DKR Auction

So as expected, prices were a higher than expected at the auction since Darrell Royal died last week… ESPECIALLY on the cheaper items that were supposed to go between $100-200.  The expensive things like Texas and US flags flown to the moon stayed around the estimated bids (if not a tad lower).  But the little things - the opportunity to have something the legend owned.  And I can't ignore his 2005 National Championship ring - it did go for a shocking $105,000. 

It is interesting to see the unsigned items that went higher than you would think.  A book with a signature about $250 – but make it about the Longhorns and it went for $650, programs from games he coached even higher… A couple of odd desk items that were expected to go for 100-200 went for prices like $1700 or $2250!  If it had a longhorn, his initials, or was burnt orange – the price went up!  I would love to do a spreadsheet categorizing the items that went for so much more than expected.

Here is a short run-down of the things that were eyebrow raising!

Signed program from 1973 (100-200=$650)

Duh... it has a longhorn on it and was probably worn by Darrel Royal!!! (100-200=$1300)

Initialed Bottle Box - the box is sweet (100-200=$1700)

What I wanted – was thinking I could spend $200 on this since it was his… even though it was so faded! (100-200=$550) 

It's burnt orange, has a longhorn on it and they used it! (400-600=$950)

Holy Shit – my glasses aren’t worth this much... (100-200=$350)

Hello... wooden Hook'em with his name on it! (100-200=$2250)

Not signed, Edith's personal copy.... maybe she bought it back. (600-800=$1800)

Unsigned 1963 Program - although this was the auction catalog cover (100-200=$800)

Signed 1957 and 1958 Programs (100-200=$1300)

Signed 1949 Sugar Bowl Program - his last game playing fro Oklahoma (600-800=$2000)

Signed 1958 Sugar Bowl Program (300-500=$550)

Amazing Original Cartoon (400-600=$3500)

Texas Flag from Moon - very faded, he obviously had these in his office and ENJOYED them! Duke wrote about trying to make a Hook'em in the photo with his gloved hand. (15,000-25,000=$17,000)

The audio recording of the party with Charlie Duke and Willie talking about what it would be like to be on the moon. I so want to hear this – hope the buyer makes it public! (60-150=$425)

Apollo 12 moon flag - signed by Conrad, Gordon, and Bean (10,000-15,000=$15,000)

Apollo 8 Moon Flag - signed by Borman, Lovell, and Anders. What a steal! (10,000-15,000=$6500)

Autographed pages by several SWC greats intended to be in first 250 books of a book that never got printed - neat lot! (100-200=$275)

What the Hell?  Other rings only went for $15,000 or so.  Oh, 2005 National Championship Ring... it's not a typo! (1000-5000=$105,000)

Brick from 2006 DKR Stadium Renovation (100-200=$750)

Texas Football Magazine also signed by James Street (150-250=$700)

The auction website - browse through - it's fun!
Neat article about Auction - with photos.

Fitting Tribute for Darrell Royal

We lost a legend on November 8th.   It was a A sad, sad day for me, longhorn fans, SWC fans, and football aficionados across the country. Even Aggies expressed some love! The UT tower was lit solid orange Wednesday night in his honor.  I know my dad is having some lively conversation with him right now!

Here is the DKR decal Texas Football went with for the helmet (posted by @MBTexasFootball). I was indeed hoping for something other than a black circle with DKR in it. I was wishing for something more original - like a little wishbone with DKR inside.

But, how fitting is this!?! I would have to say, they nailed it!

He changed football forever with the wishbone, but Darrell Royal "created" the iconic helmet longhorn (see here for details from a previous blog of mine) that is still unchanged to this day! Bravo!

Hook'em! \m/

Aggies in Black

Are you effing kidding me?  Texas A&M rolled out of the locker room last weekend wearing all black. Oh excuse me, the helmet was black fade to maroon.  Okay, black doesn't even fade to maroon. Stupid.  Glad I was doing an art show and did not have to watch this travesty.

Only one word can describe this - sacrilege!  Hey - I like black unis, Red Raiders look spectacular in all black - BECAUSE IT IS ONE OF THEIR SCHOOL COLORS!  BFBS (black for black sake in uni-watch ease) is out of control.  With the exception of the blue field, you can't tell who any of these teams are in the photo above with a quick glance.

But enough of that - let's talk about the helmet.  I love the Texas outline idea - but how poorly done could this be?  The logo is so big you lose the southern tip of Texas. The reversed side is better.  The holes in certain helmets also lose part OF THE SCHOOL NAME.  You can tell by the bad photograph that HGI took, they don't even care what it looks like.  Graphic design is about design.  Not letting some intern slap some oversized crap on there - anywhere on there.  Make the logo smaller, lay it out so it is ACTUALLY readable, and it would have looked a heck of a lot better - except of course, for the black...

