TEXAS \u2014 College football season is back, and the University of Texas is off to a good start after winning last week\u2019s opener against Texas State 59-7 and stunning No. 1 Ohio State after coming back from a 20-point deficit to win 24-23 on Saturday.\u00a0<\/p>\n
College football brings a lot of business to sports bars across the state, especially in the Austin-area.<\/p>\n
A friendly rivalry on Austin\u2019s infamous 6th Street was playing out ahead of the UT-Ohio State game between popular bars Inn Cahoots on the east and Buford\u2019s on the west. It\u2019s all because Ohio State\u2019s mascot, Brutus Buckeye, was bearing down on bar-goers entering Buford\u2019s.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s a very good number of Ohio State alumni that live in Austin, Texas, so that gives them a home,\u201d said Bob Woody, the owner of Buford\u2019s.<\/p>\n
Putting Brutus above his bar\u2019s entrance has raised some eyebrows amongst UT fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust driving down the street and saw this huge Buckeye, and I was like, \u2018What is happening in downtown Austin?\u2019\u201d said Kristen Carson, a UT alum and the owner of Inn Cahoots.<\/p>\n
After seeing Brutus, she decided to wager a bet against Buford\u2019s for the big game.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf Ohio State wins, I would take all of Buford\u2019s staff to get a steak dinner at Longhorn Steakhouse,\u201d Carson said. \u201cBut if UT wins, I want them to post the final game score on the Buckeyes\u2019 forehead in the size and font of my choosing for the rest of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n
This challenge has been made very public, with Buford\u2019s playing along, and both bars going back and forth with each other on social media<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ll see how it goes,\u201d Woody said. \u201cI\u2019m going to win either way.\u201d<\/p>\n Jokes aside, at least there\u2019s one thing that these rivals can agree on: Texas football games, especially the ones at home, play a vital role in the local economy and bring a lot of business to their bars.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re not only a music venue and a bar, and an event space; we\u2019re also a hotel, so we are super impacted when these games come into town,\u201d Carson said.<\/p>\n Hundreds of people watch the games from local bars, and then hundreds more make their way over after watching the game at the stadium.<\/p>\n \u201cWhy not park down here and then walk up to the game?\u201d Woody said. \u201cAnd then when it\u2019s over, you come back here and celebrate, or you drown your tears in a glass of beer. Nah, I\u2019m just kidding, but you get the idea. This is our entertainment district. We thrive on this. We\u2019re made for it. We\u2019re built for it.\u201d<\/p>\n