I'm not sports fan, however I am sometimes fascinated by the spectacle. As I was waiting to board my flight home I couldn't help but notice how hardcore Austin is about football. There is a big game tonight between UT and Ohio, but you would think it was the Superbowl with the degree of presence. People disembarking were, with one exception, wearing UT clothing of some sort (bless the pretty girls with two sizes too small football shirts). Passengers were cheering each other on with giddy excitement. The exception I noted earlier... he was wearing an Ohio jersey. However, it was from the marching band, which was somewhat brave but also ranks high on the geek scale. In other words, buddyroe was asking for a punch in the head from some UT fan.
I was told by the hotel valet that 40,000 fans were coming in for the game. I thought he was exaggerating a bit, but everywhere I looked people were decked out in their game attire. The local media were also playing it up with constant coverage and special countdown clocks (as though any of these super fans wouldn't know).
The airport has huge signs welcoming their football fans (I wonder if they switch the signs out for other sports, or if the iconography of Friday Night Lights is alive and well in Austin - which begs questions of the story itself).
Seattle has the UW Huskies but rarely do I see this level of open enthusiasm for the team. The big game is tonight, probably under way or even over by the time this is posted. However, I still can't bring myself to care that much about what's happening to try and watch the game.
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I wrote this on the plane yesterday with the hope to post it on the way home in the taxi. However, my HTC Hermes apparently isn't properly setup for data transmission. Also, I thought what the hell and checked the score just now - Texas lost 24-7.
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