Texas Tech Red Raiders

It is football season! It is time to address another compulsive obsession I have in my life. The Texas Tech Red Raiders!

I had a wonderful trip this weekend with Adam Rogers and Bryan Stevenson back to Lubbock to see the Red Raiders play North Dakota. I could go into a detail post on the game itself this weekend, but there are plenty of websites dedicated to that. In short they won the game they should have, but have much work to do if we are going to compete in the Big 12.

It has taken me a few years to figure out why a bunch of 18-22 year olds playing football is so important to me, but I think I have figured it out.

Lubbock is the closest thing I have to a home town. Part of my journey back each fall, beyond football is to eat at my favorite restaurants and walk the campus. The day after I graduated from Heidelberg American High School in 1984 I headed to scout camp. Besides a two day visit after my freshman year at Tech, I have never been back. More importantly, I was just a visitor in Heidelberg, a military dependent, and not really a resident.

When I stepped onto the Texas Tech University campus in August of 1984 I became a part of something greater than me. I became a Red Raider. I was not a visitor, but a part of a greater community. I got to buy sweatshirts, t-shirts and hats that identified me as a member. It truly manifested itself in my new passion for football. Suddenly I had a group of young men who could carry my banner far and wide.

If you followed College Football in the 80s, you would find my passion for Red Raiders rather foolish, but it has been much better lately. (Think November 1, 2008) I have come to understand other people don’t have the same passion for football than I do, but that is ok. I have accepted who I am.