Character - The Real McCoy

I deal with a weekend illness every weekend during the fall and winter months. It's an illness that takes me to great highs and lows. It causes me to jump out of my chair, fall to me knees, and yell at the top of my lungs.

My illness is college football.

Last night after watching the BCS National Championship, I was saddened because 1) The college football season is now officially over until late August. What in the heck are we supposed to do on Saturday's? 2) I saw one of the classiest athletes of our generation fall short of his dream.

This could get long, but stay with me.

I've loathed the Texas Longhorns now for approximately 18 years. I'm not exactly sure when my hatred of burnt orange began, but it likely started when I began to comprehend the past between my beloved Arkansas Razorbacks and the Longhorns during the old Southwest Conference days.

By the time I became a full-fledged, heart and soul Hog fan in the early 90s, Arkansas had moved to the Southeastern Conference, and Texas had moved to the Big 12. The only way Arkansas would see Texas on the football field again would be if non-conference games were scheduled, or if we met in the Cotton Bowl.

When I was in college at Arkansas, I read a book for a sports journalism class called "Hogs, Horns and Nixon Coming". It was about the 1969 Razorbacks, who were then coached by Frank Broyles, and their classic match-up with conference rival UT, then coached by the legendary Darrell Royal. It was a match-up of No. 1 (UT) and No. 2 (UA) at Razorback Stadium. "The Big Shootout" is what they called it. The winner would be the National Champion of college football.

ABC convinced Broyles to reschedule the game from it's usual October date to be the last game of the regular season in December. ABC promised President Richard Nixon would be there. Because of the game's national significance, President Richard Nixon did watch he game in Razorback Stadium. During this time the war in Vietnam was raging on, so protesters filled the hill overlooking Razorback Stadium to show Nixon how they felt.

Arkansas held onto a 14-0 lead until Texas came back in the fourth quarter to win 15-14.

The game achieved a TV rating of 52.1 - over half of the television sets in the United States watched the Horns and Hogs.

I guess it was after reading that book that I realized no good red-blooded Hog fan could ever cheer for the Texas Longhorns.

On September 11, 2002, I sat in the largest crowd to ever pack into Razorback Stadium to watch Arkansas play Texas. It was exactly one year after 9/11/01, and I remember some people were even scared there would be a terrorist attack since so many people would be gathered in one place. Vince Young was starting to get his wheels turning for UT. Arkansas had gone down to Austin the year before and beat the Longhorns, upon thereafter an Arkansas flag was planted into the end zone at Darrell Royal Memorial Stadium.

I think all Arkansas fans - new, young and old - remembered how much we were also supposed to hate Texas when the burnt orange began rolling down Razorback road in Fayetteville in '02.

Arkansas lost that game 22-20. At this point, the loathing of UT became real to me. I had a valid reason now that I'd witnessed it with my own eyes.

Since that time, I've watched Arkansas beat top 5 ranked Texas on the basketball court ('08), and get absolutely thrashed on the football field by UT in Austin ('08). Longhorn QB Colt McCoy gave the Hogs a beating last year that my pride still suffers from.

I also have another reason now to loath UT - my degree from Texas Tech also puts me on the other side of UT support each year when the Red Raiders face the Horns during Big 12 conference games. I saw what perhaps could be the greatest play I'll ever witness in sports last year when Tech wide receiver Michael Crabtree caught a touchdown pass with :01 left in the game to lift the Red Raiders over then No. 1 Texas. That year, Texas, led by McCoy, was heavily favored to make it to the national championship game, but one Crabtree touchdown took their hopes of a BCS title away.

This year, you rarely saw any sports page or website that didn't mention something about Horns QB Colt McCoy. He was a household name. A small town kid that liked to hunt and fish and go on mission trip, and who happened to be one of the greatest sports stories in America. He would win nearly every honor in college football during his senior season, except the Heisman. But, the kid from little Jim Ned High School (near Abilene) was obviously more interested in winning the national title.

Horns haters loved to hate this guy. He was the golden boy. Always well spoken and a great Christian man. People (except all UT fans - even those with actual degrees from UT) wanted him to fail. Our society loves to see the good guy fall from grace. But this is one guy who wouldn't.

Until this year, I was in the same boat. But, I didn't have a good reason not to like him, other than the fact he was a Longhorn. Another golden boy, Jordan Shipley, McCoy's righthand man and all-time Longhorn leading receiver, actually played high school football as a freshman in Rotan where his dad was the coach (and also where Byron is from). Jordan was even at Byron's bachelor party this year.


So here are two small town kids from Texas, who just happened to become big time college football players. Both are good Christian guys who have exhibited unbelievable sportsmanship and character in an environment that is now all about egos and undefeated seasons. How could you root against these guys?

After putting my loathing aside, and attempting to be reasonable, I decided it would be OK for me to cheer for these guys to win a national championship.

Five years ago on the same field in Pasadena, Cal., Vince Young led UT from behind to beat the might Trojans of USC. McCoy was a freshman on the sideline. Young told him, "One day you'll be here."

Last night, Texas appeared to be poised to win the title until the first series of the game for Texas. Colt McCoy took a blow to his throwing arm after just a couple plays that put him out of the game. I was sick for the guy. He'd finally made it this far, and now he wouldn't get his chance to lead his team to victory.

Perhaps the biggest victory of all last night, despite the Horns' loss, was McCoy's post-game interview. The guy had his greatest dream taken from him, yet I've never witnessed such grace and character in an athlete.

I hope every little kid who ever wants to play sports was watching his interview last night. He's a great example to all of us, and a man after God's own heart.

Please watch the interview.