Dear Texas Tech Football, I Want To Love You But You’re So Hard To Love

It's time for a dose of reality.

The headline at KCBD was "Texas Tech loses final regular season game to Texas, 57-7", while the headline at KAMC was "Red Raiders fall to Longhorns in final regular season game". Meanwhile, ESPN told the real story with, "Texas crushes Texas Tech to earn spot in Big 12 title game". I certainly can't blame the hometown folks for trying to soften the blow, but please take a moment to step out of your Texas Tech jammies and look at the reality.

I have tried hard to be a Tech fan and I've tried hard not to be a Tech fan. I've been on both sides of this. I also spent two and a half years in Austin and had to support the Longhorns there too. Tech fans want to win so bad and Longhorn fans expect to win. Along the way, two words come into play and they are "confidence" and "arrogance".  Texas plays it cool like BEVO chillin' in a big stall, while Texas Tech is Rootin' Tootin' Raider Red jumping around and pretending to fire bullets everywhere.

I knew the moment the game turned on Friday night and it was something that should have been a good thing. Texas Tech intercepted the ball in the red zone, this was followed by a bit of showboating-dancing by the Tech player. My wife, who does not even care for football said, "Oh no, they made 'em mad now". She was 100% correct. I understand youthful exuberance but a big play is no cause for celebration when you're already down 20-7. Again, I don't blame the player, I blame the culture surrounding the team.

We are going to carry this loss around our necks like it's that big ol' tire they're toting around on the sidelines for many years. We weren't good enough to back up our words and the coaching staff hasn't shown us enough to tell some of us that "we should shut up" or that "everything comes through Lubbock" when we've done very little to prove it. We need grit,  we need buy-in, and we need every fan to come together or we're going to have the same problems in the new Big 12 too. Let's quit mouthin' and dancing and start taking care of business.