Yes, Judy, they're still #1 to us.

Finally! I've been trying all morning to upload pictures and Blogger wouldn't do it. They're now here so I can publish this puppy!

Well, the best team won on Saturday. Ohio State really has it together this year, and while I'm proud of the game Texas played, we had a couple of mistakes that cost us dealy - mistakes Ohio State didn't make. I should say it pained me greatly to see us lose, but honestly, while I was disappointed, I wasn't terribly surprised. I mean, let's be fair here - we had a freshman quarterback, playing only his second game ever, against the #1 team in the country. It would've been amazing if we'd pulled it off!

I'm just heartened by how well Colt and the team DID do. While the Buckeyes never got behind, we were right on their bumper until halfway through the 4th quarter. It didn't really feel out of reach until their last touchdown. That's pretty great. It made for a great game, and it's something our boys can really feel proud about. We won't face another opponent that tough for the rest of the season, and we were right them Saturday, so I think that bodes very well for the rest of the season. And Colt will only get better! I've heard the occasional groan about "He's not Vince" or "If Vince had been in there..." but I have news for everyone: Vince wasn't "Vince" either his first season. And there aren't going to be many Vinces - not in our history and not in anyone else's. He's amazing. He may be another Earl - another legend. So, let go of that and just stay behind Colt. He's doing great, and he's only going to get better with time - just like Vince.

The day itself was great. Sheila and I spent an hour or so at Scholz's - had some barbecue and beer and did a little people watching. We then moved on to the Alumni Center where we watched some other games on big screen, sat in air conditioning, got a little gelato and gabbed. We then headed to the stadium where things bogged down a little. We decided to take the elevators instead of the escalators, and that would've been good except that people had lined up for the emergency elevator, and when they found out they couldn't use that one, they just cut into our line - causing us to miss at least one elevator, which then led to me missing the Air Force flyover when we got up to the upper deck. I was pissed about that. We were *almost* to our gate, when I heard them go over. I yelled "Dammit!" but then Sheila saw that 2 more were coming, so we ran to the side where we could see them, and I got to see (and hear and feel) them go over. That was way cool. I'd hoped to get a picture, though, and wasn't able to...all because of the buttheads at the elevators. There was also almost a fight at the elevator on the other side of us because someone cut in line. Don't cut, people. It's shitty.

I did, however, get a couple of photos of the new scoreboard during the Eyes of Texas:



and the intro for the team coming on the field:



My seats are in the upper deck, in the very first section. It used to be that I was too far to the side to see the replays and such on our old scoreboard, but thanks to our wonderful new Godzillatron, I can see everything! It's something like the biggest HD screen in the U.S. or the civilized world or the known universe or something (It's Texas. It's big - what did you expect?), and I love it!! Yea Godzillatron!

To the Buckeye fans I send out a hearty thank you for their class. I don't know what everyone else experienced in their dealings with the Ohio State fans, but my interactions were all good. They cheered for their team, but didn't denigrate ours or feel like that had to be jerks about it once it was clear they were going to win. In fact, because they behaved so well, the people in my section were joking around with the Buckeyes in our midst - telling them that the rule is whoever wins this game has to win the national championship! They seemed allright with that. :)

Sheila and I talked to a couple of OSU fans who told us that they'd had a great time in Austin, and they'd had good experiences with our fans last year when we came there. They said we should play every year, and we thought that sounded like a good idea! (How much more exciting was this game than the one against, say, North Texas?) We told them congratulations and that we'd be rooting for them - if nothing else we need them to win the whole tamale so our loss doesn't look bad. They laughed and said they'd rooted for us in the Rose Bowl last year.

So, to my Longhorns, I say good job! You did us proud on Saturday. And to Ohio State, I say congratulations, and at least some of us Longhorns will be pulling for you. Good luck with your run for the trophy.