Horned Frog Football, Y'all Part 2

So, where were we?

I believe we were looking at the top 5 all time TCU games I have attended since the resurgence of the program.

Game 5 was a week ago (which included remembrances of a TCU/ECU game that included David Garrard who then promptly got cut after my post), Game 4 over a decade ago.

The Top 3 are all more recent.

Number 3: November 14, 2009
TCU 55 Utah 28
The Gameday Game

Although I was at a JYF (4th and 5th graders) lock-in the entire night before the day, I was on campus for the entirety of College Gameday and was one of the record breaking crowd at Amon G. Carter that evening.

Number 4 TCU took on Number 14 Utah and flat demolished them.

It wasn't even close.

The feel of that game, the excitement of Gameday on campus, was a game, nay, a College Experience, that I wondered if I would ever feel again, much less equal.

Thankfully the end of that season would answer that question, although with less exciting results on the field.

Number 2: January 4, 2010
TCU 10 Boise St 17
The Fiesta Bowl

Sure, the game didn't end the way we wanted it to, and both our team and fans and Boise's team and fans were disappointed that we didn't get a chance against a so-called BCS power but instead played against our non-AQ cousins, but all that aside, it was a big time bowl and it was an awesome experience.

It was a great game that honestly could have gone either way.

As disappointed as I was at the time, looking back, losing that game might have been the best thing that could have happened for the Frogs.

As I mentioned in the previous post on my thoughts on the recent loss to Baylor, I was reminded of a couple of previous Horned Frog games.  One was the ECU game I have already written about.

This is the other game that came to mind.

Losing this game is what powered the TCU run last season that culminated in winning the Rose Bowl.

Sometimes failing is what pushes you to even greater successes.  That was certainly the case with the disappointment that followed this Fiesta Bowl loss, and the heart and determination shown in the loss to Baylor coupled with the heartbreaking way that it ended might be what the current young team needed to force them into growing up.

We might look back at the Baylor loss at the end of this season and point to it as the reason for a successful finish to the year.

Is there any doubt what number one will be?

Number 1: January 1st, 2011
TCU 21 Wisconsin 19
The Rose Bowl

I will never forget the moment when Tank Carder knocked down that 2 point conversion pass and the game was sealed.

Tears ran unabashedly down my face.

We deserved a shot at the National Championship, but there was no shame in finishing #2 (behind the under suspicion Auburn Tigers and their probably payed for QB Cam Newton) and winning the Grandaddy of Them All.

By far the most amazing college football experience I have ever had, hearing the Horned Frog fans take over that stadium despite being outnumbered by the Wisconsin fans will stay with me forever.

although the fan split looks a lot closer in the photographs

Whatever ends up happening this year, it is hard to feel bad, because at the (very) beginning of this year, we couldn't have flown any higher.

GO FROGS!

Horned Frog Football, Y'all Part 1

Friday night, TCU football returned after 144 days without a single game-time snap.

The Rose Bowl still fresh in the minds of all who were there, TCU took a relatively young and inexperienced team (having lost 27 seniors, including a starting QB and most of the starting Offensive and Defensive lines) to a very underrated Baylor team with a Heisman hopeful Robert Griffin III at QB.

While the outcome was disappointing, Baylor ended up winning 50-48, the game was anything but.  In fact, despite the loss, it was one of the more exciting games I have been a part of in TCU football history.  And I'm not just saying that because I was caught on camera by the ESPN National broadcast.

Me on TV!

In fact, it probably fits itself into one of the top 5 TCU football games that I have actually attended.   Here is the list and the reasons why each game is where it is on the list.

Friday night's TCU vs Baylor game would be number 5

Number 5: Sept. 2, 2011
TCU 48 at Baylor 50

Part of the reason that this game is here, is because it is one of those games that a young team has to have, a loss that shapes who the team becomes.  The fact that our defense (generally the most dominant aspect of our team) got shellacked is going to provide them with some motivation throughout the rest of this season, and looking closer at the actual events of the game, the apparent demise of the defense is not as obvious as it might have appeared.

