Proud Call Myself a Cowboy...OSU v. ATM

"Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters." ~Margaret Peters

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As y'all know, last weekend I headed to College Station, Texas for the weekend. I was off to get a bucket list checkmark...my first ever away OSU football game. I had heard great things about experiencing a game inside Kyle Field, and I was not disappointed!

We kicked the day off with a little road trip from Houston. Cousin Kevin, his two kiddos and me hit the highway with an ipod full of Red Dirt music. My adorable little Cousin The Olympian decided to sport her orange for the game and to cheer for the Pokes with me. She now holds the "favorite cousin" title.

Then we met up with BFF and his lovely girlfriend for some tailgaiting. Sitting around eating food, drinking beer, listening to music and watching games on tv is pretty much my ideal Saturday. Cousin Kevin had never been to a college game or tailgate, and let me tell y'all...he was impressed. He kept saying, "I could really get into this!"

And then we were off to the game. BFF was in charge of seats and he got us 7th row from the turn in the end zone. This meant that we actually walked out on the field to get to our seats. My baby cousins, who had never been to a game before, were pretty darn excited. Good thing Tiffany came to town to help these poor, neglected children! Here is Baby Quarterback on the field. We've got big dreams that one day he'll be playing on that field!

And then it was game time. Let me sum up the first half with my comment to BFF in the second quarter, "I didn't drink enough to watch something like this." OSU played terrible. Here is a photo example....

Yes, that really does say 3rd and 43 from the 9 yard line. No lie.

Now let me tell you, Kyle Field is unreal. First off, it's huge. And there were 88,000 people there on Saturday--the 4th largest crowd EVER! And it was loud. I don't think I've ever been somewhere that loud in my life. If you ever get a chance to see a game here, I'd highly recommend it.

And talk about a sea of maroon--check out these 2 OSU fans surrounded!

At halftime, it was 20-3 and things did not look promising for OSU. I was praying for brilliance in that locker room! While the brilliance was being given, we got to watch the Aggie Marching Band. I'm not a band person at all guys, but I'm here to tell you, they were good. I mean amazingly good.

And then came the second half. Whoever came up with our adjustments at halftime needs a raise. And a building named after him. We were a different team. We were killer in defense (three interceptions and a fumble recovery) and we FINALLY moved the ball. We fought all the way back to a 30-29 victory.

There were three pretty darn happy OSU fans in the stands at that point!

I had planned for that to pretty much be the post. Tailgaiting, football, family, friends, and an OSU victory. What more is there to say?

And then I came across this video. It's the post-game celebration in College Station. (NOTE: At about 28-33 seconds you will see a shot of our seats and I think a glimpse of BFF in the stands!)

I listened to Coach Gundy's speech in the locker room. He talked about overcoming adversity on the field (3rd and 43, remember?) And then he talked about overcoming adversity in life. He reminded these boys that this sport is more about just football.

Then he turned to another off-field subject. Coach Glenn Spencer. Coach Spencer lost his wife exactly a week before. The team wore arm bands in her memory. One player organized stickers on the helmets in her honor. And Coach Spencer and his two sons were in the locker room after the A&M game. You'll see him in tears at about 3:35 in the video. Coach Gundy talked about this and about how by rallying around Coach Spencer, these boys recognized what was important--and that if they will keep doing so, good things will happen, on the field, and in life.

As much of a college football fan as I am, and trust me, I am one, I'm also a believer that a good coach can teach you more about life than you ever realize. Mine came in the form of a high school judging coach, but I am happy to know that at Oklahoma State, Coach Gundy is doing the same. And, as always....but maybe even more so today, I'm proud to call myself a Cowboy.