As any good Houstonian can tell you, today is a statewide holiday, of sorts ~ It’s “Go Texan Day,” y’all! Texas pride is so big in this state, a one-day celebration hardly suffices. But, after tonight’s Houston Livestock Show & Rodeo (HLS&R) Bar-B-Que Cookoff, Go Texan Day officially kicks off a month of the world’s largest rodeo.
More than 2.5 million people will attend this year’s festivities, made possible by more than 28,000 volunteers from 82 exciting rodeo committees. {I’m a proud former member of “Breeders Greeters,” but you can also join the Corral Club, Feed Store, Go Texan Contests, Mutton Bustin’, Parade, Rabbit and Trail Ride, to name a few…}
This year’s line-up of top performers offers a little something for everyone. From Brad Paisley on March 4 and the Eli Young Band on March 5 to Usher on March 7, REO Speedwagon on March 10, Maroon 5 on March 13 and the Zac Brown Band on March 23, you’re in for a treat.
But Go Texan Day celebrates more than just the HLS&R, and here are a few reasons Texas Pride is nothing to sneeze at…
1. Texas Can Claim the Greats:
The truly great Earl Campbell ~ pride of The University of Texas at Austin and native son of Tyler, Texas {homeboy of my hometown} ~ won the Heisman Trophy for the Longhorns and was drafted first overall by the classic Houston Oilers. Plus, he’s a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. {And did I mention that he’s a Tyler boy? My beloved housekeeper growing up, Teenie, was good friends with and went to church with Earl Campbell’s mama. BAM. All roads lead to Tyler…}
Johnny “Football” Manziel ~ also a Tyler boy, I might add ~ was the first freshman to ever win a Heisman Trophy. It seems even our egos are bigger in Texas! {As an aside, did you know that the Heisman Trophy is named after John William Heisman, the first full-time coach and athletic director at Rice University, right here in Houston?}
The one-and-only Willie Nelson was born in Abbot, Texas…
The hilarious Steve Martin was born in Waco, Texas…
Country great George Strait was born in Poteet, Texas, and clearly, all his exes live in Texas…
Longview boy and UT grad Matthew McConaughey on the field at a horns game…
Golden girl and UT Tri-Delta {woot, woot!} Farrah Fawcett was born in Corpus Christi. {And word on the street is that she was kicked out of my sorority for an indiscretion with a fella in the shower on the second floor… Well behaved women rarely make history.}
Luke and Owen Wilson were born in Dallas and Owen roomed with filmmaker Wes Anderson at UT…
II. The Stars at Night are Big and Bright…
The sky at the UT’s McDonald Observatory in West Texas…
III. These Classic Uniforms:
Best vintage jersey of all time ~ Houston Astros…
And the sweet Houston Oilers jerseys ~ on a Tyler boy of course…
IV. The State Fair of Texas:
Big Tex {who unfortunately burned to the ground}, but was recently rebuilt…
The Fair’s unique deep-fried innovations alone are worth a trip to Dallas ~ especially if deep-fried Twinkees, PB&J’s, Coca-Cola, cheese cake and Girl Scout cookies appeal to you…
V. In Texas, it’s cool to grow up riding horses everyday and looking forward to those Thursday night rodeos…
My twin Sarah (left) with Tar Baby and me with the world’s best horse, Bob…
And just to prove it, here are two high-point belt buckles we won many moons ago 🙂
Cheers to the many reasons why there truly is no place like home…
Happy Go Texan Day!
