It was the mid 90s when I saw my first college football game in person. Living in Arizona at the time, I only knew two things: Arizona State was awesome and Nebraska (personified by my middle school guidance counselor) sucked. I would have been a t-shirt fan, but I didn't even have an ASU t-shirt. I only watched the end of one game where, inspiring Texas Tech fans years later, the fans rushed the field before the game even finished... and tore down the goalposts... again. I was then presented with a conundrum. I went to the Boys and Girls Club as a kid and they had free tickets to the upcoming game... that ASU was not playing. Deciding it would be more fun to experience a real game, I took the tickets. Again making a random, spur of the moment decision, I decided to cheer for the team with the cool logo and against the ugly white-with-blue-stripe helmets. I don't remember much about the game, except for the fact that I barely had enough testicular fortitude to look over the edge of the last nosebleed seats and see the parking lot hundreds of feet below. We sat in the very last section of the stadium. Those seats were free for a reason of course. We kids had to leave before the game was over and soon found out that ASU had lost their game in a heartbreaker in the 4th. I guess I chose the better of the two options. So why is this on HornFans? Well after I went to college in Austin (Concordia, actually), I did some research. The 1997 Fiesta Bowl was Texas against Penn State. It's sad that Texas lost hard, but I got to see Ricky Williams play and Joe Paterno coach. And some things even a kid can realize: the Longhorn logo is iconic, Penn State's helmets are bland... and even when they were good, something about Nebraska sucked. I was a Longhorn fan before I even knew it.
STL, Your thread title caught my attention, and I am glad that you passed on that tidbit of when you became a Horn fan. I am helping to find the kinks in the new platform to which Hornfans will be moving. I think you will enjoy the new features in this platform that Dionysus is taking from xenForo and then building on top of it that logo of which you speak. I am particularly enjoying how it looks on the phone and tablet. It definitely has a different feeling.and one that is more useful in the portable environment. In asking myself why I am spending my time during the holidays looking at it, I find your story a reminder of my reasoning. All the Horn fans need something like this forum to pass on their experiences. Other forums exist, but this one is full of the history and words of all the fans that have gone on before even you and me. I thought I would therefore pass onto you the first time that I became a Longhorn fan. Although I never played football in college, I did play about seven years of it in primary school. One of my fondest memories was as a junior when, in a state HS championship game, I walked onto the field of Memorial Stadium, took off my helmet, and looked up into the stands on a cold and dreary December day. That was the very moment that I became a legitimate Horn fan. Less than two years later, I was sitting at the top of that stadium as a freshmen and watched Tommy Nobis play his last year at UT and see DKR lead his team onto the field. I am very glad that I am still here on Hornfans and passing onto you that experience.
