As we sit here, less than 12 hours away from a game that has gone from the most anticipated matchup for Longhorns fans to a bout that many have already chalked up as a loss, it's important to remind supporters of the underwhelming Texas team why we watch the game.
It’s almost as if Texas fans have gotten a bit greedy over the past couple of years. It’s crazy what back-to-back trips to the college football playoff semifinals will do to a team. We’re talking about the same team that four years ago finished the season with a 5-7 record and left many calling for Steve Sarkisian's head on a platter in his inaugural year as the Texas head coach. The same team that saw three straight losing seasons from Charlie Strong and a handful of mediocre ones from Tom Herman.
But despite those lackluster seasons, despite the heartcrushing losses to Texas’ former foes in the Big 12, fans still showed up. They still sang the Eyes of Texas before every game and sometimes even after; they still chanted ‘Texas Fight’ and ‘OU sucks’ any chance they saw the opportunity to and they still wore Burnt Orange every single fall Saturday. It was more than just wins and losses; it was community. It was 90,000 strong, bonding over one ideal.
That’s not to say the team's many losses didn’t lead to scrutiny and the enraging of fans all across the Lone Star State, but this season almost feels different. It’s more pressure than the team has faced in a long time; albeit that’s probably due to its prior success, it still somehow doesn’t seem fair.
Throughout all of this media buzz and slander, the worst recipient of it all has been Arch Manning. The 21-year-old redshirt sophomore playing in his first season as the team's true QB1 has been the ultimate victim of the media's insatiable desire to find a story that can get clicks, no matter who it hurts.
Have fans forgotten the great Mike Gundy’s “I’m a man, I’m 40” speech? Have fans forgotten that these are kids balancing classes, sports and a social life all while being analyzed under a microscope 24/7? Have we forgotten why we watch the game?
Sure, the freefall from No.1 to unranked hurts, but does that mean fans should just abandon all hope? Look at the game this past week in Gainesville, Florida. A team that entered 1-3 but never saw the slightest dip in crowd noise. But maybe fans have just gotten too comfortable with having a national championship-caliber team.
Whatever the result is against the Sooners, whatever sort of stats Manning puts up and whatever performance we see out of this Texas defense, all I ask is that fans cheer, keep the horns up and remember why we watch the game.