Dear Opponent: Texas

Each week, we send a letter to that week’s opponent, just to let them know we are thinking about them before the game. This week, the TCU Horned Frogs will host the Texas Longhorns on Saturday at 11 a.m.

Dear Longhorns Fans,

Normally, I start this letter with “Welcome to The Fort.” But not this week. You and your awful burnt orange are not welcome in The Fort. Not this week. Not during basketball season. Not during baseball season. Just never.

So, yes, you have dominated two other schools located in Texas the last two weeks. And, yes, we had a pathetic game last weekend versus SMU. But it’s like Patterson said after that game, SMU just wanted it more. They played with a chip on their shoulders. Now it’s our turn to play with that chip on OUR shoulders.

My momma is a smart woman. She taught me many important life lessons. But today, the most important one that comes to mind is to always hate orange, especially when it’s burnt! But what else my momma taught me was fairness, sportsmanship, integrity counts, and so does striving to become a leader who embodies these attributes. Lead by example. Lead by your principles. The University of Texas has displayed none of these in recent weeks.

You’ve taken us on one heckuva rollercoaster of emotions these last few months. You destroyed one conference nearly three decades ago, and now you are doing it again. You think life will be better in the SEC? Losing seven of the nine games we’ve played together as Big 12 foes was too much for you? Or, as Texas State Senator Lois Kolkhorst said during a hearing in August, “Maybe your fanbase would rather lose to Alabama than TCU.” How was Fayetteville, by the way?

Therefore, on behalf of seven of the remaining Irate Eight (I absolutely refuse to speak for or have anything to do with that school in Waco), go take a proverbial hike. And when I say, “go take a hike,” well, you know what I mean.

In case that wasn’t clear enough, let me break it down for you:

On behalf of our friends in Ames, Lawrence, and Lubbock, take a hike.

On behalf of our friends in Manhattan, Morgantown, and Stillwater, take a hike.

And on behalf of those of us who live and bleed purple in Fort Worth, Texas, take an even longer hike.

What makes this contempt hard is your players are, dare I say, likeable? The Tyler Rose, Ricky Williams and his burnt orange dreads, and who wasn’t rooting for Vince Young in that 2005 Natty? Ehlinger, McCoy, Benson, Applewhite … all nice guys. Alright, alright, alright, even your celebrity sideline alum is a national treasure.

They aren’t in the salutation of this letter.

Think of some of the antics you have pulled on your fellow Big 12, in-state schools, such as ripping the heart and soul out of Texas Tech basketball fans. But what you did to us was truly a disgrace. Maybe it’s not so much what you did to us but who you got to do it. Sometimes, it’s the ones you once loved that can hurt you the most. Yes, I, along with everyone else in Frog Nation, am looking at you, Chris Del Conte.

It's in this spirit that I wish you the kind of life where Vandy beats you in every sport every time they come to Austin.

So, Longhorns, no need to say any more other than this: Bless. Your. Hearts. We will see you on the field on Saturday, and you should continue to FEAR THE FROG!

Go Frogs!

KillerFrogs