Clutch

CL

Summer Edition 2014

TCH Texas Exes pg. 20

College vs. NFL Football pg. 14

Jag Swag pg. 5

The Last Shot

Headshake pg. 24

pg. 10

Letter from the Editors The Clutch Team

5 Jag Swag

Jag Swag is about the life of an LBJ football player.

10

The Last Shot

14

NFL VS College Football

The Last Shot is an article about the use of steroids in football.

NFL vs College Football is about the differences

between the different leagues and how it affects players.

20

24

Texas Exes

Texas Exes is about the long lasting rivaly with The University of Texas, and Texas A&M University.

Headshake

Headshake is about the dangers of football, and the long-term effects on players.

contents

3 4

letter from the editors

The Clutch Team. Photo courtesy: Evan Hildebrandt

Dear Reader,

This magazine has been made in the span of six weeks.

A lot of effort from all the people involved has been put into making this magazine, and while it may not be as good as we expected it to be, we are proud to present our final product. Many of our days were spent working on this magazine, trying to perfect it as best we can. We struggled to find appropriate pictures, to find articles worth writing. We struggled through many, many things. But at last, we were able to create something that we, as a group, were proud of. We made this magazine with the idea of satisfying the needs of American Football fans in Texas. Therefore, you, reader, will be satisfied to hear that this magazine is filled with football and even more football. It covers the topics of high school football, drug abuse in players, long term health effects, and Texas rivalry. So please, dear reader, continue on and enjoy what we have made for you.

Sincerely, The Clutch Team

3

Contributor’s Page HARRISON-Harrison Lee is a future world class athlete.(They

call him the King of Swing). He plans to play Premier League Football or Major League Baseball. He spends all of his time playing baseball and soccer. When he has free time he watches sports on TV and yells at the screen. He has size 13 feet and he is 5’8. The King of Swing is a true football fan. He also loves long walks on the beach.

Photo courtesy of Jack Blankenship JACK-Jack Blankenship loves to play American football. He likes long walks on the beach. When he isn’t outside with his buddies playing, he is usually playing Madden 25, a popular video game among the youth these days. His favorite pro team is the Pittsburgh Steelers and his college team is the Texas Longhorns. He currently plays basketball, football, and ultimate frisbee, but he spends his extra time playing piano and playing video games.

Photo courtesy of Harrison Lee

GRACE-Grace Sweeten, a competitive cheerleader and sister to

two football players has been interested in football for as long as she can remember. She was raised in an all-American household, watching college football games on Saturdays and throwing the football in the backyard in her spare time. As she got older she grew from playing the game to cheering for it on the sidelines, but has never lost her love for the sport.

Photo courtesy of Jack Blankenship MEAGAN-Meagan Jaycox is a regular teen athlete. She likes to spend her free time outside, playing catch, wake-boarding, and hiking. Meagan also likes to watch and play football with her family.

When Meagan isn’t outside being active, she’s inside playing her violin and guitar. She hopes to one day go to UT and minor in music for fun, along with majoring in agriculture or law.

Photo courtesy of Harrison Lee

CARIME-Carime Benitez is not a big fan of American football

and instead prefers to read a book rather than watch a game. But when her favorite team, the Cowboys, plays, she won’t miss the chance to watch it. She spends her free time drawing and taking random quizzes on the internet. Currently, she doesn’t play any sports, but she is considering playing tennis her 9th grade year.

Photo courtesy of Jack Blankenship

4

Jag Swag Inside the Jaguar football program

Written By Harrison Lee

5

T

he boys sprint down the track, coming to an abrupt halt when they hear the whistle..

Another whistle pierces their ears, and they continue to fly around the track. “Knees up, knees up, knees up,” yells one coach. When they lift weights, a booming voice yells for them to push the limits. They hear their coach yell next set, and they continue lifting. These players are willing and determined to do this every day during the summer, striving to reach their full potential. Not only do the players sacrifice their summer, the coaches do as well. The coaches give their time to guide and encourage the players to achieve excellence.

“The players and the coaches are the best part of the team just because of how much everyone cares and how they will go the extra mile.” Daniel Degrasse (member of the Lyndon Baines Johnson football team) said.

The members of the LBJ high school football team train hard every day during the summer to make themselves better as individuals and as a team. This team has talent, determination and a ravenous hunger to win. These attributes give this team the potential to succeed.

Although the team is exceptionally ripe with talent, there are still challenges needed to overcome.

“The greatest challenge has been retention and attendance. ” Degrasse said. “Because a lot of the players at LBJ, they’re all good players, but a lot of them can never find the transport, time or desire to get to practice.”

