The 1999 Texas-Texas A&M halftime show (and how I got quoted in an ESPN article about it)

The Texas A&M Aggies used to build and set ablaze a bonfire every year before their annual rivalry game against the University of Texas. In 1999, the bonfire collapsed during construction, killing 12 students and injuring 27 more, some seriously. This month not only marks the 25th anniversary of that tragedy, but this weekend the Aggies and Longhorns will meet on the football field for the first time since 2011, renewing their legendary rivalry.

To mark the occasion, ESPN staff writer Dave Wilson penned this article about the halftime show of the 1999 Texas-Texas A&M game, which occurred shortly after the bonfire collapsed and featured a solemn commemoration of the catastrophe and its victims by both the Aggie and Longhorn bands.

When Wilson reached out to me a couple of weekends ago about this game, I at first thought it was a joke. It turns out he had tracked me down based on a YouTube comment I made about the halftime show many years ago. He wanted me to share some memories of the show for his article.

Although I had finished my courses and moved from Austin to Denton several months before, I was still technically enrolled at the University of Texas as a graduate student at the time of the game because I was still completing my thesis (I officially received my Masters Degree in December 1999). I got tickets to the Texas-Texas A&M game for Lori and myself through an Aggie acquaintance of mine a few months beforehand. We drove to College Station from Temple, where my grandmother and aunt lived and where my family ended up gathering for Thanksgiving that year. We were up on the third level of Kyle Field and were probably the only Texas fans in our section.

In the first quarter, the Aggies scored on an interception return for a touchdown, but then the Longhorns blocked the Aggies' extra point attempt and ran it back for two points of their own. Texas scored a pair of touchdowns in the second quarter to lead the game 16-6 at the half.

(Texas Longhorn Band Director Kevin Sedatole) was already concerned with how to manage the rah-rah pageantry of a marching band on such a somber occasion, and he struggled to find a balance.

"The first time that we played 'Texas Fight' was weird," he said. "It felt like we shouldn't really be doing this. But there are also people saying, 'Look, we need to treat this as normal as it can.'"

But the occasion called for more than a standard performance. Sedatole and his counterparts in College Station were all friends, despite their bands being a study in contrasts. Texas' Showband of the Southwest is known for elaborate themed shows, while the Aggie Band is defined by discipline and tradition.

"All of us here have always had a great deal of respect for the Longhorn Band," Dr. Tim Rhea, the current director of the Aggie Band said. "They do what they do extremely well. And I think we do what we do extremely well. They've always been wonderful colleagues for us."

The Longhorn band came out first and ended their show with "Amazing Grace" and "Taps." At the end of the show the entire Texas band took their hats off and quietly walked off the field.

Thomas Gray of Houston, a Texas fan who said he was one of the only Longhorns fans in his section on the third deck, remembers Aggies turning around and thanking him personally.

"I felt weird accepting compliments on their behalf," he said.

In retrospect, maybe "weird" isn't the right word for me to have used because it might come across as ungrateful. The Aggie fans were simply expressing their appreciation to the Longhorn fans nearest to them, which happened to be Lori and me. But it was unexpected, so at the time I was a bit befuddled; I think I simply said "I'm glad you enjoyed the performance" or something to that effect.

Once the Longhorn band was finished, the Aggie Band came out and did their usual precision military march, which ended with them forming a big block "T" and walking off the field in complete silence. The memory I shared in the YouTube comment (and in this blog entry from a few years ago) is the same one I related to Wilson:

"It was so silent that you could hear the spurs clinking on the cadets' boots, even up in the third level," Gray said. "There have only been a few times in my life where the hair on the back of my neck stood up; this was one of them."

Over 86 thousand people were in that stadium. They were all completely silent. It is still astonishing to think about, and it's something I will never forget.

In the second half, the Aggies scored two touchdowns while holding the Longhorns scoreless. Texas A&M sealed the game when they sacked Major Applewhite and forced a fumble with 23 seconds left on the clock. The Aggies won, 20-16.

