Reading about the death of Fred Akers this week and about his connection to Arkansas reminded me of my own Texas and Arkansas connection.
I'm originally from Austin, Texas, and grew up watching Texas Longhorn football with Fred Akers as coach. Some of my best memories of my dad are going to Texas games with him, sitting up in the nosebleed section, and watching the Showband of the Southwest march into the stadium and the Longhorns run out onto the field. I attended the University of Texas for a year and a half, and I am proud of the 51 hours that contributed to my patchwork college degree that culminated at Texas A&M-Central Texas nearly 30 years later.
My husband and I moved to Topeka, Kan., when our daughter was a baby, and I sang "The Eyes of Texas" to her every night so she would know her Longhorn heritage from an early age. We moved to Plano, Texas, in 1997, and then to Little Rock in 2000 with a baby boy and first-grade daughter in tow.
I grew up during the Southwest Conference days and Arkansas Razorback rivalry, so I made sure our family had plenty of Texas Longhorn swag as we moved into enemy territory. I proudly wore my Longhorn shirts and displayed my car flag and bumper sticker, so when the Razorbacks beat the Longhorns in Austin in 2003, I wanted to crawl under a rock.
Before Texas played the Razorbacks in Fayetteville in 2004, I wrote a letter to Coach Mack Brown to let him know that Texas had to win, or I would have to live in seclusion. I don't have a copy of the letter, but I remember writing, "You don't understand. If Texas loses to the Razorbacks again, I still have to live here."
I'm sure my letter contributed to the Texas win that year.
In the meantime, our kids were growing up and doing what all good Longhorn children do--pose in Longhorn gear for the family Christmas photo and draw pictures of Bevo. When our son was 2, he asked why people tried to get him to say, "Wooo pig sooiee," and sometimes he proudly yelled, "Go, Texas Razorbacks" when we watched Longhorn games on TV.
In December 2005, we moved back to Texas, this time to Belton, only about an hour north of Austin. The Longhorns won the National Championship in 2006, shortly after our return. My husband, kids and I went to Austin to watch the game at my parents' house. After the big win, we piled into the car and drove around the University of Texas campus, honking the horn and cheering the burnt orange tower and groups of people walking or driving by.
I managed to buy tickets to the first football game of the season in 2006 to complete the indoctrination of our children into all things Longhorn. During our six years in Texas, we were able to go to a few more games, and I always got teary-eyed when the team ran into the stadium accompanied by the band.
Life took an unexpected turn, and we moved back to Arkansas in 2012. By this time, our kids had lost interest in football and had grown out of their Longhorn T-shirts. I spent the last three years in Texas finishing my bachelor's degree, and I rarely had time to sit down and watch a game. I cared less about football, and I had much less swag.
Since I've been back in Little Rock these eight and a half years, the Razorbacks beat the Longhorns in the Texas Bowl in 2014. I was disappointed but not devastated, and wrote a letter to the editor congratulating the Hogs on a good game, something I never considered during the 2000-2005 years. My dad died in 2016, I got divorced in 2017, and hell froze over because I started not hating the Razorbacks.
Life has a way of reorganizing priorities.
This season I've watched the Razorbacks play and have cheered them on, even yelling out a "woo pig sooiee" or two. Coach Sam Pittman has helped the Hogs transform into a team with heart and determination, and I like to see a team play with heart. The year 2020 has not been kind, but watching the Hogs grow as a team this season has turned me into a fan. I still love the Longhorns, but I enjoy cheering on the Razorbacks.
Rest in peace, Coach Akers. I'm glad you came to Texas, and I'm glad I moved to Arkansas.
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Sarah Ricard graduated from UA Little Rock with a master's degree in professional and technical writing and works in provider communication for an insurance company. She has finally stopped referring to herself as a Texan in exile.