The Tiger Cubs finally made their appointment with the Texas Longhorns at D-K Royal Memorial Stadium this afternoon, after being rained out three weeks in a row. Young, assistant coaches led cubs and parents in cheers (Texas...Fight!) and syncopated handclapping (I had forgotten all this, not having been in fan seating since college). I have preferred to watch college football on television, with the sound off--in favor of the Longhorns Sports Network on radio--so as to avoid the talking heads who seldom seem to talk about the teams but only themselves.
So we got to see Colt McCoy up close ("Look, Dad, it's number twelve, Colt McCoy"), on the sidelines in front of us warming up with 10-yard passes. He's only about two inches shorter than Vince but he looks smaller. Colt's backup, Jevan Snead, who was also before us warming up, is more Vince's size, but Colt's sure made the most of himself so far. So much we have started seeing news items about Jevan's alleged plans to transfer somewhere he can get more playing time. Colt waited a year as Vince's understudy. Will Jevan?
What most impressed me about these young men, and the rest of the team we also saw (star kicker Ryan Bailey, running backs Jamal Charles and Selvin Young, and receivers Billy Pittman and Limas Sweed) was their ease with their bodies and the football. On the sidelines, none of the receivers even moved. They just opened their hands and caught the well-aimed ball. On the field, the receivers were fluid motion. Colt bounces a football, once, off its pointed end on the turf, like a basketball, without any apparant concentration, a little trick he probably learned as a middle-schooler, this football coach's son has played for so long.
Mr. Boy asked plenty of questions but got bored quickly and finally wanted to leave because the sun was down behind the stadium, and we were cold. He said on the way home that he still prefers basketball. I have seen his six-year-old dedication at the plaground, shooting baskets one after another for up to twenty minutes at a stretch. Hitting about a third of them when he stands real close to the adult-height hoop.
I like the Tuscola Kid, but not so much his information management. The "it's all about the team" soundbites he's learned to ply the microphones with, are becoming tiresome. Candor, Colt. Just a tad. Vince had candor, still does, as he QB's the Tennesee Titans. Colt sounds like a robot sometimes.