"We had the thought and memory of those 12 in our hearts and minds every single play," offensive lineman Chris Valletta, who had the names of the victims written on his undershirt, said after the game. "I hope this win can ease the pain a little bit. I personally want to send this to all of them, from all of us."

In 2013, (Texas Head Coach Mack) Brown resigned after 16 years in Austin, and once again showed his respect for the Aggies in his farewell news conference after being asked if there was anything he wished he could've changed during his tenure.

"I would want the bonfire [collapse] to not have happened at A&M," he said. "Playing A&M on Thanksgiving, I thought about the families. ... When you lose your children, there is nothing worse than that in the world. I think about that every Thanksgiving because there are 12 families that don't have a good Thanksgiving. That'll never go away."

I know a lot of Aggies, and I know how seriously they take their traditions. I know how deeply the bonfire collapse affected them. The Aggies to this day have not resumed the bonfire tradition.

I'm grateful that Dave Wilson was able to find me and allow me to share my experience of this somber yet remarkable halftime show with the rest of the world.

Houston 10, Baylor 20

The Baylor Bears came to town to play the Cougars for the first time since 1995, when both schools were still members of the Southwest Conference. They went back to Waco with a win.

The Good: Late in the first quarter, Jeremiah Wilson intercepted a pass from Baylor QB Sawyer Robertson and returned it 41 yards for a touchdown. It was one of three interceptions forced by the Houston defense.

The Bad: Wilson's pick-six was the Cougars' only touchdown of the game; for the fourth time this season, the Cougar offense was unable to find the endzone. Cougar QB Zeon Chriss would throw three interceptions of his own, one of which was picked off in the endzone on first and goal.

The Ugly: The 2024 Houston Cougar offense will go down as one of the worst in program history. Ryan runs the numbers, and they're not good:

UH is last in the country (#133) in scoring offense at 13.6 ppg. Houston’s 18 total touchdowns are tied for last nationally. The Coogs are tied with five other schools at T-127 in rushing touchdowns (7). UH is tied with three teams at T-123 in passing touchdowns (9).

The Cougars are also 133rd (again, last in FBS) in red zone offense, 131st in third down conversion percentage, 129th in total offense, and 126th in passing offense. This season will be the first since 2001's 0-11 season where the Cougars will have scored less than 200 points.

These statistics are simply not acceptable. To that end, yesterday morning head coach Willie Fritz relieved Kevin Barbay of his duties as Offensive Coordinator. Ryan explains that Barbay was a nice guy who just didn't get the job done:

Barbay was affable, friendly, and well-liked personally by his players, but he failed to run a sustainable offense. UH’s offense scored two or fewer touchdowns in 9 of 11 games.

Barbay called plays from the coaches’ box and was seemingly detached from his players and the vibe on the field. An OC in the press box is unable to use the new tablet technology to show players defensive tendencies or areas to attack.

Barbay attempted to throw the ball more in the last few weeks, failing to feature his best offensive weapons. Re’Shaun Sanford averages over 5 ypc but had just 11 and 8 carries in the last two games, respectively.

Zeon Chriss continually struggled throwing, with too many play calls and routes putting him in impossible situations. Barbay’s offense did not get into third-and-manageable situations enough.

Fritz realized his offense needed a spark after going two games without an offensive TD. UH scored one or fewer touchdowns five times this season.

What It Means: The loss to Baylor guarantees a losing season for the Cougars. Fritz has a lot of work to do this offseason shoring up the offensive side of the ball. A better OC will help, but a more-talented quarterback is a must as well.

The Cougars end the season with a trip to Provo to play BYU.

Houston 3, Arizona 27

For the second time this season, the Cougars followed an off week with a road game and fell flat on their faces.

The Good: Jack Martin kicked a 49-yard field goal to keep the Cougars from being shut out for the third time this season. And the Cougar defense did what they could do to keep the game competitive, sacking Wildcat quarterback Noah Fifita five times and intercepting him once. They also forced four Arizona three-and-outs and racked up seven tackles for loss.  

