The Sickness

I think a psychologist would have a field day attempting to analyze the way your mind works.

Lone star beer? Check
Black shirt? Check
Sitting with Chuck? Check
Filling truck up with gas friday? Check
Writing 20 pages of research papers? Check
Vodka just prior to game? Check
Watch no other game but ours Saturday? Check

I think we may win this. I can follow my formula.

Your imagination amazes me. You and Mike Leach need to talk.

I have shirts that can only be worn in the off season – their bad karma lasts for days. I’ve been known to change shirts at halftime at the game. We have friends that we will not watch live games with anymore. (They are the reason we lost to OU and the Cotton Bowl in 2008.) I’ve never asked people to leave, but there are times when I have refused to watch a televised game with my husband in the same room. We’ll be in separate rooms watching the game. And finally, I have been know to blame my husband for Tech loses due to his bad karma.

And I disagree with 99% of the crap you say, but here I sit at 30,000 ft somewhere over the east coast, certain……beyond a reasonable doubt, you are one of the wittiest, most clever guys I have never met. We must drink together soon.

Dave Barry maybe should be out of work. The below from the end of the gameday thread is my favorite and should be my tagline……not because I hate Tubs or anything nefarious, I just like it.

Whenever Katfish speaks, I always sit down, indian style, and listen

My dad, brothers and you ought to get together. They had more superstitious stuff that kept me laughing over the years. Rally caps anyone?

Thanks.

Like Tech Ex: JB I have certain shirts that I only wear in the off-season.

This year I’ve landed in a gray TTU shirt and hat. GRAY!

This has to do with “old faithful” from last year going down in a blaze of tears and agony.

I was wearing “old faithful” when I received “the call”. Leach had been fired. It was time to retire “old faithful”. I wore my “back up” during last year’s bowl game.

Somehow it doesn’t feel right to wear it again.

This is a new era with a new regime. It required a new hat and a new shirt. I somehow ended up with GRAY?

I must have still been depressed when I bought them. It’s the only thing I can think of. I don’t normally wear GRAY!

I can say this: At least I’m not wearing white pants, a white shirt, and a white cap. That would suck.

In fact I take some credit for the November 1, 2008 victory too. Early that week I decided I had to be at that game. I just KNEW it was going to be something special. I found tickets on Stub Hub that I paid an arm and a leg for. Had to get a hotel in Abilene since Lubbock had long since been sold out. I had to be back in Austin by 1pm on Sunday to catch an afternoon flight out for a work conference. Took my dad who always goes to longhorn games with my sister and made him wear a tech shirt.

Anyway, I bought a special new black/rinestone raider red t-shirt for that game. I did not wash that t-shirt and I wore it for every tech game until we lost. I also bought dippin dots at the game. I was so nervous I kept the plastic spoon in my mouth to chew on. I know, I can’t explain it, but it helped at the time. Clearly, that plastic spoon was good luck. I carried that plastic spoon around in my purse for MONTHS absolutely convinced it was a source of good luck.

This year it’s all about red. I figure by supporting what Tubs wants I’m putting good kharma out there for the team. I bought a new red flag that is hanging in front of my house, a new red t-shirt that I will break out on Saturday and a tech swarvorski crystal ring.

On Saturday my mom and I went to get pedicures at a little place in Austin. Naturally I was wearing a tech shirt – two other women in there (out of four) were red raiders. Because of that, and because we won on Saturday, I will now only go to that nail salon.

I’ve never kicked anyone out from watching a game with me, but unless they are a tech fan I would rather watch the game alone. I hate it when someone wants to chit chat when I’m trying to listen/watch the game. I also don’t answer the phone during tech games.

I’m starting to wonder if those of us that control the outcome of the game (not the players or the coaches, la duh) have to sync our systems up to be more effective? It’s a lot of pressure…

During one of their championship runs, he had tickets to every game in the playoffs, including the Finals. He was running late before the first game and didn’t have a chance to eat before he got to the arena, so he ordered some “Super Macho Nacho” plate and scarfed it down with 2 beers, finishing just before tip-off. I think it’s meant for 2-4 people.

Of course the Spurs won so he had to follow the same routine for every game.

He was thrilled they won the championship but gained 22 lbs.

I do more housework or yardwork during a Tech game than any other time believing my hardwork will pass through the radio or tv. I believe to help beat Kansas one year I built an entire garden. My wife thinks its weird I can’t sit still through a game, but if I do, I know they will lose.

