The man they call Mack Brown and his center

I went to the press conference today and heard 2 things that I will never forget. First of all Mack Brown. He took part of his opening statement today to talk about violence after football games. Apparently players, police officers, and even a UT cheerleader got hit with thrown bottles after the game Saturday. Mack even said later he has been SPIT ON after a game. Now you can tell me he was just deflecting attention away from a bad 3 and half quarters, and maybe in a way he was. But he really seemed to care. I thought it was good raw emotion.
But it got better. Later Mack was asked about all the comebacks his team has had over the years and why they've occurred. He went into a great description of how he has learned over the years to be more positive at the half rather than beat them up. He said as long as they're playing hard, you can fix what's bad, but it's harder to fix not playing hard. It was one of those times where you didn't feel like he was putting on any kind of act. It was straight from the heart. I like smart ass Mack sometimes. But honest Mack is even better.
And speaking of honest. If you did not hear, Dallas Griffin is out for the rest of the year with an ACL. But he came to the presser to talk to us anyway. What an impressive young man. Imagine having to deal with the end of your football days and talk about it with 15-20 strangers while 9 video cameras film you. He was amazing. He talked about his career, what Senior Day would mean to him, and the highlights of his career at UT. When he talked about the guys on the team, coaches, and the fact that UT recruited him to start with, that's when he got a little emotional. He is just glad to have been a part of the program. But more than that, he doesn't feel like the program will ever forget him. It was great sports theater for me. To see the Gladiator have to admit it's time to lay down the sword is a sad but real part of sports. Good luck with everything Dallas. And UT fans, be sure and give Dallas and Limas a little extra cheer on Saturday. They wanted to put on one more show for you at DKR, but they can't. It has to just eat them up. But let them know that you will never forget them.