The Bad: The defense got absolutely no help from the offense, which threw one interception, fumbled twice, turned the ball over on downs four times (including one failed fourth-down conversion at the Arizona goal line) and was a miserable 2 of 13 on third down attempts. The Cougars moved the ball well in the middle of the field, amassing 326 total yards of total offense, but simply could not score points.

The Ugly: The offensive playcalling and decisionmaking was dreadful, i.e. repeatedly running up the middle for no gain, or going for it on fourth down when the Cougars were well within field goal range. I don't understand offensive coordinator Kevin Barbay's philosophy. I'm not sure he understands it himself. While I realize that there is a lack of talent on the offensive side of the ball, head coach Willie Fritz may do well to look for a new OC this offseason.

What It Means: If the Coogs wanted a shot at bowl eligibility this season, they needed to win against a 3-6 Arizona squad. That they did not essentially ensures that they will be staying home for the second straight year.

The Cougars will play their last home game of the year against Baylor this Saturday.

Yet Another Astrodome Proposal

I'll believe this when it happens.

The Astrodome Conservancy unveiled its plan for the future of the Astrodome on Wednesday.

This is the latest attempt to do something with the Houston landmark that has been closed to the public for 15 years.

Wednesday's unveiling is a $1 billion plan known as "Vision: Astrodome," which includes four state-of-the-art buildings under the Astrodome's roof and a retail village.

Part of the inspiration is the High Line in New York -- with a boulevard that would cut through the Dome and connect to other NRG buildings.

Renderings from the Astrodome Conservancy, a nonprofit geared towards the preservation and redevelopment of the stadium that opened in 1965, show what that vision will look like.

The conservancy's founder says she's hopeful the project can attract "significant private dollars" to minimize the burden on taxpayers. Their plan is for $750 million to come from private sources.

I've written a few posts over the years about the fate of the Eighth Wonder of the World (see here, here, here, here and here), but nothing ever seems to happen to it. A 2018 plan by Harris County to repurpose it came to a halt when voters kicked Ed Emmett out of the County Judge's chair that November; this is the first significant proposal for the iconic structure I've become aware of since that time.

And I don't expect anything to come of it, because I don't think private investors are willing to put up the funds to renovate the Astrodome today any more than they were willing to do the countless previous times that new uses for the old stadium were proposed.

Aside from the price tag, there is opposition to the renovation plan from NRG Park's two largest tenants:

The Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo and the Houston Texans football team are decidedly cool to the plan.

The Rodeo issued a statement, "We have voiced our concerns on several occasions with the conservancy," they said. "There is no proposed or official plan that our organization has agreed to."

Reportedly, the Rodeo and the Texans favor demolishing the Dome to provide more parking.

Of course, neither the Rodeo nor the Texans have ever bothered to pony up the estimated $100 million it would take to demolish the stadium, either. The fact that the Astrodome has been designated a State Antiquities Landmark complicates its demolition as well.

All that to say that I expect for the Astrodome to continue to sit, unused - a modern-day ruin - for the foreseeable future. 

Kuff has more.

Downtown Kim Son to close

Not surprising, but nevertheless depressing:

Just over a year after shutting down its Stafford location, Kim Son’s ownership confirmed that its flagship in East Downtown, 2001 Jefferson, will close sometime next year because of the Interstate 45 expansion project.

“They haven’t given us a date, but we know it’s coming,” said Tao La, who is the chief operating officer of his family’s Vietnamese restaurant. “It’s just a matter of time.”

I knew that Kim Son's iconic downtown location would have to make way for the North Houston Highway Improvement Project several years ago, when I first saw the conceptual schematic drawings for the project. Essentially, everything between Chartres and St. Emanuel Streets is going to have to be cleared for the reconstruction of I-45 around downtown. That means that a lot of restaurants and bars other than Kim Son are in the path of demolition as well:

The confirmation of Kim Son's latest closing follows a steady stream of announcements from restaurants affected by the I-45 project, a $10 billion-plus project that could span two decades of construction. 