Sophmore Jason Verrett (#2) started at corner back, and all 3 of Baylor's first three passing touchdowns showed him way out of position.  Late in the second quarter, he was replaced by redshirt freshman Kevin White (#25), and the TCU secondary got markedly better as a result.

After that, Baylor was still able to score a few long touchdowns and complete a few long passes, but on each of those plays, White or McCoy (#7) where in good position but were unable to stop great receptions by Baylor's wideouts on perfect throws from Griffin.

Of all of the quarterbacks remaining on our schedule this season, the only other one coming close to the talent of Griffin is another Heisman candidate, Boise St. senior Kellen Moore.

The defense will not look nearly as bad as they did for much of Friday night again this season.

The offense, with a new offensive line and a first time starter at QB wasn't supposed to turn many heads early in the season.  However, they were fantastic.

Sophomore Casey Pachall (who we could have for three full seasons!) showed off his powerful arm and his ability to put the ball in exactly the right place.  He did have a propensity for staring down his target and not looking much past his first option, but those are issues that will get fixed with game time experience, and the plusses far outweighed those minor minuses.  The kid was recruited (and offered scholarships) by other big time programs, but chose TCU, and I wouldn't be at all surprised if he's in talk for a Heisman before his career here is over.

The fourth quarter is what really put this game in the top 5.  TCU entered the fourth quarter down by 24 points, and many felt that this game was over.  TCU didn't feel that way though.  They proceeded to score 25 unanswered points and take the lead 48-47 before Baylor was able to just sneak in the game winning field goal with just over a minute left.  If there had been even a couple of extra minutes in this game, TCU would have walked away victorious in a game that looked completely lost, and that type of heart goes a long way in the college game.  This is a team that will simply not be denied no matter how long the odds look, and that is something that is very important, especially considering the leadership that this team lost.

This game reminded me a lot of a couple of my other favorite TCU games of all time, both losses, one of which is on the list at number 3 so I will hold off on talking about those comparisons until them, the other didn't make the list so I'll talk a little about it now.

It was a Tuesday night game, October 30, 2001  (nearly 10 years ago).  TCU was playing East Carolina University.

It started out ugly, and the few fans that had come to the odd Tuesday night start left when the Frogs went down 27-3 at Half Time.

Myself and a few good friends stuck it out, sitting in our customary seats behind the band.  Sean Stilley had started for the Frogs, but Casey Printers came in for TCU in the second half after a Stilley injury.

Playing QB for the Pirates was future NFL starter David Garrard.  Casey Printers would go on to be an NFL backup QB and a Grey Cup winner and CFL MVP.  Of course, none of us knew that would be in the future for either of these players.  Instead what we witnessed was a remarkable comeback led by Printers and a determination to stave that comeback off by Garrard.

TCU got it to within 30-23 with about 5 minutes left and even had the ball.  However, Printers (as was always his wont) through an interception that allowed ECU to push the lead back to two scores, making it 37-23 with 3:54 left.  TCU was not to be denied, however.  Printers led us down the field and with 1:49 left hit Adrian Madise in the endzone to make the score 37-30.  The Frogs then recovered the onside kick and got to first and goal before failing to tie the game, an incompletion on fourth and goal turning the ball over and allowing ECU to hold on to win.

It was a heck of a game and a heck of a finish that with a little more time might have ended differently.  Of course, at the end of this season, Printers would do as much (or more) to lose the bowl game against A&M as he did to make this game respectable.

Number 4: Nov. 20, 1999
TCU 52 vs UTEP 24

I will never forget this game.  Sitting in my customary student time seat of behind the band, I watched as LT broke run after run against the UTEP defense.  The year before in El Paso he had burned the Miners for 300 yards and they vowed they would stop him this year.  As we watched LT break through the eight and nine man fronts that the Miners piled in front of him, my friends and I tried to put together how many yards he had.  Thankfully the announcer informed us.  "LaDainian Tomlinson this afternoon has set an NCAA Division 1 record.  406 yards rushing!  LT!"

