crawling back like that psycho ex-girlfriend begging to be included in the very conference they have been screaming is “overrated” for years. It’s the height of hypocrisy, folks. And Texas has been a bunch of hypocrites for many years, but this is their greatest feat to date.
That said, it’s pretty clear that my first objection to this proposed realignment is simply spite. The move to the SEC has been fantastic for A&M on all fronts, and I don’t want our bitter rival to benefit from that as well, especially after how they have carried themselves for year. They made their own bed, and I want them to lay in it rather than moving to the fancy apartment down the street. I want Texas to continue wallowing around in their own mediocrity for as long as possible, and it’s obvious that a move to the SEC would be good for Texas. Even the horns are admitting this now. It would not solve all their problems, but everyone knows the Big 12 is a dumpster fire and the SEC is the premiere conference in collegiate athletics.
My only other objection is more on the competitive side. A&M has a clear advantage recruiting right now. As a competitor, I don’t want to lose that. Not because I’m scared, but because it would be insane to want to lose an advantage over a rival. The Aggies will not miss a beat whether Texas joins the SEC or not. But if I can keep a competitive edge over a bitter rival, I’d prefer to do that. Anyone with a brain feels the same way. If the tables were turned and Texas had a chance to keep A&M out of an elite conference, they would do the exact same thing. But they’ll continue to push the sacred narrative because they don’t actually have any legs to stand on anymore and must stick to ridiculous narratives because it’s all they have left.
We have a lot more thoughts on this of course and will be putting out a part two in the coming days, especially considering this story is still developing. Stay tuned and be on the lookout on our socials for updates!
#BTHOREALIGNMENT
