{Editor’s Note: This is the first article that has been published for our readers that used Twitter log entries to constitute the sequence as well as the story line. This article is written in the past tense and there may be a few errors as the Tweets are in the present tense... if that. Enjoy a "real" experience.}
lready it had been a busy day but it wasn’t over yet. Just when I could have been settling down to some snacks and a beer gearing up to watch the Texas vs. Texas Tech game on the tube; I was just about ready for another assignment.
After working on files, photos, and making calls all day it was time to head north to Las Cruces to cover the UTEP vs. NMSU football game. The game started at 6:00 PM and it was now 5:00 PM, and I was thinking... 'I've got an hour to spare'... actually, it was 5:00 PM, with no time to spare but at least not running late, I hit the road.
But instead of instead of driving up on what was sure to be a very crowded I-10 freeway and fighting the traffic; I decided to give my self a break. I stayed on Hi-Way 28 and set course for Las Cruces getting to drive through the Upper Valley and enjoy the great scenery on that beautiful day.
|
Aggie cheerleaders giving it 110% and keeping the fans into the game.
Photo: Brax/VPC
|
I had just enough time to drive at a sane and comfortable speed as I passed the fields of cotton, alfalfa, grapes and pecans. The temperature was cool for a September afternoon and it was humid. It felt like it could have been a So-Cal/San Diego day. In other words, perfect.
But, there on the horizon were plenty of clouds to the north and northwest that looked menacing... but, they were far off and Las Cruces looks clear. Or so I hoped. (Clear???? Ah, the key word. How that would come back to play a big part in this adventurous day... er, night.)
It was been a while since I drove up Hi-Way 28 to Las Cruces at this time of year. Usually, I photograph this region either late in the summer to get some great shots of chile turning vivid red or during the turning of fall colors to catch the wonderful yellow, orange and rust cottonwoods. And, so it was hard to drive by without stopping because there were some beautiful scenes that, had I more time, I would have loved to have stopped and photographed. But, I’d have to come back to take those shots some other day but trying to find time would be the problem.
|
Aggie fans were horrified to see this form of "child abuse". Ha ha! Making children wear Miner colors. My word!
Photo: Brax/VPC
|
But, this was football season and there was plenty of that going on in my mind too. What better way to enjoy the leisurely drive up Hi-Way 28 that to get pumped up for the game. The Texas Longhorn football game, that is. So I turned on the radio and I was treated to not one, but two, pre-game radio broadcasts showcasing the Texas vs. Texas Tech game. One from the Texas Longhorn network on one channel and the Texas Tech network on another as I listened to both going back and forth depending on the content.
And since the Texas game was starting at 7:00 PM Central Time which would be 6:00 PM our time I was getting plenty of perspective for the game. Only problem was, I couldn’t watch the Texas game and photograph the NMSU/UTEP game at the same time.
Yesseri Bob, the Horns were getting ready for a revenge match with Tech. Last year the Longhorns had a perfect record of 8-0 and were ranked #2 and had already beat top-ranked Oklahoma and Top Ten ranked Missouri and Oklahoma State but after being blown out in the first half in Lubbock, Texas in last year’s game, Texas came back to take the lead with a couple of minutes to go. Unfortunately, the Horns lost to Tech as Tech went for on a gutsy last second pass play for the game winning touchdown instead of going for a field goal.
|
UTEP's Donald Buckram on his way to Miner's first... and possibly last, touchdown of the night.
Photo: Brax/VPC
|
That loss, as it turned out, was just enough to keep the Longhorns out of the National Championship Game in 2008 as OU went instead even though the Longhorns had beat the Sooners 45-35 that year in their head-to-head match. So, tonight was the night for the Horns to deliver some pay back. Hook ‘em Horns!!!!
To continue to next page
Click for
Page 2 .
