TEXAS, A&M CURRENTLY TIED IN 2014

Uh oh!  The Eyes of Texas are already rolling, and Reveille is putting her ears down like someone's using a dog whistle (not a bad idea for getting out of class early, Ags).

Are we really back on this??

In 2013, the Barbed Wire dropped some truth on you by pointing out the fact that athletic rivalry between the Texas Longhorns and the Texas A&M Aggies does, in fact, still take place.

Goooooooood.
I can feel the anger flowing through you.

You can read the article here.

Before we continue, we have some housekeeping rules.

"No touching of the hair or the face."

1. Please turn all cell phones to ON (so you can share our article).
2. As stated in 2013, this may offend TexAgs and OrangeBloods, so please don't pass this along to them.
3. For the sake of being civil, please say "Texas" instead of "t.u." and "Texas A&M" instead of "Aggy.
4. In case of a fire, exits are found on the "Back" button on your browser.

In 2013, the Barbed Wire issued the following results from rivalry games played:

2012-2013:
Volleyball (Longhorns win 3-1 in the NCAA Championship)
Men’s Tennis (Aggies win 4-3)
Women’s Tennis (Aggies win 4-2)
Ice Hockey (Aggies win Pride of Texas Cup and go 8-0 against Longhorns)
Men’s Soccer (Longhorns go 3-0 in three games)

2013-2014:
Women’s Basketball (Longhorns win 69-58)
Volleyball (Possible playoff game this Friday night)
Ice Hockey (Aggies currently 2-0 over Longhorns with three games to go in season)
Men’s Soccer (Teams had a 1-1-1 record in three games)

CONFESSION - Our results were flawed.

The scores were correct, but the inconsistencies were... inconsistent.  See, we mentioned two club sports, when the reality is that a TON of club sports play each other between the two schools, and it would be unfair to base any sort of reality on the exception of just two club sports.  ALSO, we didn't take into account the fact that swimming and diving and track teams still compete against each other.

Here's what we're going to do.  Ignore the inclusion/exclusions of legitimate/illegitimate sports.  Take a look at what is current from NCAA scholarship athletics.  And please keep in mind, the authors of the Barbed Wire have no clue how to calculate swimming/track scores, so we just looked at who generally did better in each sport.

(The complete domination of A&M Hockey over Texas will be considered a tie for the devastation felt by the Aggie Quidditch Team when Texas knocked them out of contention to make it to the National Championship).

2013-2014:

Women’s Basketball (Texas 69, A&M 58)

Volleyball (Texas 3, A&M 1)

Men’s Cross Country (Texas 1, A&M 1)

Women’s Cross Country (Texas 2, A&M 0)

Men’s Indoor Track and Field (A&M 2, Texas 0)

Women’s Indoor Track and Field (A&M 1, Texas 1)

Men’s Outdoor Track and Field (A&M 1, Texas 0)

Women’s Outdoor Track and Field (A&M 0, Texas 1)

Men’s Golf (A&M 1, Texas 1)

Women’s Golf (A&M 1, Texas 0)

Men’s Swimming & Diving (Texas 3, A&M 0)

Men’s Swimming & Diving (Texas 1, A&M 1)

Women’s Tennis Doubles (A&M 4, Texas 2)

Women’s Tennis Singles (A&M 2, Texas 1)

RESULT:

Texas 5

Texas A&M 5
Tie 4

So Texas, the side that is vehemently against playing Texas A&M, ironically has 5 victories (more than 15 since 2011) chalked up for its athletic programs that it may or may not boast at the end of the year.  Heck, for all we know, they may just add an asterisk to the side of these games in next year's media guides, labeling them as "scrimmages."  The exciting part is that tennis and baseball still have a significant shot at meeting up in post-conference play.  Tennis is a more likely scenario, which would most likely sway the victory count to Texas A&M.  If it rides on baseball, don't get your fingers crossed.  The Longhorn baseball team has had a superior season to the Aggies, despite playing a less rigorous schedule, and the victory could easily go to Texas. But that's only if Steve Patterson will allow the Horns to play such a game.

In case you missed Texas Athletic Director Steve Patterson's comments on the Texas-Texas A&M Rivalry this week, you can find them here.

So they may not play each other in football. Big deal! (Well... it is, but we digress.) The fact is, you have 24 scores from athletic competitions played by scholarship athletes between the two schools, and it isn't possible to dismiss the rivalry without slapping these athletes in the face. Yes, football, basketball and baseball are the big three, but in the grand scheme of things, rivalries for major schools exist across the board (we have yet to see a group hug between Bama and Auburn in softball or tennis). And you can bet Charlie Strong and Kevin Sumlin feel the pressure of competition when trying to out-recruit each other (especially when one has a helicopter and the other has a bed time).

Here's what two sides can take from this without trying to turn it into a debacle with the opposing view (as if this topic needed more of that).

IF YOU MISS THE RIVALRY - Broaden your support for athletics. There were 24 games this year that you probably missed (club sports not included). You might be surprised at how entertained you suddenly become.

IF YOU'RE GLAD IT'S GONE - Go about your business and disregard these other sports. What matters to most people is the football game, and that one might not be back any time soon. You don't have to worry about it as long as Steve's got you covered.

Until next time,

"Goodbye to texas university, so long to the orange and the white."

"Texas fight, Texas fight, and it's goodbye to A&M."

(And by "next time" we mean probably at the tennis courts in a couple of weeks.)