According to Degrasse, the school has more

than enough talent. If the athletes would make it to practice more, then it would be more than probable that the team’s performance would change for the better.

“The freshman team did fine, it has kind of been a long running thing for freshman to do fine and then for things to go downhill” Degrasse said.

Degrasse said that the team’s performance gradually declined as the season progressed.

He also explained that the team performance was linked to their enthusiasm for the game.

Their first year, the team will play well because they are excited to become a football player for their high school. As they continue to play for their school, they are less excited and less anxious to play because their participation becomes routine. This results in a poor performance and winning less.

“When we are winning it is a result of talent and the plays themselves” Degrasse said.

Degrasse explained that the Jaguars have a small set of plays so the team can easily memorize them.

Knowing the plays more thoroughly allows for textbook execution. The team’s large amount of talent makes it easy to run plays that require extreme athleticism. This gives the Jaguars an edge over many other high schools. Several Jaguar players received scholarships to colleges last year. LBJ is known for having great athletes in all sports.

Many of the players who play football are also track athletes. Their participation in both track and football keeps the athletes conditioned, which allows them to focus on the details of the game. With this disciplined approach, they

“I’m excited that it’s our second year with this new football staff and I’m excited to see with all the experience that we’re having and with consistency in the weight room that we’ve already gotten stronger, that we’ve already gotten faster.”

--Coach Pete Moreno

6

Photo courtesy of lbjsports.org

Even though football is seen as a game by fans, the players know it’s life. Hard work brings results. “We’ve been working hard during the summer and during the spring.” Moreno said. The coaches, players, cheerleaders, and band members do not rest until they are prepared for the game ahead. Jaguar football is on the rise.

develop the necessary mental toughness to compete.

“Generally the guys who have talent and are committed, perform the best.” Degrasse said.

When all the effort is directed toward a central goal, the team progress is palpable. The coaches are a key part of motivating the athletes.

“What I do like is that all of the coaches are enthusiastic, they work real hard to help us out, they all genuinely like working with us, and all of the coaches bring different skills to the table.”

Degrasse said. “Nothing not to like.”

Degrasse said that coaches are a very important part of the team. Without them the players wouldn’t be the way they are. The coaches are a major role model to all of the boys. Every coach has the heart to instruct and direct a team. They posses intensity, a focus on perfection and an eagerness to coach the game that they love.

Coach Pete Moreno, a member of the Jaguar coaching staff who is in his eleventh year of coaching, is an example of someone who has a fervor and passion for the game. He is one of the nine coaches that strive to make a difference in the LBJ football program everyday. Though he enjoys coaching, there are frustrations that come with the job.

“My frustrations have been...a lack of numbers,” Moreno said. “I think as a coaching staff, we get frustrated because we’d like to have more kids out there participating. When we don’t have them, it makes it difficult for us to run our plays.”

It is clear that the coaches would love to see more athletes participating in football, but that is not the only challenge they face. A big challenge this year was the overall inexperience at key positions.

“I think the biggest challenge during the season was the lack of experience of the quarterback position,” Moreno said. “It impacted the team where it was tough for us to move the ball offensively. For next year, the biggest challenge will be the inexperience of our offensive line….

We had quite a few graduate, we have a couple coming back,” Another challenge was the change in coaching staff. When the coaching positions are changed

out, the playbook is completely rewritten.

Different coaches have various strategic preferences that they implement.

“We hadn’t been able to go through a true off season because of so many coaching changes that we were behind in that aspect, along with having to put in a new offense and defense,” Moreno said. “I think what limited us was the fact that there was a new offense entirely….When you have a new offence you can’t do as much until everyone understands the whole concept of your offence.”

Regardless of the shift in the direction of the LBJ football program, one thing remains the same: hard work yields results.

“Time wise, we usually put in, during the school year, 2 to 2.5 hours per day. Moreno said. “For missing practice there is running involved...that way they know that they cannot miss practice. As a whole I like the fact that they’ll go out there and work.”

Moreno voiced that working hard on the field translates to hard work in the classroom. Playing develops work ethic that is applicable in everyday life.

“One of the things that we instill as coaches is discipline is not only in the game but in life.”

Moreno said. These kids that play football usually end up being the kids that don’t fail because there is a no pass, no play rule. So they’re going to go out there and work hard in the classroom and because of that I don’t think we had anyone fail last year. So we instill that discipline in the classroom and then overall because we are not only teaching football. We are helping the kids make decisions in life and in the classroom.”

Moreno embraces the challenge of helping and motivating athletes to be disciplined on and off the field. He is particularly enthusiastic about the program going into next season.

