The Softness of Texas Rises Again
OMAHA, Neb. – Oh, Texas. Why can't you get a thicker skin and stop making yourself a target?
The Longhorns previously guaranteed an escalation of that silly "Horns Down" hand gesture when they whined to the Big 12 enough to actually get it banned. Now they have gotten a national singer banned from the College World Series.
Bryan Terry / USA TODAY Sports
Zach Collier, a middle school history teacher at Red Oak Middle School in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, was slated to perform the ceremonial duties in Omaha, but a minor incident following the singing of the national anthem at the Womens' College World Series semifinal game between Texas and Oklahoma State got him immediately canceled.
In a video that we can't include because of the unrelated cursing near the end, Collier is seen finishing the song, then turning to a group of Cowboys' fans and quickly flashing the "Horns Down" gesture before walking away. According to Collier, he received an e-mail letting him know he was disinvited to perform at the College World Series.
Being a Texas A&M Aggie, it was hard for Collier to resist throwing the Horns down. After all, pointing two fingers at the ground in the SEC footprint isn't going to raise even the tip of the slightest hair on an eyebrow, much less a full eyebrow.
However, it just wasn't the time and the place. The national anthem singer is there to sing on behalf of both teams in a neutral site setting such as the Women's College World Series, and having the singer turn around and throw the "Horns Down" right in front of the young ladies from Texas was a bit distasteful.
Had Collier waited until he was in the stands he would have been fine. He could have still sang the anthem at the College World Series and climbed into the stands with Arkansas, Oklahoma and Texas A&M fans and thrown the "Horns Down" until his fingers fell off.
Aaron E. Martinez / USA TODAY Sports
That being said, if Collier's account of the NCAA referring to the "Horns Down" as an offensive gesture is true, the powers that be in Indianapolis need to suck it up and tell everyone associated with the Longhorns to grow a thicker skin. It's not an offensive gesture.
It's genuinely kid stuff. Fans are literally using the Texas gesture for Longhorns and turning it upside down to physically signal "Down with the Longhorns."
Nathan J. Fish / USA TODAY Sports
Imagine how embarrassing it would be to the Arkansas program if opposing fans started wearing hats with the Hog turned upside down and the university tried to get it banned and turn it into a penalty because it didn't believe its players were tough enough to handle it.
Even if it were taken it up a notch and the hog was skewered for roasting, which would be way worse than anything being done to Texas, it still wouldn't be worth a thought. At worst, it might get a crooked grin in reaction.
Texas has to get over this because that weak, whiny attitude is going to get them laughed right back to the Big 12 if they act like that in the SEC.
Having the "Horns Down" cost a singer his gig is going to guarantee that not only will Texas see that gesture thrown down en masse, but it's going to be emphatic and constant.
And if that is offensive, let's hope they can't read because some of the shirts Arkansas fans will wear if the two teams go head-to-head is going to make their heads explode.
It's going to be a rough experience in Omaha for the Longhorns. But, then again, they brought it on themselves.
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