2012 Uni Smackdown

Most changes to the unis for 2012 are completely overshadowed by the stellar Aggie unis unveiled this year.  But here is the run-down.

U of Beveled H: Lots of jicky lines and odd shaped leg panels, blame Nike for that. Not sure about the Hot Wheels shine treatment on the helmet, and of course I hate the new beveled logo. Saving factor is the Robertson Stadium patch.

Rice and Adidas: Not much difference, but definitely not as good. School name is smaller and the stacked Adidas logo looks horrible. Does not appear to be the right color of blue either. And I am still missing the stripes on the pants!

SMU new striping: Someone claims that new unis do not facilitate UCLA stripes (but I beg to differ #QuitMakingExcusesNike). Aside from that, bonehead move to dump the name of your school... little horses belong on pants! Maybe they were trying desperately to outnumber the Nike logos... Speaking of pants... where exactly have all the stripes gone?

Arkansas Barf Fest: Just effing horrible! The full set is a non-traditional yawn fest.

Aggies ode to the 70s: as mentioned in my earlier blog entry, I really like it! Except for the matte helmet finish... and the maroon is honestly, the wrong color

New Unis for Ags Honor 75-77

There has been a huge development on the uni-front at Texas A&M.  So massive, I wish dad were here to discuss it with me!  So contradicting, yet so wonderful!   

So, NOW you want to honor your traditions...

I have sat back and watched Texas A&M toss tradition after tradition aside since I left the school - it even has a different greedy, money-grubbing feel to it now. It's the NOT the same place I fell in love with and shocked my Longhorn fan dad when I told him I would be headed to College Station. First slap in the face, The Zone and its rich suites blocking the dead mascots' view of the scoreboard. But the most flagrant slaps - ending the longest tradition of all - the rivalry between Texas and Texas A&M. And with that a move to a money-grubbing conference that will only exploit their Texas connection.

So in the shadow of trashing traditions, they decide to honor one of the most unique football unis in the history of college football (dad absolutely hated them!). The new unis (still Adidas) have the double shoulder stripe of those historic unis from the mid to late 70s. It also utilizes the striped undersleeve born by Uni-Watch readers - although, I suspect there will be some serious alignment issues between jersey and undershirt. Glad to see a stripe on the pants - but I will always be a fan of multiple stripes. I don't even mind the gray bevel highlight... That is the direction they want to go with the aTm logo (see previous post) - I hope they dump that idea! Now, this was a techFit reveal, so I don't want to get my hopes up that the new helmet WON'T have that stupid bevel logo.

All in all, the ONLY REAL problem with this uni is that crappy SEC logo on it!

UH Newly Chiseled into The Past...

The discussion at Uni Watch today was the poorly executed beveling of the Texas A&M and new UH logos. The beveling of logos SHOULD be a moot point - it's dated AT BEST! But news regarding the Aggie star T logo supporting the story was even more disturbing.

I love the star T logo and was greatly saddened to find out they are trying to limit it. It screams old school Texas A&M (even though it is a newer logo). And somehow, it screams the Corps. I constantly search for products with that logo on it! It shows A&M's uniqueness. But seemingly, the echoed sentiment here is that A&M no longer wants to be unique. They have lost so many of their traditions to fit into the big bad SEC - they have sold their soul to the company store. The only recognition they seem to want now is "Look SEC, we are your TEXAS connection!". Yea, like I said - they sold their soul to the company store. As an alum I am increasingly disgusted by the direction the Aggie administration continues to go in. I have all, but disowned them...

Back to the bevel - Dear Texas Tech, I HATE HATE HATE the beveled double T! Hated it from the day it landed at Texas Tech - never looked new, just clunky. There are so many better looking logos out there. Really! And if you want to do ONE THING to make our football helmets look good again - dump the bevel! Of course repairing it completely would be to add the stripes back and give it a red face mask!

Fitting UH is just now updating their logo with an outdated style, Cougar High...sigh.

Living, Breathing Shasta!

Okay - the cougar cub is real cute... I mean REAL CUTE! But this is the lamest thing ever. UofH used to have a live cougar mascot. So in trying to bring that back they "partnered" with the zoo and will have LIVE SCREEN SHOTS of this new "Shasta" at sporting events... huh?

Quoted in the article: "For the last 20 years or so, UH alumni have been looking forward to the day when we could have a live cougar to identify with as one of our own and this great new partnership with the Houston Zoo is a perfect fit,” said Michael Pede, president of the University of Houston Alumni Association".

Yea... some how I don't think this is what Cougar High alumni were wishing for... one LOCKED UP in the zoo.