Okay, so here’s an example where I need help. I put up my brand new Tech flag before the SMU game. Haven’t taken it down yet. Live in a small gated community. I’m the only one who keeps my flag up all week long. Everyone else only puts their’s up on game day. I was thinking about taking mine down tonight and putting it back up on Friday because I really don’t want to be an obnoxious neighbor. But what if I take it down and we lose the Texas game? I’m not kidding. Do I wait until one of my neighbors complains or we lose?

SARR, I had those same damn pencils – talk about unearthing a lost memory!. I was two years older than you and went to Maedgen Elementry. Stubbs was just up the street, and I have a bunch of friends (to this day) who went there – and who probably used to try and beat you up for your pencils. . .

He can’t leave the TV viewing room when a Raider game is on.He has to sit there get pets and treats until we win. I just rub him to pull out the “good” MoJo. Of course he likes hanging out durng games and even comes to find me when he hears crowd noise on the tube. I dont know why it works but I am convinced it works. So it works..

I noticed some inconsistencies in your game drink. At one point you state you were drinking rum from a specific cup and we won. Then later you claim to be drinking Coors Light and we lose. Hope this helps.

Since the Tech/USC Cotton Bowl we have lost every bowl game I have gone to, including the Gallery Furniture.com bowl, Alamo Bowl to Iowa, Cotton Bowl to Alabama and Ole mIss. I get torn at the end of every sseason because I want to support ther team financially as well as emotionaly. Every bowl game I have watched on tv we have won dating back to the All American Bowl vs Duke which is what ultimately convinced me to go to Tech… when I was in the 8th grade. I will no longer go to bowl games.

Last year was a totally effed up year. I won’t go into all the details, but because my brother in law is a Michigan State grad, my father in law offered an all expense paid trip for the whole family to the game. Ultimately we did not go. I got totally plastered at Third Base and pretty much had to be carried out of the bar. I puked in the fornt yard when I got home. Then was carried to bed. Not remembering a lot I got up and watched the game the next morning. You’re welcome. I also got trashed during the Insight Bowl and had passed out by half time. You’re welcome again.

After the Leach debacle I am not sure what to do. My heart is not where it once was. My Tech gnome is standing facing the corner in my garage when it used to stand by my front door and greet football fans coming over to watch the game. My game day shirt was a black long sleev t shirt with a skull and cross bones on the front… no longer applicable. The Tech hat I bought at the New Mexico game sits up in my closet with all of my other Tech gear that I folded up and put out of the way the day Leach got fired. So after so many year sof having a game day hat, shirt, daily agenda, I have nothing.

But it’s all working so far. Maybe my ritual has become have absolutely no rituals. So I have to stay on my toes and not do any one thing the same from week to week.

Me and my brother totally endorse this behavior. Frankly, I don’t find it abnormal at all.

- My brother attended the OU game in ‘08, his buddy scored passes to one of the box suites. He was the only Tech fan anywhere around. I made him take 3 different shirts to the game. These were reliable shirts with a great track record, but we both believe we didn’t get the rotation right from the start. That’s why we lost.

- I believe I have the same white shirt with black 3/4th length sleeves and that damn thing has NEVER been successful. I never wear it anymore, NEVER. My wife loves it and wonders why I never wear it anymore. Too hard to explain.

- I plan out my shirt rotation and which will see playing time on game day. My brother and I ALWAYS do a shirt change after a bad series (offensive or defensive). If I see a pattern of play when wearing a particular shirt, it falls out of the rotation entirely.

- Never, ever, ever break out a new shirt on a big game day. Too unpredictable. Break those in on games like NM or Weber State.

- For the UT game, I have to watch the game ALONE in a specific chair. Always stand behind the chair on 3rd down (offensive and defensive).

Most importantly, I will NOT use anything orange during UT game week. Not cups, plates, paper, pens, pencils, coffee mugs, Orange juice, crayons, markers, Orange Roughey (sp?), peppers, snow cones…NONE of it.

I could keep going. Is this strange???

I usually put a garden flag out on game days. I forgot to take it down Sunday because I went to the Texans game last minute then spent the rest of the day watching games at a bar. I got up this morning to put the garbage out for the 7AM pick-up and there was the garden flag. I didn’t think about it until I read this post; I just picked it up and put it in the garage. I feel like something terrible has happened – SARR – what can I do to fix this blunder?

For Big Games (I’ve done this a handful of times, work permitting) – I go to bed early the night before, because I’m usually hammered and can’t stay awake. This is due to prepping for the big game. I have a routine the night before that consist of Turkey Bombs and Budweiser at my favorite local dive, Fast Freddies. The next morning I wake up about 9:00 and crawl into the kitchen and drink coffee, while sitting on the floor. I then take a shower and get ready for all things college football. I crack open my first beer (Tecate) about 11:00 and don’t stop until I’m out, and I rarely run out. I won’t drink a beer that doesn’t come in a red container during football season. I don’t usually cook anything crazy during the day, because I’m not sacrificing a waking minute with something that isn’t football.

