The elusive trifecta.

Friday: Bell 24, Keller Central 7

Saturday: Texas 52, Arkansas 10

Sunday: Washington 26, Dallas 24 :(

This was a crazy football weekend!

So close and yet so far.

Thanks to Dede, Brett and I got to go to Texas Stadium one last time this weekend. Dede's family has had tickets for decades, and since the Cowboys are moving to Jerry World next season, she wanted to take in one more game at the old stadium.

I hadn't seen a game there since that awful December night nearly eight years ago. Brett said for him, it'd been at least 15 years!

Our seats were fantastic! We were right on the 40, 11 rows up. Again, thanks, Dede!

We arrived with plenty of time to watch the players warm up...

...and to wander around the concourses, scoping out the food.

It was difficult, but I passed up the Fletcher's corny dog for the Super Bowl Nachos. I can wait until Oct. 11 for my corny dog, but these nachos are like none other!

Of course, we tried to just take in this old stadium.

And there was plenty of pageantry.

Kenny Loggins sang the national anthem (very well, by the way), which rounded out this Caddyshack weekend! (We had a Bill Murray sighting at the Texas game Saturday.)

Considering where we usually sit for the Horns games, it was crazy to have such an amazing view of the action!

O running game, where art thou?

The sideline was pretty fascinating, too. It was interesting to see the players' reactions during and after plays. I thought the body language between Romo and T.O. spoke volumes, too.

We bought a ginormous popcorn bucket (couldn't resist the vendor telling us to "get your popcorn ready"), and I wanted to take a picture of it. I asked Brett to hold it so it wouldn't just be a shot of this plastic thing, and this was his reaction:

!!!!!

So here's Take 2!

Yes, the Cowboys lost, but the whole game experience was still a blast. I'm convinced now that I'm a jinx, so I have vowed to never again attend a Cowboys game... in Texas Stadium!

The late TD that gave us hope:

And our unbelievable view of the onsides kick that almost worked:

For Big Jake.

Our friend Big Jake is working in Iraq but has been jonesing to see the new stadium. Here you go, Jake! Hope you can see all this in person before too long!

(Some of us never leave a game before "The Eyes" is sung at the end. Lots of fans left this one early, though! I blame the thinned out crowd on the blowout, the heat and the ACL festival!)

Game 4: Texas 52, Arkansas 10.

It was a hot time in the ol' stadium this Saturday! The 2:30 kick combined with temps in the lower 90s led to lots of sunshine and stuffiness.



UT also retired Bobby Layne's and Tommy Nobis's jersey numbers during a ceremony at halftime.

Darrell Royal with Nobis

Bobby Layne's son

In honor of The University's 125th birthday, the halftime also featured a special performance by Asleep at the Wheel. They played a couple of their hits while accompanied by the Longhorn Band.

And yes, fans were dancing in the aisle!

That's Bill Murray in the dark shirt and gray hat!
Before he left the sideline, he gave Bevo a little salute.

1st and 97?

Three home games and three victories with the same score: 52-10. How weird is that? What's even weirder: Out of the nearly 97,000 people in attendance, I ran into Brett's cousin behind the stands. I was on my way to the restroom, and he was stretching his legs. I'm so thankful for that chance encounter! It was good to see him and find out how the Marshallites are doing.

Hook 'em from Section 1!

The other white meat.

For the Arkansas tailgate, we feasted on plenty of pork! We grilled pork chops and pork tenderloin, and man, was it good.

Of course, it was even sweeter to finally get the chance to avenge our loss to the Razorbacks the last time they were in Austin five years ago.

This week's game was postponed from Sept. 13 because of Hurricane Ike. Several of our friends weren't able to make this trip, but we still had a good crowd at the tailgate.



P.S. - Walking back to the car after the game, we saw this:Some people really take their tailgating seriously! I wonder how long it took them to eat the rest of the pig. In any case, it pays to get a head!

Who won the Arkansas-Texas game?

Since we were playing the Razorbacks, this week's tailgate featured grilled pork chops and pork tenderloins!

Texas 52, Arkansas 10

Friday night lights.

Katie and I drove up the road a little ways to watch Bell play football Friday night. It was a great atmosphere!

As always, it was fun to see our students playing football, playing in the band, cheering on the sidelines, cheering in the stands.

And the game? Awesome! We were trailing at the half but came back on fire in the third quarter. The defense was extra tough, allowing our offense to run all over the Chargers and take the lead.

This was also our first time to see our band's new show. They're the BOA Grand Nationals champions, and they blow me away with their musicality and precision.

At a few points during the game, Katie was definitely ready to go. But we had to stay through halftime, and then the team was making its big comeback right after that. Then when I offered to take her home towards the end of the game, she didn't want to leave! (Maybe the Ring Pops from the concession stand had something to do with that?)