Moreno said, “I’m excited that it’s our second year with this new football staff and I’m excited to see with all the experience that we’re having and with consistency in the weight room that we’ve already gotten stronger, that we’ve already gotten faster.” Moreno said. I’m anxious to see what it’s going to look like on the football field.”

7

Is Football right for you?

SOMETIMES

DO YOU LIKE BEING ACTIVE?

10

HAVE YOU TRIED IT?

YES

NO

YES

NO TRY IT

DID YOU LIKE IT?

20

DO YOU MIND TACKLING OR BEING TACKLED BY SWEATY MEN?

30 40 50

YES IT’S NOT FOR YOU

IT’S NOT FOR YOU

DO YOU MIND LOSING BRAIN FUNCTION OR PHYSICAL ABILITIES?

YES

NO ARE YOU ABSOLUTELY SURE

40

20 10

NO

YES

IT’S NOT FOR YOU

30

IT’S NOT FOR YOU

ARE YOU SURE, I MEAN REALLY?

NO

NO YES

20

NO

YES

IT’S NOT FOR YOU

I GUESS YOU’RE JUST ONE OF THOSE CRAZY FOOTBALL PLAYERS!!!

10

30 40

IT’S NOT FOR YOU

50 40 30 20 10

8

YMCA YOUTH FOOTBALL Does your child want to get involved with football but doesn’t know where to start? Is your child interested in tackle football but just isn’t ready?

Look no further! The YMCA flag football team is fun and a stress free zone.

Looking for more information? Visit http://www.austinymca.org/sports/youth-flag-football.

THE LAST SHOT

How the use of steroids has affected football Written by Jack Blankenship

I

n high school, Reggie Wilson never “juiced up”. He stuck with his morals. Although his friends were taking steroids before the games or during their workouts, Reggie relied on himself to do the work. During his time in college, Reggie and his teammates at the University of Texas at Austin (UT) started to get tested for steroids. The ethics of playing football stayed the same for Reggie; don’t try to cheat the game, and play it as it should be played.

“Personally I don’t agree with people taking steroids because I feel like that’s cheating, that’s cheating the game, and as a competitor you want to go against someone knowing that they worked just as hard as you,” Wilson said.

The debate on whether steroids should be al-

lowed in sports has been argued for years. Some players are against them, that steroids go against their morals of the game, but at the same time, the rest of the players believe that steroids give them competitive edges and they will stop at nothing to win the game.

“When I was in high school, I had a couple friends that did steroids but they did it out of a way to have a competitive edge,” Wilson said.

Steroids are not used only in college, but in high school as well. The NCAA (National collegiate athletics association) does testing on their players for steroids, but in high school testing is more loose and random. Players may use steroids in high school but once they get to college, the use may go down because of the seriousness and

Photo courtesy of user Johntex. The UT football team at the beginning of a game, the team showed determination throughout the entire game.

*Name has been changed for privacy 10

severity the NCAA puts on their rules/regulations for steroid use. These boundaries can limit how players use steroids and other performanceenhancing drugs (PEDs) by allowing players to use them with a consent from said player’s doctor/physician.

Once tested positive for steroids, players can and will get penalized. The consequences can range from not being able to participate in one game, to sitting out the entire season.

“A coach can fight for you, but whenever you get tested positive for steroids, he always said, ‘If any of you all get tested, you can lose the whole season, or be ineligible to play.’ So he wanted us to stay away from those things.” Wilson said.

Steroids are just one of the many types of

“I realized that if I want to play this game, why don’t I be the best at it.”

-Eddie Brown of performance enhancing drugs, or PEDs. The NCAA can allow players to ingest protein shakes or energy bars, which said players university can give to him/her, however, players can also take protein powder and nutritional supplements, but the player must buy those on their own.

“A lot of guys take protein shakes and stuff like that, and the NCAA says that you got to check with the medical staff to make sure that’s legal before you put any of those in your body,” Wilson said.

The transition from high school to college is hard if a player has used steroids in high school and want to use them in college. The NCAA does lots testing on their players and it is virtually impossible for players not to get caught.

“ I think the use of steroids has gone down personally…the NCAA and the NFL always put these big teams and stuff like that, and really came down hard on the use of steroids, or really any use of drugs that could help you cheat the game,” Wilson said.

Since the regulations on steroids have become more harsh, there are less players who are using them and the consequences of getting

tested positive can result in the loss of the season for the athlete.

The NCAA can allow players to have protein supplements and other energy consumables, but how would things change if the NCAA allowed steroids and other performance enhancers?

“Personally I feel like people who don’t take steroids and guys who work hard, there would still be some guys out there who stick to a regular routine, people like me,” Wilson said.

“Just because of my morals, and what I believe, I feel like I don’t want to cheat the game because I love the game.”

