The Softening of the Heart As a young boy growing up in Arkansas, one of my fondest memories was listening to Bud Campbell calling the play by play to Razorback games on the radio. Back then, most games were only on the radio and my Dad had a dual band Zenith radio. The sound was spectacular and hearing the crowd calling the Hogs and the Arkansas Fight Song playing would bring me out of a coma today. Becoming a die hard Razorback fan in my youth was simply a part of my DNA. Part of being a true Razorback fan was having an extreme dislike for the Texas Longhorns. This was due to several things...You would always hear everything is bigger and better in Texas. Over the life of the entire rivalry Texas won 72% of the games. They were like the new, handsome rich kid that moved to town and got all the girls and whipped my butt daily taking my lunch money and laughing about it....I hated them to the core. Then on Dec 6, 1969 the moon lined up with the stars in what would become known as The Game of the Century..... Number one Texas and number two Arkansas in Fayetteville. Tricky Dickey Nixon was there and the whole world was watching. It was a game that had so many pivotal momentum shifting plays and EVERY one of them went in Texass favor. It was the most devastating loss Arkansas fans have ever endured. Fast forward to 1983 and I get a job at Motorola in Austin....living amongst the enemy.....looking like the fly in the soup in a sea of burnt orange. As stated before, one of my gifts is never forgetting a face. While shopping at the grocery store one day I see a man and know immediately who it is. I go up to him and say Excuse me, are you James Street, quarterback of the 1969 Longhorns? He looked at me in a way of trying to figure out who I am but smiled and shook my hand and said Yes, that would be me. I told him I was just an old Razorback fan and we talked about the game and the many unbelievable pivotal plays of the game. He was an extremely nice guy and not the evil one I had conjured up in my mind. We exchanged pleasantries and went on about our business. Several months later we joined a Presbyterian Church that had a fairly large congregation. After the sermon, I went to the mens room to freshin up and I was in there by myself. I see the door open out of the corner of my eye as an older gentleman made his way in. I said “good morning” to break the awkward silence you sometimes get in the restroom. He responded in kind but I recognized the voice and then the face of none other than Darrel Royal !! He was a member of my church !! We too chatted about the game and his very close relationship with Frank Broyles. Coach Royal was also an extremely nice and humble man. I would see Coach Royal plenty more times at church and think how ironic that he was the Field General of the Texas Longhorns that I hated so much of my life. It wasnt until 2005 when my hate for the Texas Longhorns went away. God has a sense of humor and made my first born son Trey was a Freshman in the Longhorn Band. He got to go to the Pasadena Rose Bowl and witnessed first hand the real game of the century.....Vince Young and the Horns winning the national title against USC. I still love my Razorbacks and I pull for them when they play Texas. You can take the boy outta Arkansas, but you cant take the Arkansas outta the boy. What I have now is a softer heart....and I like it much better.
Posted on: Sun, 19 Oct 2014 15:51:15 +0000
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