A STORY ABOUT THE WAY IT SHOULD BE!
The former Chairman of the Board of Regents, Gene Powell, told me years ago, "if you are writing, don’t write about how it is but how it should be.” Recently, TLSN was invited to participate in a fundraiser by former Longhorn football players Todd Hunt and Terry Orr. It was an inspirational moment for me to witness a finely tuned team bond organize a fund drive to help a teammate's family who could not afford a proper, respectful funeral service. “ Unacceptable,” said Terry and Todd. The funds were raised. Michael’s direct “teammate family” raised most of the money necessary to defray the funeral cost and TLSN put them over the top. AND THAT IS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE!
Former athlete Dick Barid said in 2003, “Years from now, all players will realize the experience(college sports) was really what it was all about -- sort of like it's not the destination, but the journey that is important. Along the way, mutual investment in emotion creates bonds that last a lifetime. Bryan Millard Longhorn football, 1980- 1982, captures an essential element of playing a team sport – that is more important than winning. Bryan said,” We had a neat group of people. College football, far more than pro football, is where relationships are built. In college, you’re there for a reason. You’re there for the love of school, the school song, the love of Saturday afternoons- all the things that are great about college football. And it doesn’t hurt when you win.”
Former Longhorn football players Dan Adams and Bob Tresch shared the story about a three-day canoeing trip down the Guadalupe. For some reason, Dan and Bob forgot that canoeing the Guadalupe during the rainy season is not a good idea. It was a miserable trip, and their story told around the campfire that evening at Lometa Ranch had all of us laughing. Their story captures the essential element necessary to build a bond that lasts a lifetime. Dan and Bob shared a struggle and survived the adversity by working together to complete the journey.
Team sports bonds are also a symbolically perilous but needed journey down the Guadalupe in the rainy season. Team bonds need time to develop, forming only after shared experiences such as victories, losses, workouts, sorrow, pain, joy, earned respect, and other elements merge into a team foxhole mentality that will hold the team bond together for a lifetime. Winning will enhance the team bond, but it does not create it. Winning is a goal, but it is not the end game.
Author Dick Baird defines the end game. He says, “Football has an incredible bonding aspect to it. It demands an emotional investment. This is what makes it such a dominant force in character development as well as sacrifice. You never question anything about each other. It's understood respect. This is my teammate. We will always be on the same team." The end game in team sports is that good and bad moments are shared by all, and that leads to bonds based on respect. A bond that is deeply rooted in the player's psyche.
Psychologists for decades have tried to quantify why team bonds last a lifetime. One Cambridge study sought to quantify individual personalities by five metrics—“Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.” They were unsuccessful. A team bond formula is not quantifiable. It requires complicated interactions between trust, honesty, sacrifice, collaboration, cohesion, communication, and synergy.
In 2003 Dick Baird wrote an article stating, "Just last week, I got a chance to spend the day with a couple of old teammates. Lots of stories were retold, and lots of hearts were involved. Friends forever held together in the bond of football brotherhood. College roommates as well as survivors of a "Junction Boys"-type football experience."
And there you have it! On 7/20, 2024, Longhorn Michael Brown's family was able to honor him because of the team bond that cares passionately for those who lived in a foxhole with them for 4 years. His teammates raised the money needed to pay for the funeral cost to honor Michael, AND THAT IS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE.
The former Chairman of the Board of Regents, Gene Powell, told me years ago, "if you are writing, don’t write about how it is but how it should be.” Recently, TLSN was invited to participate in a fundraiser by former Longhorn football players Todd Hunt and Terry Orr. It was an inspirational moment for me to witness a finely tuned team bond organize a fund drive to help a teammate's family who could not afford a proper, respectful funeral service. “ Unacceptable,” said Terry and Todd. The funds were raised. Michael’s direct “teammate family” raised most of the money necessary to defray the funeral cost and TLSN put them over the top. AND THAT IS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE!
Former athlete Dick Barid said in 2003, “Years from now, all players will realize the experience(college sports) was really what it was all about -- sort of like it's not the destination, but the journey that is important. Along the way, mutual investment in emotion creates bonds that last a lifetime. Bryan Millard Longhorn football, 1980- 1982, captures an essential element of playing a team sport – that is more important than winning. Bryan said,” We had a neat group of people. College football, far more than pro football, is where relationships are built. In college, you’re there for a reason. You’re there for the love of school, the school song, the love of Saturday afternoons- all the things that are great about college football. And it doesn’t hurt when you win.”
Former Longhorn football players Dan Adams and Bob Tresch shared the story about a three-day canoeing trip down the Guadalupe. For some reason, Dan and Bob forgot that canoeing the Guadalupe during the rainy season is not a good idea. It was a miserable trip, and their story told around the campfire that evening at Lometa Ranch had all of us laughing. Their story captures the essential element necessary to build a bond that lasts a lifetime. Dan and Bob shared a struggle and survived the adversity by working together to complete the journey.
Team sports bonds are also a symbolically perilous but needed journey down the Guadalupe in the rainy season. Team bonds need time to develop, forming only after shared experiences such as victories, losses, workouts, sorrow, pain, joy, earned respect, and other elements merge into a team foxhole mentality that will hold the team bond together for a lifetime. Winning will enhance the team bond, but it does not create it. Winning is a goal, but it is not the end game.
Author Dick Baird defines the end game. He says, “Football has an incredible bonding aspect to it. It demands an emotional investment. This is what makes it such a dominant force in character development as well as sacrifice. You never question anything about each other. It's understood respect. This is my teammate. We will always be on the same team." The end game in team sports is that good and bad moments are shared by all, and that leads to bonds based on respect. A bond that is deeply rooted in the player's psyche.
Psychologists for decades have tried to quantify why team bonds last a lifetime. One Cambridge study sought to quantify individual personalities by five metrics—“Openness, Conscientiousness, Extroversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism.” They were unsuccessful. A team bond formula is not quantifiable. It requires complicated interactions between trust, honesty, sacrifice, collaboration, cohesion, communication, and synergy.
In 2003 Dick Baird wrote an article stating, "Just last week, I got a chance to spend the day with a couple of old teammates. Lots of stories were retold, and lots of hearts were involved. Friends forever held together in the bond of football brotherhood. College roommates as well as survivors of a "Junction Boys"-type football experience."
And there you have it! On 7/20, 2024, Longhorn Michael Brown's family was able to honor him because of the team bond that cares passionately for those who lived in a foxhole with them for 4 years. His teammates raised the money needed to pay for the funeral cost to honor Michael, AND THAT IS THE WAY IT SHOULD BE.
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