Shane Ladewig was the center for the Frogs in that game, and his parents were shooting video.  Relive the moment for yourselves.




Seeing as this post is already pretty long, we'll return with games 3, 2, and 1 tomorrow.

Go Frogs!

A Presidential Race?

That must mean this blog will start getting some attention again.

Rick Perry is starting to gain some steam in the Republican Primary.  As a person who has lived in Texas throughout Rick Perry's exceedingly long time as Governor, I can't even begin to understand how the rest of the country could even consider him based on his record, to say nothing about the last Texas Governor (with similar ideals) that became the President of the United States.

Many of my friends in education here in the state of Texas have many more problems with Rick Perry and his record on education than with the specific point I plan on making today (and at some point we might delve into that as well), but due to an article in the Guardian (a paper from the UK) I thought I might focus on Rick Perry's desire to have Creationism taught in school's alongside Evolution.

"I am a firm believer in Intelligent Design as a matter of faith and intellect, and I believe it should be presented in schools alongside the theories of evolution."

I'm not sure that Rick Perry is going to be pushing this agenda on the campaign trail (the article stresses that a concerned/ and to be fair, pushy/ mother got her son to ask about Creationism specifically), but it is clearly a belief that he holds, and something that he might attempt to enact.

Quite clearly, this idea is against the US Constitution and the separation of Church and State that this country was founded on.

For those of you who don't know, I am in school getting my Master's of Divinity.  I am a Christian, although my views and those of fundamentalist Christians are very different.

What seems ironic to me is that views held by these fundamentalist Christians, allowed by this country, are only possible because of the separation of Church and State that was very important to those who founded this country.  To go against that by enacting a law such as what Rick Perry is suggesting would be going against the very process and freedom that allows them to have their own religious beliefs free of government interference.

And being free of government interference is supposedly what the Republican Party is supposed to be about, which makes the idea that a religious idea has to be taught in public schools seems anti small government to me.

It's okay for the government to tell you what to believe in regards to religion, but it isn't okay for the government to try to make sure we all have adequate health care.

Personally, I believe that God has a place in creation, and even in evolution.

That doesn't mean that I believe that public schools need to be telling children that evolution or creation wouldn't have been possible without God.

Talk about that at home and especially at church, sure, but the school isn't the place for those ideas, especially because everyone's religious beliefs are different, and this country was quite literally founded on that very idea.

I'd certainly prefer a President who understood that, and knew that our beliefs are different and that's an important part of our culture, giving us strength.  To lead this country, you shouldn't ever try and force your religious beliefs on the rest of the country.

How Bout Them Hawks?

After going down 3 games to none quickly against the Vancouver Canucks, a team that in the previous two seasons the Blackhawks had forced out of the playoffs, things didn't look good for the defending Stanley Cup Champions.


After backing into the playoffs on the last day, many people were hesitant to pick the Hawks against the team that had the best regular season record this year in the NHL, even if the Hawks had dominated them in the past.

After all, this was a different Hawks team, after so many players were forced out due to salary cap issues, and it seemed that this was a different Canucks team as well, one that was finally going to live up to all of the promise.

After quickly handling the Hawks in the first three games, it appeared that everyone was right.

However, in Hockey more than any other sport, going down 3 games to none doesn't guarantee anything.

Just last season, the Philadelphia Flyers became the third NHL team to come from down 3 games to none to win the series, and they did it while trailing 3-0 in game 7!

Win the 4-3 overtime win tonight, after embarrassing Vancouver 7-2 in Game 4 and 5-0 in Game 5, the Hawks become only the 7th team ever to force a game seven in the NHL playoffs after training the series 3-0.

3 of those teams went on to win the series.

The Hawks seem poised to be the fourth.

After all, momentum has clearly shifted in their favor.

