Great Human Interest Story

Last night I experienced possibly the last ever Hex Rally. It is a pep rally for Texas held at the tower before every Texas-Texas A&M football game. The experience was really cool and was easily the best pep rally I have ever been to. There were about 10,000 people there, all going crazy when the team walked through the crowd and two seniors spoke. My man Fozzy Whittaker got a huge ovation when he crutched his way through. It was great to hear Mack Brown address the crowd and see everyone in the crowd lighting red candles to put a hex on the Aggies. It was a one-of-a-kind event in collegiate athletics.

As great as the Hex Rally was it was what came after that really impressed me. I was trying to get coach Brown through the mob of people who wanted to take their picture with him or have him sign an autograph while still trying to keep a watchful eye on the Longhorn Network cameras and our players. Mack is way too nice and wouldn't stop greeting people and I lost the crew so things were not going well.

After I finally found the LHN guys I escorted them from the football facility and went back to see if any players or coach were getting hounded by media. As I walked down the street I found Coach Brown and two of our offensive lineman, Luke Poehlmann and Sedrick Flowers, with a little girl who was crying. The little girl was around 8-10 years old probably and had been separated from her dad amidst the chaos of 10,000 people trying to exit the rally.

Coach Brown was on the phone with the girl's mother because amazingly enough the girl remembered her phone number. Mack was trying to get a number for the father but the two were divorced and the mom didn't know his number and hadn't seen him in a year. It was a weird circumstance but all along the two players were talking to the little girl and keeping her calm and comfortable. It was the two players who originally found the girl by herself crying and stopped to see what was wrong.

Eventually I assume the dad was located because he found his way to where we were at and all was well again. This entire thing was really eye-opening to how great coach and the two players were. They had been on campus since the 6 a.m. team meetings and through a day of press conference, practice and the pep rally it was at this point 10:30 p.m. and yet they still were willing to do the right thing. I applaud them for that.

I will end this blog with two quotes from the dad who did not leave the greatest impression when he arrived.

On finally locating his daughter
"This is quite a way to get to meet coach Brown"

Response to Coach Brown telling him he had to buy the little girl ice cream
"Only if you beat Texas A&M"