AUSTIN, Texas – Fans have a new way to celebrate the longstanding Lone Star Showdown ahead of Friday’s big match-up.
The Texas Longhorns and Texas A&M Aggies first met in 1894 and Friday, Nov. 28, marks the first time in 15 years they’ll face off in Austin.
Texas Longhorns-Texas A&M Aggies exhibit
The backstory:
“Our schools have sort of always been at ends with each other since their inception,” said Sark Center curator, Kyle R M.
The Longhorn-Aggie rivalry has spanned generations and now a new exhibit is bringing more than a century of memories back to life.
“The idea was that this would be the 120th match-up between the two schools that’ll be played on Friday. And it’s the first time in 15 years that it’s been played here in Austin. And our current undergraduate students really don’t have much. Connecting them to this rivalry, which has run for over a century,” said R M.
Curator, Kyle R M, says the exhibit is laid out in chapters beginning with the first kick-off in 1894 when the rivalry was first taking shape.
“In ‘Texas fight’, we say it’s goodbye to A&M and in the ‘Aggie War Hymn’, they say so long to Texas university. So right out of the gate, this is a really hot rivalry,” said R M.
Another section highlights the mischief away from the field, from trash talk telegrams to stolen mascots, to vandalized fields. But, at the heart of the exhibit is a wall honoring the 1999 Texas A&M bonfire collapse.
“At a time when things can feel so divisive, Burnt Orange and Maroon, I really love reflecting on 1999 and the way that we can remember at the end of the day we’re all Texans,” said R M.
Two walls stand side by side, one Burnt Orange and one Maroon, comparing the cultures, traditions, and icons that have shaped the rivalry: the colors, the fight songs, the mascots and the bands.
The exhibit ends with a colorful collage made up of game day programs from A&M and Texas games for over 100 years of the game being played.
“The idea behind this exhibit is to help renew that rivalry through public history, through telling these stories and reminding folks who are aware of them, who live them, of what happened and showing the new generations and generations to come,” said R M.
With 100 plus years of history on display, one thing remains the same for both teams: Expect the unexpected.
“If we look at the historical span of this game in 119 match-ups that have already been played, Texas has won 77 of those, A&M only 37. If this rivalry and the history of this rivalry has shown us anything and taught us anything, it’s that anything can happen in this game,” said R M.
You can find the exhibit at the UT Austin Stark Center in the north end zone. It’s open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. It is free and open to the public.
The Source: Information from interviews conducted by FOX 7 Austin’s Jenna King
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