HOW ‘BOUT THEM RAIDERS!

Ohhh, man!

I try not to blog about sports too often, ’cause who wants to listen to the comic book guy blather about sports, right? But tonight, after Texas Tech’s undefeated Red Raiders met — and beat — the previously undefeated University of Texas Longhorns, ranked Number One in the nation, I think I’m gonna break that rule but good.

I certainly wasn’t sure it would actually happen — those of us who’ve lived in Lubbock long enough have seen the Red Raiders choke on big games way too often. But this was the biggest game Tech has ever had — and they didn’t choke. It was a nailbiter clear to the end, but Tech didn’t choke, they beat the #1 team in the nation, and Lubbock’s gonna be high as a kite for the rest of the week, maybe longer.

Is Tech gonna jump from #7 to #1? I’m not sure I’d bet on that — might be too much of a jump too quickly. But we’re definitely moving up now.

And it weren’t no fluke either, baby. Almost all season long, we’ve been listening to people say Tech is over-rated — usually just before their team gets a slat kicked out of ’em by Mike Leach’s boys. But there’s not anyone left who’s gonna say Tech is over-rated. The Red Raiders were expected to lose to Kansas, and the Raiders stomped ’em. Most folks were expecting the Longhorns to take the win tonight — and though Tech didn’t get a blowout win, they were definitely in charge for nearly the entire game. This is a team that demands that attention and respect be paid.

Sure doesn’t mean the season’s over — Oklahoma State’s gonna be tough. Oklahoma’s gonna be even tougher. Tech can’t relax for a second. But right now, I think I’m gonna go outside and whoop at the stars for a few minutes.

Let’s tie this into comics for a bit, okay? How ’bout with a few nice little cartoons from the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal’s great sports cartoonist, Dirk West.

A bit too rough, maybe? Heh, too bad, Dirk didn’t get many chances to draw beat-up Longhorns, so I’m gonna go find another one. How ’bout this ‘un?

And after a game that wild, don’tcha just want a nice hot bowl of red?

Guns up, baby. Guns. UP.