A STORY ABOUT THE WAY IT SHOULD BE!
The former Chairman of the Board of Regents at U.T., Gene Powell, told me years ago, "If you are writing, don’t write about how it is, but write about 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. The player'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 Baird said in 2003, “Years from now, all players will realize the experience(college sports) was really what it was all about .. but the journey is important. 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,” College football..., is where relationships are built."
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 bonds must also travel symbolically perilous rivers. Bonds need time to develop, forming only after shared experiences such as victories, losses, workouts, sorrow, pain, joy, and other elements merge into a lifetime team foxhole mentality. All In that foxhole have earned respect from their teammates.
Winning enhances 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. In team sports the good and bad moments are shared by all, and that leads to a bond that is deeply rooted in the player's psyche.
Psychologists have not been able to quantify team bonds because a team's landscape requires complicated interactions between trust, honesty, sacrifice, collaboration, cohesion, and communication.
And so it was on July 20, 2024. The bond expressed in the previous paragraph shone through as teammates came together and raised funds for the burial expenses of a fellow teammate. AND THAT IS HOW IT SHOULD BE! "Friends forever, united by the enduring bond of football brotherhood."
