With so much emphasis on conference realignment, tradition easily gets lost in the shuffle. Tradition is such a vital topic for any college football fan and when you start tinkering with tradition, you’re messing with memories that made so many fall in love with the game in the first place.
November 24, 2011 marked what could be the last time the Texas Longhorns and the Texas A&M Aggies meet in the traditional once a year match-up. This truly is a shame. It not only leaves fans of both teams with a sour taste in their mouth, but the players as well.
While the Red River Rivalry wasn’t necessarily in danger of ending, a very important aspect of the game was almost lost.
Many fans on both sides of the rivalry cringed at the thought of the game being moved to a home-and-home series, or to a different location all together.
Jerry World was even a possible site for the future games. As glamorous as that sounds, there is no need to mess with tradition, especially when tradition has worked so well.
Since 1932 the game has been hosted in Dallas, at the Cotton Bowl. The current deal was set to expire after the 2015 game. On Friday, Representatives from both schools signed an agreement to keep the game in the Cotton Bowl through 2020, with revenue split evenly between the schools at $500,000 apiece.
Both Longhorn and Sooner fans can now breathe easier knowing the beloved tradition of one of the best rivalries in college football is safe with no change.
Red River Rivalry:
- Six of the last ten showings featured one of the participants in the Bowl Championship Series National Championship Game (2000, 2003–2005, and 2008–2009)
- In 2005, the Dallas Morning News asked the 119 Division 1A football coaches to identify the top rivalry game in college football. The Red River Rivalry ranked first, ahead of Michigan-Ohio State, Alabama-Auburn and Army-Navy
- Since 1945, one or both of the two teams has been ranked among the top 25 teams in the nation coming into 61 out of 66 games
- Texas leads the all-time series 59–42–5
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_River_Rivalry
-Zach Pugh Big 12 Blogger
@Zacherypugh
