Midweek Musings: How I Became a Fan

In case you missed it, we asked you all this very same question a last week. How did you become a TCU Horned Frog fan? Your responses were incredible.

Now, it's the Frogs O' War staff's turn to tell you how we came to be fans. I'll start this week, and in the coming weeks each staffer will post their story.

I grew up in Dallas, Texas, raised by a Razorback and a Badger, and TCU wasn't on my radar early on. My mother was indifferent about Wisconsin, which gave my dad the opportunity to talk up Arkansas all the livelong day, teach me how to call the Hogs, and, maybe most importantly, teach me how to hate the University of Texas.

You see, being born in 1986, my sports awareness kicked in right around the time the Dallas Cowboys were winning super bowls, and Arkansas was bolting for the SEC. For my dad, that move meant the Hogs and Horns wouldn't be playing anymore, and on that issue, he was torn. He hated Texas, absolutely despised them, and as much as he wanted to play them every year, moving to a conference that wasn't so Texas-centric was deemed best (DOESN'T ALL OF THIS SOUND SO FAMILIAR?!).

As I grew up and entered high school, I started feeling like I wanted to stay in state for college, so my Arkansas fandom waned slightly as I began searching for an Texas school to pick up.

You know how they say context is everything? Well my high school mascot was the Longhorns, and when you coupled that with my disdain for the Burnt Orange and White, my school of choice was obvious: Texas A&M. So, throughout high school I cheered for Texas A&M, learned their traditions, read about them, etc. It helped that my youth minister was an Aggie, too. I thought for sure that I would end up going there.

But the more involved I became with my church, going to youth camps, retreats, etc. the more I began to hear about this small Disciples school in Fort Worth, TCU. I finally made it out on campus on September 25, 2004, for a CYF at TCU day, where we got to watch TCU square off against South Florida. It was a back and forth game that ended with South Florida winnin 45-44 in overtime. Despite the loss, I was hooked.

I went home and filled out an "Uncommon Application" and mailed it in that week. I received my acceptance letter the day after Thanksgiving, and all the other applications on my desk, including the one to Texas A&M, never got mailed in.

I knew I had made the right choice once I arrived on campus, and I haven't looked back since. As pictured above, I made it on TV during TCU's overtime win over Utah, I went to the Fiesta Bowl, the Rose Bowl, flew to Salt Lake City to witness that devastating loss, then rushed the field the next season after Game Day came to Fort Worth.

Now, I'm working to ensure that my son grows up a Frog. He already refuses green cups in favor of purple, so there's that.