The game of football is important to Reggie.

He is consumed by his morals of not cheating the game. Some might see this as a positive belief, however others can see this as a disadvantage.

“ I can understand why some guys take steroids, some just wanna be big and show off how big they are...you know everybody has their own story, personally I don’t agree with it, so it’s something that I think, I don’t think it’s fair, guys that take steroids, to compete. I don’t think it’s fair.” Wilson said.

Playing a sport can also have collateral effects on the players life, Reggie played because he liked to play, but he also had more serious goals for himself, and for his family. “ You know I had a single, working mother, we didn’t make a lot of money, and I wanted to get out of there and help my momma out,” Wilson said. “So I realized that if I kept my grades up in high school, and play hard at football, maybe I might get a scholarship somewhere.”

As the seasons keep coming and going, the use of drugs and performance enhancers have gone down, according to Wilson, because of the strict rules and regulations the NCAA has put on the players to keep them clean and free from anything that can hinder their play or their routines.

“I think it’s finally going down because of the new rules and the regulations that are being pulled on the athletes, I think it’s a lot harder for athletes to use drugs and steroids.”

Steroids are not the only substances that can be used in football. Players have been known to have alcohol in their system before games, or any other drugs that can affect their performance.

“I’m in college so I have gone out before and have fun and then went to work out and I realized that my performance level was not the same when I had alcohol in my system.” Wilson said.

Steroids can take a toll on the user.

Research has shown that the use of steroids in males can result in baldness, shortness of stature, AIDS/HIV, liver cancer, baldness, diseases, and 11

leads to violent acts.

Being in college can affect how you play, not only physically, but socially as well. The young men that play are under lots of stress and have to fill high expectations from their coaches and fans. That being said, the players also have school work, college football is a lot different than professional, simply because the players have more work to do other than football. When players become under fire from their coaches and fans, the amount of stress academically and socially can be a huge factor in why players will use steroids.

“The level athletes have, the work level is so heavy, especially at Texas because they have high expectations from you and to fit that expectation you had to get your body right…how much you eat how much you drink, can change how you perform.” Wilson said.

Joseph Glowacki was a swimmer at the University of Connecticut (UConn), being a former captain of his team, he has had major experiences in his athletic career with PEDs. Not all drugs and performance-enhancers are the same. Some can have different effects to the user, and others have similar results.

“It depends on the substance,” Glowacki said. “A stimulant like Adderall, caffeine, cocaine, etc will increase performance in the short-term, but will more than likely catch up to you in the long-run either through addiction, suspension, withdrawal, or simply just not being healthy. For the most part, the benefits a substance can provide are not worth the risk of harming your name and your body.”

As time goes on, so does the evolution of performance enhancing drugs, with each new rule and regulation being put into play, the use of these PEDs are starting to go down. In division II schools, the percentage of steroid use from 1993 to 2005 has gone down from 4.3% to 1.2% of all the college athletic players in the NCAA and in high school, 3.5% of all males were tested positive for steroid use.

“So, in my high school, we never used to get tested for steroids, so by my junior year in high school they started to do a lot more testing around now,” Wilson said. “Before it used to be a college level, or maybe professional level, but now, by my junior year in high school they started to crack down more on the use of drugs and stuff like that, so yeah I think it’s finally going down because of the new rules and the regulations that are being pulled on the athletes, I think it’s a lot harder for athletes to use drugs and steroids.”

12

“I think in sports [alcohol] can be beneficial to hit rock bottom every once in awhile, because you realize that you can hit it and still remain undefeated.”

-Joseph Glowacki

Photo courtesy of surelyitsjohn. The football stadium located in Austin, Texas, home of the Texas Longhorns, before a game starts.

You use, You lose Can cause baldness to the user.

The user will show signs of agression to people around him/her.

Steroids can cause delusions and/or manias.

The threat of HIV/AIDS is present, from using dirty needles.

Breast development will begin to show in males.

The stature of a grown person will decrease with the use of steroids.

Steroids have the abilty to cause liver cancer.

http://espn.go.com/college-football/story/_/id/8765531/ steroids-loom-major-college-football-report-says http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/ anabolic-steroid-abuse/what-are-health-consequencessteroid-abuse Eddie Brown*, former UT player

13

COLLEGE FOOTBALL VS. NFL FOOTBALL

The differences and how the transition affects players

Written by Grace Sweeten

14

K

eenan Robinson and fellow teammates on the Washington Redskins have overcome injuries, obstacles, and the NFL drafting process. I talked to Robinson to find the effects of the draft and the differences between college football and NFL football. As they prepare for the 2014 football season I take a look at the inside of the NFL and the personal experiences of some of the players.

