Backyard Brawl Inside the Blood Feud Between Texas and Texas A M, W. K. Stratton. (Hardcover 0609610538)

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Backyard Brawl Inside the Blood Feud Between Texas and Texas A M
Author: W. K. Stratton

It happens once a year, creating a seismic divide throughout the country. It pits brother against brother. It breaks up business deals. It ruins relationships. And once it’s finished, all both sides want is for another year to pass by so they can do it again. It is the Texas/Texas A& M football game. And in the football-obsessed state that... more » is Texas, no single game resonates more.

Every year during the Thanksgiving holidays, the two teams meet for something that has become much more than just a game. It’s a blood feud that represents a tremendous cultural divide in the state. It’s city against country, a rural agricultural school against an urban university. And yet both sides come from the same family, warring cousins who roll up their sleeves once a year in the backyard to settle the question of who’s number one—at least for the time being.

In Backyard Brawl, W. K. Stratton takes you through this rivalry and its history, covering the years when the game was postponed because the fans were just too violent, the branding of UT’s beloved steer, Bevo, by a renegade Aggie, the kidnapping of A&M’s beloved Reveille by boisterous UT students, the theft of UT’s cannon, Old Smokey, and its unceremonious dumping into the murky waters of Austin’s Town Lake, and the fistfights that broke out when celebrating UT fans rushed A&M’s nearly sacred Kyle Field after Texas won the last-ever Southwest Conference title on the Aggies’ home turf.

Stratton also relates the more serious side of the rivalry, particularly the way both schools came together after tradition turned to tragedy in 1999, when the A&M bonfire collapse killed twelve students. And in a touching epilogue, he captures the angst that hit the College Station campus when officials decided to cancel the return of the bonfire in 2002.

Stratton drew a bead on the 2001 season and followed both teams through their schedules leading up to the big clash in College Station. Taking you inside a renowned Aggie Yell practice and introducing you to fervid yet often zany orange-blooded Texas fans through their elaborate tailgating rituals, he creates revealing portraits of the two teams, including head coaches R. C. Slocum and Mack Brown, both of whom are legends in their own time, destined for the Hall of Fame.

Backyard Brawl is a fascinating examination of the greatest war in college football, destined to become a classic for students of the game.

ISBN-13: 9780609610534
ISBN-10: 0609610538
Publication Date: 9/3/2002
Pages: 272
Rating:

Currently 5/5 Stars.

5 stars, based on 1 rating

Publisher: Crown
Book Type: Hardcover
Members Wishing: 0
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Terri W. (txhockeymom) - , reviewed Backyard Brawl : Inside the Blood Feud Between Texas and Texas A M on 11/11/2008 + 33 more book reviews

Helpful Score: 1

I have been living in Texas for 14 years, and I already know that football is a religion in this state. We are just 15 miles from the University of Texas campus, and we have learned to love college football in general,and the Longhorns, in particular. This book is a wonderful history of the University of Texas rivalry with Texas A&M University. Many of the traditions that confused this poor transplant, have now been explained.

But the book is also a history of the two programs, plus a little bit of the Oklahoma University team and that rivalry. If you know what a teasipper is, or you haven't heard a good Aggie joke in awhile, or you just want to know why this state holds its gridiron heroes in such high regard, this is a GREAT book!

I was pleased to see a page devoted to the suburban sprawl that I call home and the landmark 'round rock', and also a mention of some great Texas musicians like Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett, Pat Green, etc.... And let's not even get into the tailgate parties of the crazy Longhorn fans!

I am sure you will remember the bonfire tragedy of 1999. This tells about how the two schools put their rivalry aside and were joined as a family in that hard time.

I think any college football fan who is curious about the great Texas football traditions would enjoy this book.

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