It’s that time of year again. It’s time for corny dogs, funnel cakes and the Red River Rivalry. And of course, with it, comes the hate.
Oh, the hate is real. You can’t walk five feet on the Texas State Fair grounds without hearing a chorus of “OU Sucks” chants from Longhorn fans and Sooner fans responding with the Horns down gesture.
This game is the best rivalry game in all of college football. It is fans walking into the stadium side-by-side before splitting off inside the gates with Texas fans heading North and OU fans heading South. 50/50, burnt orange and crimson.
I have mentioned this before, but my wife just happens to be a Sooner alumna. In fact, it is not just her alma mater, she’s a four-year “O” letter winner, having attended OU on a full scholarship in track & cross country.
So we have our own traditions on game day. Whenever Texas scores, she has to give me a kiss. Whenever OU scores, I have to give her a kiss.
(pausing while you go throw up)
I know it’s sappy but it works for us. It allows us to try to be happy for each other, while inside all you really want to do is shout out a few curse words and maybe punch the pillow.
It’s also a healthy reminder that while this game is special, it is still just a game. We live and die by it only in a metaphorical sense. Life, is much more important than whatever happens on Saturday.
In case you needed another reminder of that, we got it from OU head football coach Brent Venables when he announced on his weekly radio show that one of OU’s student assistant coaches was battling something much more serious than how to stop Texas’ front four from wrecking havoc in the backfield.
Ben Tawwater was a walk-on offensive lineman for OU. However, he soon realized that coaching was what he really wanted to do so he became a student assistant. For the past several years, Tawwater has worked under the legendary OU offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh.
Now, just as he’s on the verge of graduating and beginning his coaching journey professionally, he’s having to put all of that to the side and battle cancer instead.
“Great, great young man,” Venables said on the radio show. “He’s a hard worker, great perspective on life.”
Venables said the news came as a shock to most of the team when they found out that Tawwater had been diagnosed a couple of months ago.
“It’s spread pretty significantly in lots of different parts of his body,” said Venables. “He’s had several surgeries. He’s done radiation and chemo. He’s going back here at the end of this week to do an extensive six week stay at the hospital to make sure he stays healthy, a really aggressive chemotherapy.”
In case you missed that, the timeline for Tawwater’s treatment means that he won’t get to accompany the Sooners when they come down to Dallas for the game. But Venables says they’ll still have his locker set up and ready to go.
“He’s excited about that,” said Venables. “We’ll have to Zoom him in. I told him, we’re not going to let you get out of meetings and things like that. You’re not getting off easy for the next six weeks. So we’ll get him Facetimed and Zoomed into meetings.”
Tawwater grew up in Oklahoma and graduated from Bishop McGuinness in Oklahoma City before going to OU. I’m sure he is a lifelong Sooner fan. He’s probably done the Horns down a time or two in his life as well. Again, these are the things that make college football special. They are also the kind of things that breathe life into us.
Let’s hope that’s true for Tawwater on Saturday. You don’t have to cheer with him to be able to cheer for him … especially when you hear Venables talk about the guy.
“To hear him articulate what he’s going through is nothing short of amazing. He really is a remarkable young man with a spirit that only comes from one place,” said Venables. “Prayers for Ben and everybody would be really appreciated, and needed. He’s going to be in a battle for his life.”
It's tragic any time you hear of a young person having to battle for their lives. But this one hit especially hard for me. My soft spot for people battling cancer has grown significantly since I had to watch my wife battle (and beat) breast cancer.
It sounds like Tawwater is made of the same type of stuff.
“He’s just an amazing example of courage and fight and guts and toughness and thankfulness,” said Venables. “He’s got a light inside of him and he’s just a special, special young guy. Please pray for him and his family.”
Come Saturday, I know Tawwater will be watching the game and cheering for OU as hard as he can. I would bet he’ll be expecting you to be cheering for Texas as hard as you can. I will be cheering for Ben as hard as I can (and saying a few prayers along the way).