In September, Agricole Hospitality blamed the upcoming work for closing two restaurants and a bar concept on St. Emanuel. Neil’s Bahr, 2006 Walker, expects to relocate and possibly reopen this winter at 3409 McKinney. Popular downtown cafe Tout Suite projected it will move to an East End-mixed use project next summer.

Kim Son has been in business in the area bordered by I-45 long before any of those restaurants, bars and cafes. 

When Kim Son opened in 1982, "EaDo" was referred to as Houston’s Chinatown. The family’s Vietnamese restaurant originally opened on St. Emanuel before moving to a small space on Pease Street, La said. 

The flagship restaurant on Jefferson opened in February 1993. The pagoda-like building was a sprawling 20,000 square feet with seating for 350 in the downstairs dining room and banquet rooms upstairs for up to 650 customers. The entry included a water feature with a 16-foot limestone fish pond teeming with goldfish.

Kim Son hosted countless weddings and banquets for decades. 

My family and I ate at Kim Son's small-yet-busy Pease location for as long as we can remember, and I remember how impressed we were with the palatial new space when it opened. We have frequented it many times since - bringing out-of-town guests, celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, or just enjoying a relaxed meal - so much so that we almost have the menu memorized.

As of right now a closing date for the restaurant has not been set, so diners will likely have several more months to eat at this location before TxDOT's wrecking balls arrive. Once the Jefferson location closes, Kim Son's lone remaining location will be on Bellaire Boulevard. However:

Depending on the construction work, Tao La said they may open a smaller Kim Son on land they own in the same area where their flagship restaurant has been open for over three decades.

“We have to move on to the next chapter, but we still want a presence,” Tao La said. “We can’t let that legacy go.”

I hope so, because I'm otherwise really going to miss those spring rolls. 

Welp...

I'm not shocked by Donald Trump's victory in yesterday's Presidential election. Disgusted, yes. But not surprised.

He already won once, after all. And he barely lost four years ago. Aside from his rabid cult of supporters, incumbent governments all around the world have been systematically rejected by voters on account of anger over post-pandemic inflation and supply chain issues, so it's no surprise that the same dynamic would play out in the United States. If Joe Biden had not stepped aside for Kamala Harris, or if Ron Desantis or Nikki Haley had been the Republican nominee rather than Trump, the margins would probably have been even worse. 

Donald Trump is a twice-impeached, adjudicated rapist, convicted felon, insurrectionist, malignant narcissist and pathological liar who is in severe cognitive decline and who is on a grievance-fueled rage. Apparently none of that mattered to the American voter. 

Whatever the final margin, the American people have returned this blatantly, dangerously unfit man to power. In the end, nothing mattered. Not the sexual assaults, the frauds, the lies, or the felonies. Not the raw bigotry of his campaign; not the insults, nor the threats. In the most graphic terms imaginable, the American people were warned of the danger. His previously loyal vice president refused to endorse him; his top general called him a ‘total fascist’; some of his closes aides and cabinet members described in detail his erratic character and his indifference to the Constitution.

Come January 20th, Donald Trump will once again become President of the United States. The incompetence, subterfuge and chaos that defined Trump's term will likely be replaced by a more targeted campaign of nativism, reactionism and retribution. He will be empowered by a Republican-controlled Congress for which extremism is no vice. 

Ego-driven tech bros like like Elon Musk will be in charge of our economy and conspiracy-peddling nutjobs like RFK, Jr will be in charge of our healthcare. The Federalist Society will be loading up the federal judiciary with right-wing extremists and the Heritage Foundation will be free to implement their christofascist Project 2025 agenda. 