“I know that nothing worth having ever comes easy and sometimes you have to persevere even through the toughest obstacles,” Keenan Robinson, a current linebacker for the Washington Redskins, and former linebacker for the Texas Longhorns, said. Robinson is determined, and won’t give up, even when severe injuries stand in his way.

“I have had two major injuries in backto-back seasons that have hindered my career.

They’ve basically made me start over and work my way back to the top in order to get back to where I was,” He said.

Robinson recovered from a torn pectoral muscle and is now training to play in the 2014 season. He trained for months just to get back to where he was before his injuries. Robinson said he is religious and relies on his faith to help him get through difficult training times.

“Going from college to the NFL was a big step up.”

-Keenan Robinson Robinson played college football and NFL football and describes the atmosphere in the NFL as more “business-like.”

The practice times and intensities changed and football changed from his hobby to his profession.

“Going from college to the NFL was a big step up.” Robinson said, “In college the coaches almost become like father or uncle-like figures.

They’re always around and most of the time you get comfortable enough to talk to them about pretty much anything.”

Cayleb Jones in the U.T. vs. Iowa State game.

The coaches in college took care of their players, they instilled morals, leadership, and a gave helping hand when needed he said. In the NFL, however, the players have intense pressure to perform at their highest capability. Football isn’t just a game, it’s Robinson’s profession and it’s how he makes his living.

“When you step into the building you have to come prepared to work.” The players in the NFL are no strangers to hard work. They have had to push themselves since high school to be recruited by the best teams.

”The college recruiting process is a long drawn out process,” Robinson said, “Mine started as a freshman in high school. That was when I received my first scholarship offer. Ever since then I had coaches and schools that were interested and would talk to me about coming to their school.”

Robinson has been playing football since he was seven and started receiving offers for college scholarships when he was only a freshman in high Photo courtesy of Anthony Campanella school

15

He never thought it was stressful, to have colleges want him at such a young age.

“It can also be hard to make the right decision especially when nowadays so many schools can appeal to your needs.”

The NFL draft is much different from the college recruiting process. The players can’t choose where they will play, a team picks them and they go.

“The draft is an exciting time. For some it can be stressful not knowing where you will end up.”

The players don’t have much of a say in where they will end up for their NFL career. When a player is recruited the NFL chooses for them.

Being recruited by an NFL team is an honor because of how talented all of the players are.

“It can be stressful not knowing where you will end up.”-Keenan Robinson

Photo courtesy of Ishaq Sae Redskins. They endanger themselves to improve and they won’t stop until they are successful.

The Washington Redskins are a talented team, with a lot of talented players.

“Everyone in the NFL is an all star or was at some point whether it was high school or college.

Everyone is good and you truly are playing with the best of the best.” Robinson said, “Playing in the NFL is my dream and I am blessed to be where I am.”

“I think its cool to have NFL teams try to pick you before the others get an opportunity because if they pick you it means they want you.”

The sooner a player is chosen the more wanted they are. The valuable players are chosen first to try to create the best team possible.

Robinson and his teammates have played football for most of their lives, starting as young children and continuing past their college careers.

They have taken this sport and made it their life.

They practice six days a week, about four hours a day and continually injure themselves, always trying to push past their limits and improve their game, their tactics, or their physique. Robinson moved across the country just to play on the Photo courtesy of gridirongrit.com

16

College vs. NFL The Statistics

20,718 Interested in injuries occured in college seeing Robinson and football in 2013. the rest of the Washington Redskins play?

1) AUG7 2)AUG18 3)AUG23 4)AUG28

7:30 p.m. EDT 8:00 p.m. EDT 7:30 p.m. EDT 7:30 p.m. EDT

Patriots Browns Ravens Buccaneers

1)SEP7 2)SEP14 3)SEP21 4)SEP25 5)OCT6 6)OCT12 7)OCT19 8)OCT27 9)NOV2 10)BYE 11)NOV16 12)NOV23 13)NOV30 14)DEC7 15)DEC14 16)DEC20 17)DEC28

1:00 p.m. EDT 1:00 p.m. EDT 1:00 p.m. EDT 8:25 p.m. EDT 8:30 p.m. EDT 4:25 p.m. EDT 1:00 p.m. EDT 8:30 p.m. EDT 1:00 p.m. EST

Texans Jaguars Eagles Giants Seahawks Cardinals Titans Cowboys Vikings

1:00 p.m. EST 4:25 p.m. EST 1:00 p.m. EST 1:00 p.m. EST 1:00 p.m. EST 4:30 p.m. EST 1:00 p.m. EST

Buccaneers 49ers Colts Rams Giants Eagles Cowboys

70,000

There are about players in college football.