Before Game 6 tonight, the Hockey Night in Canada host joked, "Chicago leads the series, 2 games to 3."

Roberto Luongo won the Gold Medal in the Olympics last year as the starting goalie for Team Canada.  He is a finalist for the Vezina Trophy this year, given to the league's best goalie.  He is in the second year of a huge 12 year contract.  He is both the present and the future of the Canuck franchise.  He got pulled after giving up 6 goals in Game 4.  He got pulled after giving up 4 goals in Game 5.  He was benched in favor of a rookie goalie in Game 6, then had to come in when that goalie got injured, and Luongo gave up the game winner in overtime to rookie Ben Smith.

Luongo is one of the best goalies in the NHL, but the Blackhawks are clearly in his head, and if he starts Game 7, you have to wonder where he will be mentally.

Going with the rookie, Cory Schneider who might not be able to play after suffering from cramps in the third period tonight, probably won't instill the Canucks with a lot of confidence either.

Not only is it almost unfathomable that the Canucks have somehow blown the 3-0 series lead, but the way that they have done it has to be incredibly demoralizing.

They were embarrassed 7-2 in Game 4.

Then they were blown out again in Game 5, and, to add insult to injury, they were also shut out, 5-0.  In Vancouver.

They played arguably their best game of the series in Game 6, but proving how far momentum has shifted towards the side of the Blackhawks, they still lost 4-3, albeit in overtime.

They have done almost nothing in the last week to show that they have any chance of slowing down Chicago and finally winning this series.

However, the beautiful thing about Game 7s is that absolutely anything can happen.

Even if you were at one point down 3 games to none.

If you enjoy hockey at all, this game is shaping up to be a classic, can't miss game.

The Stanley Cup defending Champions back from the dead.

The President's Cup winning Vancouver Canucks trying to prove once and for all they can somehow beat the team that has sent them packing each of the last two seasons in the playoffs.

One team will move on.

One team will go home.

And as the NHL has been telling us for the last two weeks...

History Will Be Made.

GO HAWKS!!!!

And may my playoff beard last another round!

Winter is Coming...

George R.R. Martin has finally announced the official release date for the fifth book in A Song of Ice and Fire, A Dance With Dragons.

The wait for this book has been incredible, but I believe that ultimately it will be worth it.

Martin's series is simply the best written fantasy series of all time.

While almost all fantasy (Lord of the Rings, Narnia, Wheel of Time, even Harry Potter) is at its heart a story of good verses evil, that isn't what Martin is about at all.

Some of the characters in the epic series are good, and some of the characters are not so good, but the characters that are good are capable of doing some terrible things, and the characters that are "evil" often have very good reasons for their terrible actions.

The thing is, there is no clear good guys or bad guys (and I really shouldn't use the term "guys" because there are some amazing and strong female characters in this series).

Martin tells each chapter from the perspective of a particualar character; you spend the chapter in their head.  He doesn't limit it to just the protaganists either.  You will get perspectives from all sides, and at times your alligences might change.

While there is no guarentee that the next book in the series will arrive anytime soon (the wait between the last book, the fourth in the series, A Feast For Crows, was released on November 8, 2005, over five and half years between it and the new one), the series, about to be five (very long) books strong, is well worth the read, even if it means you might spend the next five plus years waiting (not so patiently) with the rest of us for book six.

Good on You, Rob Bell

Don't swallow it uncritically. Think about it. Wrestle with it. Just because I'm a Christian and I'm trying to articulate a Christian worldview doesn't mean I've got it nailed. I'm contributing to the discussion. God has spoken, and the rest is commentary, right? - Rob Bell from the description of his book "Velvet Elvis"

I haven't really ever been the biggest Rob Bell fan.  Something about his whole presentation turned me off, so I haven't really ever sought him out.

Perhaps that was a mistake on my part.

He has built up a large following (including among many of my youth minister friends) with his short videos looking at various bible passages or theological hot topics.


His latest book, however, has riled up a lot of people against him.