There will be a nationwide abortion ban, mass deportations, a gutted federal civil service, and inflation-inducing tariffs. Ukraine will be abandoned, NATO will be forsaken, the Affordable Care Act will be dismantled, and the climate crisis will be ignored. Re-emboldened right-wing militias will patrol our streets and Trump's political opponents will be persecuted. And if anything happens to the 78-year-old man, Vice President and fanatical patriarch J. D. Vance will be ready to take over and carry on with the cause. 

This nation has sleepwalked into authoritarianism because egg prices were too high. A lot of people who are currently celebrating today will likely be changing their tune many months from now, as Trump's "policies," such as they were, take effect. By then, I fear, it might be too late.

Dark and ugly days are ahead of us, folks. I need to start making plans about my future, and whether it involves continuing to live in this nation as it descends into the abyss.

As I said: I am disgusted.

Philadelphia

A couple of weeks ago, I traveled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania for a conference, It was my first trip to the City of Brotherly Love and the weather was excellent for some picture-taking:

Logan Square, looking down Benjamin Franklin Parkway towards City Hall

Market Street, with the iconic PSFS building in the distance

Historic churches and modern skyscrapers in downtown Philadelphia

Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed

The Liberty Bell, on display across the street from Independence Hall

Reading Terminal Market, a former train station featuring a variety of restaurants and shops

Speaking of trains! Jefferson Station is served by SEPTA's extensive Regional Rail system

Going forward, I need to make a point to either come in to town the day before a convention or stay a day after so I can spend more time exploring. It's kind of hard to sight-see and attend seminars at the same time...

UH football: turning the corner

I haven't been able to write over the past few weeks, so here's a quick recap of the Cougars' last three games. This program is definitely showing improvement.

Houston 14, Kansas 42: Coming off the upset victory over TCU and a week off to rest, I thought the Cougars would be prepared to face the Jayhawks at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. They were not. Houston fell into a 0-21 hole early on and, after a flash of competitiveness - they scored on a pair of Donovan Smith touchdown passes to trail 14-28 at the break - were unable to put any additional points on the board in the second half. Smith and Zeon Chriss combined to throw four interceptions and suffer seven sacks, while the Cougar defense surrendered 467 yards to the Jayhawks. All in all a disappointing outing.

To add insult to injury, Kansas's win over Houston ended their five-game losing streak.

Houston 17, Utah 14: A.J. Haulcy intercepted a Utah pass late in the fourth quarter and Jack Martin kicked a 43-yard walk-off field goal to secure a homecoming victory over the Utes. The Cougars managed to win in spite of completing only 6 passes for 61 yards (it's been awhile since Houston was able to do that) and squandering a pair of fourth-and-goal attempts at the Utah goal line.

Fortunately for the Coogs, Utah made plenty of mistakes of their own. They missed two field goals, turned the ball over twice (including the aforementioned interception) and were flagged seven times. The Utes switched quarterbacks late in the game in an attempt to provide a spark to their anemic offense, but to no avail; after being picked first in the Big 12 preseason media poll and beginning the season ranked, Utah is now on a four-game losing skid.

Houston 24, #17 Kansas State 19: The game was played in an intermittent rain (kickoff was delayed for an hour due to lightning), and there were as many KSU fans in the TDECU Stadium stands as Houston fans. In spite of that, the Cougars kept pace with the heavily-favored Wildcats. Zeon Chriss was 11 of 11 for 103 yards and a touchdown (he rushed for a score as well) while the UH defense kept KSU's vaunted rushing attack under 100 yards and forced two turnovers.

Trailing 10-19 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Cougars scored twice to take the lead. They were then able to deflect KSU's hail-mary pass into the endzone as time expired to secure the most unanticipated and enjoyable win of the season. 

What It Means: After beginning the season with a 1-4 record, the Cougars have won three of their last four, including an upset of the #17-ranked team in the nation. This team is clearly making progress, albeit in fits and starts. They still need two wins to become bowl eligible, which is still a tall order at this point. But the fact that a bowl is even a possibility speaks to the team's progress under new head coach Willie Fritz.

The Cougars have another week off before traveling to Tucson to face the Arizona Wildcats.