24

24

24

24

24

24

College teams practice hours every day.

245

1,696

There are about players in the NFL.

24

24

2

11 12 1 2 10 3 9 4 8 7 6 5

There are football teams.

1,496

injuries were reported in the NFL in 2013.

4

NFL teams practice hours everyday.

11 12 1 2 10 3 9 4 8 7 6 5

college

11 12 1 2 10 3 9 4 8 7 6 5

32

There are NFL football teams.

Schedule courtesy of http://www.redskins.com/newsand-events/schedule.html

17

New cleats!

Buy now at underarmor.com Do you need new cleats? Cleats that you can truly depend on?

Better!

Faster!

Stronger!

Photo courtesy of counterkicks.com

Got Chew?

Photo courtesy of http://www.dreamstime.com

Texas Exes Written by Meagan Jaycox

R

ivalry is a broad topic, it stems from multiple things. Rivalry can last a short time, a long period of time, or sometimes seemingly forever. In sports, rivalries seem to last forever. Students from the University of Texas Austin and students from Texas A&M University would agree that the rivalry between their schools will last forever. The two colleges started playing football against each other in 1894, the schools continued to compete until 2011. Though they are no longer in the same conference and no longer competing against each other, the rivalry has yet to be put to rest.

ABC. This news coverage was vital to conference success. The two conferences got together and formed the Big 12 in 1994 . The Big 12 didn’t take all the schools in each conference but it took A&M and UT, along with ten others. The Big 12 conference didn’t actually go into business until the summer of 1996.

“Texas A&M has always been thought of as UT’s little brother, it’s almost like a sibling rivalry,” Darrell Lloyd a UT fan said. “I believe that Texas A&M always felt like they were in UT’s shadow.

“ In every sport, conferences is where competition starts in college athletics,” says Plonsky.“We sort of grew up together. Competitively sports having such a rich tradition in our state, they are part of the fabric of the state of Texas.”

The two teams have a long history of competition. According to Chris Plonsky, an athletic director at UT, the two schools started playing against each other when they both joined the Southwest conference. This was one of the longest standing conferences, it lasted from 1914 until 1996. The conference originally only had five teams, but eventually the conference had nine schools. When the University of Arkansas left, after the 1991 season ,the conference only had eight schools, which was small compared to others. There was also the Big 8 conference, Photo Courtesy of : Johntex which was less popular. The conferences were Longhorns and Aggies on the goal line. This photo was taken in not attracting television channels like ESPN or November of 2007.

20

This became even more apparent when UT gained their own sports channel and A&M did not. This allowed UT to further overshadow the team at A&M.”

In every sport, conference is where competition starts in college athletics,“ Plonsky said. “We sort of grew up together competitively. Sports have such a rich tradition in our state. They are part of the fabric of the state of Texas. I think it was really just something that became part of the culture and part of the experience of attending either university that there would be competition between the two.”

Alex Tanberg, a former A&M student was interviewed about the impact the rivalry had on him while he was on

campus and he states, “A huge part of A&M football was the rivalry between UT and A&M. I was saddened as I watched our loss at the last game and I knew we would not have a chance to come back and beat them the next year.”

According to Tanberg there are common slogans that are used on campus.

“You see a mascot, I see a hamburger.’ ‘Saw ‘em off’ and UT is referred to as ‘tu’, because they were not the original university of Texas. A&M is older.

A&M began in 1871, while UT began in 1883. UT’s claim to ‘THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS’ may be part of the original rivalry between the two universities.”

When asked about pranks pulled recently by A&M

against UT, Alex referred to the recent growth of “maroon bonnets” on the UT campus in April of this year, as the latest prank.

Both teams have ways of celebrating wins against each other. The aggies use the bonfire as a tradition, while the Longhorns use a special light pattern to light the UT tower when they win against A&M. Both teams mention each other in their fight songs.

When Plonsky was asked why she believed the rivalry between the two teams ended after 117 years, she responded,

“ Well, again the conference realignment had everything to do with that. The goals and desires are driven by their administration, their trustees, their alumni. And their supporters in education made it very

Photo Courtesy of: Kipp Jones

This photo is from the annual game UT and A&M always had, it’s from 2006.

The students in the picture are in the students reserved area.

21

clear that A&M felt strongly that a new home for them, in particular the SEC which is a very well respected excellent conference as well, was something they wanted to pursue. At UT we determined that the big 12 was our home and we chose to stay. Does athletic alignment cause the differentiation in conference? You know conferences formed for a reason it’s where people find commonality to compete in sports, that’s what athletic conferences are formed upon. Again we respect A&M’s decision and that of their administration and region, trustees, and they respected our decision to stay. That does cause some scheduling ramifications, and you know in football particularly with a new play off season coming as it commences this fall you know fall 2014 will lead to the new college football playoff system. Your conference alignment changes, so does your mechanics, so the Big 12 when we became 10 schools. We were gonna play 9 conference games and that leaves you 3 nonleague games and you have to make a choice as to who those games will be and where.

