Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Longhorns: The Attitude at the Top
Mack Brown's attitude has always bugged me.
Whether he's calling every game "a big game," no matter the opponent, or describing UT's rivalry with Oklahoma as "playing your brother," he just doesn't seem to "get it," and I think I know what "it" is.
This quote, from Monday's AA-S Longhorn notebook, embodies that:
Greatness isn't about being consistent. Greatness is about rising to the occasion. It's about the moment. Consistency is nice, but it's not what you strive for, unless you're content with just faring better than mediocre.
Brown constantly reminds Texas fans that the Horns have won at least nine games each season since he took over. That's true. The Longhorns won nine games in 1998, 1999 and 2000, while winning ten last year and eleven in both 2001 and 2002. But in that span we have no conference titles or BCS Bowl berths. We've been a good team in every one of his seasons, but have we been great? Maybe, but we've never achieved greatness in any one season.
Brown doesn't seem to realize that.
It's not about just winning nine games, Mack. Ask your star RB. Watch him on the field. Cedric Benson doesn't want to be consistent. He wants to pile up yards and score TDs. He wants to go to New York and hear his name called as the best football player in America.
It's time to want the same thing Mack. Quit being consistent. Start being great.
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Whether he's calling every game "a big game," no matter the opponent, or describing UT's rivalry with Oklahoma as "playing your brother," he just doesn't seem to "get it," and I think I know what "it" is.
This quote, from Monday's AA-S Longhorn notebook, embodies that:
"I think he has to go to New York. Who else out there has been as consistent over four years as he has?"That logic confounds me. Of course Cedric Benson deserves to go to New York; he's one of the elite players in college football. But who cares about consistency over a four-year career?
— Mack Brown, on Cedric Benson's chances to win the Heisman Trophy
Greatness isn't about being consistent. Greatness is about rising to the occasion. It's about the moment. Consistency is nice, but it's not what you strive for, unless you're content with just faring better than mediocre.
Brown constantly reminds Texas fans that the Horns have won at least nine games each season since he took over. That's true. The Longhorns won nine games in 1998, 1999 and 2000, while winning ten last year and eleven in both 2001 and 2002. But in that span we have no conference titles or BCS Bowl berths. We've been a good team in every one of his seasons, but have we been great? Maybe, but we've never achieved greatness in any one season.
Brown doesn't seem to realize that.
It's not about just winning nine games, Mack. Ask your star RB. Watch him on the field. Cedric Benson doesn't want to be consistent. He wants to pile up yards and score TDs. He wants to go to New York and hear his name called as the best football player in America.
It's time to want the same thing Mack. Quit being consistent. Start being great.
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