For the Texas game in 2008 (this is where my formula gets tricky) I did a lot of cooking and a lot of drinking. I cooked a 370 lbs. pig underground all day Friday and part of the day Saturday. I carved a pumpkin the night before with a Double T in it. About an hour before kickoff, I was hit with a keg that broke my arm. I spent the first quarter in the ER getting my arm “set”. They told me to see a specialist on Monday. I went through the pain all weekend for my Red Raiders. I came back to the party/BBQ in a sling and proceeded to get deerunkered. I made it a point to piss of every Texas fan I came in contact with. We won. I’ll get hit with a keg again if I absolutely have to.

Wreck Em Tech!

I absolutely insist. And ladies, give your tech Husband/Boyfriend the best wakeup ever saturday morning. Happened for me in ‘08, and we won. Single now, didnt happen last year and we lost. So ladies, it’s kinda on your shoulders.

they know we wear last years game day shirt on friday, this years gameday shirt on Saturday (or Sunday last week). My 6 year old asked me this morning, “is it Friday already?”, because I had put on my old game day shirt. I used to have an UA gameday polo in red, white, and black and would wear whatever color jersey the team had on. Now this seaeon since we have been asked to wear red, I only wear this years red sideline polo, but do wear a white Tech undershirt for away games and black for home. I have worn the same jeans for the last 8 games going back to last year. They are 7-1. And I will have them on this saturday! I will never throw a game watching party again. I have done one, November 22, 2008. Everytime I watch the tu game at home by myself we win, if I go, we lose. I will be at home this year by myself!

I saw my “intagibles” theory, give your “formula” theory the finger. I read you call the win on Saturday and I’m holding you to it no matter how many squirrels get smooshed. That is a combination of several intangibles in my theory, specifically: a) momentum ( you called it when you really felt the momentum of history flowing in our direction, b) certitude ( you were absolutely sure you were right, based on unimpeachable evidence, and c) mescaline.

So, anyway, my apologies for my theory giving your theory the finger. I hate it when it does that.

Peace

My wife already accepted. This throws a wrench into the whole thing. The only thing that may save it is she has apologized in advance for my behavior during the game.

Going into unchartered territory. Very afraid.

During the Holiday bowl, not even one year into marriage, I made my father in law lay on the living room floor with one leg on the coffe table from about the second quarter on. We were at my wife’s aunt’s in Chicago. Most of the extended family was there, and the only time I had actually met them before was at our weddinng. I told them I would not go on the family trip unless I had control of the television. They agreed. Then once we started blowing out Cal I demanded total cooperation from everyone in the house. Everyone cooperated, we are still married, and for some reason everyone still likes (or tolerates) me.

I usually play the game out a few days before on NCAA Football (current year) on the most difficult level. I was strangely close on the UNM game.

Does anybody else do this?

Because the bowl was in Dallas where I live I was host of the tailgate & about 20 out of towners. Now I have attended 5 Tech bowl games before this one & Tech lost every one of them: A long ago Independence Bowl vs Ole Miss, the 1995 Cotton Bowl vs USC, two Alamo Bowls, both vs Iowa, and the 2005 Cotton Bowl vs Alabama. Each time I become more convinced that the reason we are losing these bowl games is because I’m in the stadium. Especially after Leach started winning all the bowl games I din’t attend. So we have a great tailgate before the 2008 Cotton Bowl & we all head into the stadium. Sometime in the 3rd quarter Tech is down 10 points and now i know it’s my fault. So without saying a word to anybody I get up & leave. I walk to the tailgate tent, pull out the TV & tune in the game knowing that this one sacrifice of mine will give Tech the boost they need to come back & win. I keep getting calls from people in the stadium asking “Where are you?”. I’m watching the game I tell them. Explaining this sickness is more trouble than it’s worth. Well we lose the game anyway. Moral of the story? I can’t even be in the same city as Texas Tech when they are in a Bowl game. The next time they have a bowl game in Dallas, I’m heading to Vegas.

If I were to paint my chest, which I’ve never done before, in lieu of my usual BLACK tech shirt… is that good karma or bad karma???

Then make the heaviest guy in the group stand on the end with DOT COM painted on his belly.

I bet Seth would buy you a case for that.

Every game that I’ve attended in Lubbock against Texas, we lost. So……….

You got a new formula for this year, or is the old one going to work?