You know typically Texas would love to play at least 2 out of those 3 games at home every year;

sometimes 3 if we can depending upon how the rotation of opponents goes. So ,inevitably it was going to cause a scheduling differentiation. As you’ve seen as some of the other sports and olympic sports, just a migration of over time, you know its been a couple years now, that there are opportunities where our olympic sports teams compete against each other. Our swimming teams competed against each other last year. Our women’s basketball team happened to be paired up with A&M in a non-league tournament in Saint Thomas Virgin Islands last November and we actually have a SEC Big 12 Challenge Series that is going to involve Arkansas and A&M from the SEC and Oklahoma and Texas from our league. We’re gonna play those the first year in Little Rock, Arkansas, and the second year in Norman, Oklahoma. So we’ll face A&M in some sport it will just inevitably happen if not become regularly scheduled. I don’t foresee that happening in football.

Football is a different animal, and again maybe someday there will be that opportunity, but right now I think everybody is scheduled so far out.

“Football is a different animal,”Plonsky said.

Maroon Blue bonnets like these were planted by A&M students, on the UT campus as a prank.

Photo Courtesy: Texas A&M Department of Horticulturel Milestones

22

“We’ll face A&M in some sport, it will just inevitably happen, if not become reguarly scheduled, but I don’t necessarily foresee that happening in football,” Plonsky said.

Right now we’re scheduled out until 2019 and A&M probably is too. And that doesn’t always happen.”

As Plonsky referred to there are still sports being played where UT and A&M are rivals.

While football was the most widely publicized,

competition still exists between the two universities and that rivalry continues to exist, despite the separate conferences and the lack of competition in the football stadium.

Charles Horton Cooley once said, “ The general fact is that the most effective way of

utilizing human energy is through an organized rivalry, which by specialization and social control is, at the same time, organized cooperation.”

UT and A&M were lucky to have such a long lasting rivalry.

They were the 3rd longest standing

UT vs A&M Annual Statistics

2011: 27-25 UT and A&M met 2010:17-24 2009:49-39 2008:49-9 UT won the first game in 2007:30-38 2006:7-12 UT won the last game in the 2005:40-29 2004:26-13 2003:46-15 2002:50-20 2001:21-7 2000:43-17 49 1999:16-20

rivalry in college football history, they played together for 117 years. The rivalry motivated both teams to be their best. Now both teams are forced to find new rivalries in their new conferences to motivate them.

118

times.

1894, beating A&M 38-0.

1:48

Sources: ESPN USA Today Tamu Times jhowell.net

24

minutes of the game.

49

25

23

Helmets may actually do very little to protect the head and can be the cause of a brain injury. Photo courtesy: northcountrypublicradio.com.

24

Headshake The long term health effects and the dangers of concussions.

Written By: Carime Benitez

O

n Sept. 24, 2013, Paul Oliver, a former NFL professional football player, was found dead at the bottom of his home stairs, the bullet hole on his head painfully obvious. Oliver had played for the University of Georgia and the San Diego Chargers, serving as a defensive back for both. Oliver was released in 2011, his last game being with the San Diego Chargers.

He had a happy family with his wife, Chelsea Oliver, cherishing their two young boys.

According to USA TODAY, he had killed himself in front of his family. First, Oliver shot a whole round into the ceiling, and then, after putting another magazine into the gun, he put the gun to his head and pulled the trigger.

This was not an uncommon occurrence among retired NFL players. Just a year before, Jovan Belcher committed suicide after killing his wife. Both of these players were thought to have suffered from the illness chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE).

As part of a study featured in an article released by sportsonearth.com, Patrick Bellgowan, a researcher at the University of Tulsa’s Laureate Institute for Brain Research, measured the size of the hippocampal region of 50 college players and 25 non-players. The test found that the hippocampal region of players who had no recorded history of concussion was 14 percent smaller than those who played no contact sports.

Players who had at least one clinically diagnosed concussion had hippocampal regions 25 percent smaller than those of the non-players. Bellgowan claimed that these differences in volume are larger than those observed between healthy people and patients suffering from Alzheimer’s and severe depression.

“If [a concussion] is not recognized, and left untreated, yes a concussion can be very dangerous,” LBJ athletic trainer Sue Torres said.

“Mostly...if the concussion isn’t resolved...and [the athlete receives] another concussion.”