The book, Love Wins: A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, apparently takes a universalist approach.

Oh, the horror!

Except, I believe in Universal Salvation.

Can a God of love really ever condemn someone, anyone, to eternal damnation?  I just can't see it.

Rob Bell makes the point in a promotional video for the book that under a traditional Christian understanding of Heaven and Hell and who goes where, Gandhi is in Hell.

Gandhi's in hell? He is?-Rob Bell

The announcement of this book and the promotional video caused Justin Taylor, a blogger for the evangelical website The Gospel Coalition, to respond calling Bell out for "false theology."

The problem is, there is no good proof that Bell's assertion of Universal salvation is actually false theology.

I think that a lot of the problem with this understanding from evangelicals and other Christians is due to the reading that they make of John 14:6.

Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'

No where does this verse say that only by believing in Christ will you be saved.  You could argue that perhaps Paul and other New Testament writers make that claim, but Jesus himself never says it.  In fact, all that Jesus says is that salvation will come through him, in other words through his actions, not through our actions at all.

And that is what the common Christian view of this Scripture seems to say, that it is our actions that matter, whether or not we accept Jesus differentiates whether or not we will be worthy of God's grace.

It isn't up to us.

The Bible makes that pretty clear.

Telling Rob Bell that his theology is wrong or false just means that yours is equally wrong or false.  Rob Bell is making the argument that God's grace will ultimately be given to everyone.  Taylor is making the argument that only a certain few are worthy of God's grace, providing they perform the requisite steps first, namely accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Taylor likes to talk about Paul and his views on false teachers in his post (although he takes the one direct Bible quotation he uses completely out of context, and then his reference to 1 Timothy is referenced as also being by Paul, whereas no modern Biblical scholars actually believe that Paul wrote this letter), but the more common theme throughout Paul's writing is the idea that it is impossible to do any work to gain God's grace, that God's grace is a gift that we cannot earn.

The idea of accepting Jesus Christ has become an earmark towards earning salvation in today's Christian rhetoric, and that is not the point of faith as Paul understood it.  By no means, as he would say.

Salvation is not something that can be earned, and that is the understanding of salvation that Taylor seems to be advocating.

I am completely okay with Justin Taylor, and all of the 26,600+ people who liked his blog post on Facebook, believing that there is a Hell (even if I can't believe in such a place, or at least the fact that anyone would be put there), and I'm okay with them having different understandings of what Scripture says.

I am not okay, however, with Taylor intimating that Rob Bell is a false prophet or teacher, or insinuating that those who listen to him or happen to believe the same as him are destined for Hell.

Just because others don't reach the same conclusions that you do after studying the Scripture doesn't make them wrong, anymore than it would necessarily make you wrong.

When you argue that it does you are guilty of ignoring other Gospel teachings, such as those found in Matthew 7:3.

Why do you see the speck in your neighbour’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye?

I for one am looking forward to reading Rob Bell's new book, and perhaps finally giving him the chance he probably deserved all along.

Good on you, Rob Bell.

Quote of the Day

Been a while since we've done this!  I'm still alive, and my New Year's Resolution was to blog more, which currently has had Fat Train getting all of the attention, but I remember this site as well, and promise to give it some love.

I'm actually in the middle of a paper that is due tomorrow right now, but I saw this quote and thought I'd put up a few thoughts on it...

Everything you can imagine is real.
  - Pablo Picasso

I honestly believe that in a way this is true. It is real in your head, at the very least, real to you, if you will, but there is a part of me that believes that it is more substantially real as well.

There is a thought in Quantum Physics that some particles don't exist except when we are looking at them (or for them) at which point they do exist.

Clearly our minds do have some sort of connection to (if not some form of control over) the universe in which we live.

And we clearly don't understand completely the universe in which we live, much less rather or not it is the only such universe that there is.

It is completely possible (and perhaps even scientifically plausible) that everything that we imagine does truly exist in some universe, even if not in ours.