Torres has dealt with many injuries over the past years in all sports, one of the most common ones being concussions. A concussion is a type of traumatic brain injury that is caused by a blow to the head or anything that shakes the brain inside the skull. Concussions have a lot of different symptoms and not all people will get the same symptoms.

“And all concussions are different,” Torres said.

According to WebMD, the symptoms are separated into four different categories: thinking and remembering, physical, emotional and mood and sleep.

In the thinking and remembering category are symptoms like not thinking clearly and not being able to concentrate. In the physical category, there are symptoms like having a headache, feeling dizzy and being sensitive to light and sound. The symptoms like feeling easily upset or sad lie in the emotional and mood category, while the symptoms like sleeping less than usual are in the sleep category.

Often times, when an athlete gets a concussion, the symptoms can last a week or even months.

“Sometimes an athlete will get a concussion and the symptoms take forever, sometimes it can take a month or two, to go away,” Torres said.

This occurrence is called postconcussion syndrome. The symptoms are similar to a concussion, including headaches, dizziness, fatigue, irritability, anxiety, insomnia, loss of concentration and memory, and noise and light sensitivity. The treatment is aimed to ease the symptoms instead of trying to get rid of them.

“But sometimes just by a simple

25

A player catching a football. Photo courtesy: getlockr.com.

concussion, post concussion syndrome can kick in and we don’t know why,” Torres said.

“They might be really light sensitive, they can’t concentrate on things, they could get nauseous easily.”

If an athlete continues to play despite having postconcussion syndrome, and they experience a second head trauma within several weeks of the first injury, a rarer disease can kick in. This disease is called Second Impact Syndrome (SIS).

SIS can occur with any two events involving head trauma.

With SIS, diffuse cerebral swelling, brain herniation, and death can occur. It is very rare, but when it does happen, athletes can die within minutes.

A more dangerous condition, named Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy

26

(CTE), is common in players who have experience with repetitive head trauma.

According to the Boston University website on CTE, this disease happens due to the degeneration of the brain tissues caused by the head trauma, which then leads to the build up of an abnormal protein called tau.

Brain degeneration is known to cause memory loss, confusion, impaired judgement, impulse control problems, aggression, depression and eventually, progressive dementia. These symptoms can begin years, even decades after the last brain trauma.

In the past years, it is known that many retired NFL football players have committed suicide. “What [CTE] tends to do is that [the football players]

have increased impulsivity,” Torres said. “Which means they don’t have control over their impulses. And so they have increased impulsivity and they are depressed. You’re very impulsive and you’re depressed. What does that lead to? Suicide.”

Up to five players committed suicide in 2011. Last year, Paul Oliver committed suicide. The year before that, Jovan Belcher killed himself at the Chiefs’ training facility.

With both of these cases, CTE is thought to be the likely suspect, as with many cases in previous years. In 2011, Dave Duerson first killed his girlfriend with a fatal shot and then committed suicide by shooting his heart, leaving behind a small girl. His brain

was analyzed and was found to contain CTE. The NFL was in a lawsuit with the players who were suffering from conditions linked to head hits. According to NYTimes.com, the NFL agreed to pay $765 million dollars to the players, but judge Anita B. Brody rejected the proposal because she doubted that it would be enough to account for all the claims over the 65-year life of the settlement.

“There will be more changes,” Torres said. “There has to be.”

According to studies released by Livestrong, “between 1977 and 2009, 41 percent of catastrophic injuries to 126 players below the professional level happened while tackling and 20 percent of those-62 players- while tackling with the head down.” To this year, children as young as five years old are playing tackle football.

“If I had a son or daughter, I would never let them play tackle football,” Torres said. “Because the younger you are, the more susceptible to a concussion you are.”

Every year, new rules are being made to protect football players from injuries.

According to an interview with Dr. Joe Congeni on AkronNewsNow, the rules about where the strike zone is, where the players are hitting each other, has now changed.

The new strike zone will now be above the knees and shoulders and down. Before, the strike zone was high or knee and below.

“There are also certain rules that protect the quarterback,” Torres said.

“Quarterbacks and receivers are probably the most susceptible players in the field since they get hit the hardest. They’re learning about how badly heads are being hurt. These things can change.”

“There will be more changes,” Sue Torres.

AVOIDING CATASTROPHE Tying and putting your shoes on correctly can prevent an ankle strain

Avoid a concussion by keeping your head up when hitting.

make sure to be well hydrated during hot seasons to avoid heat injuries.

After a hip injury, it is best to take a rest.

The most susceptible part of the knee to injury is the anterior cruciate ligament.

Information from: stopsportsinjuries.org, sportsinjuryclinic.net.

27