Texas A&M pitcher Taylor Stubblefield wasn't discreet when he flashed an emphatic "Horns down" after the final out of his four-hit complete game on Sunday night.
That Aggies win over Texas provided a perfect precursor to Monday night's perfect ending to the Houston Regional.
When Longhorns pitcher Chad Hollingsworth's forced a pop out to third base that sealed a two-hit shutout and sent Texas to the Super Regional, at least two Texas players sprinted on the field and stared down the A&M dugout while flashing Texas' signature "Hook 'em" sign.
Athletes from a variety of Texas sports rushed to tweet photo reminders of Stubblefield's less-than-original and premature diss.
But no, you should definitely believe what fans and administrators in Austin and College Station tell you on the days Texas and Texas A&M don't play: This isn't a rivalry.
It's not a rivalry, just domination. Don't ever disrespect us. On to the supers #hookem #superhorns pic.twitter.com/4BThnFTjxC
— James Barton (@jamesbarton10) June 3, 2014
New Texas AD Steve Patterson bounded out of his suite and exclaimed "I just love playing the Aggies" after Texas beat A&M in Friday's regional opener.
But this rivalry's dead, remember? Texas A&M left for the SEC, and that messy Big 12 divorce killed any desire for either side to see the other fail or care at all about personally handing them a defeat.
What's this schadenfreude you speak of? Texas fans care only about building their own program and haven't been keeping track of whatever's going on in that sliver of east Texas. How's Mike Sherman doing over there anyway?
Texas A&M's loving its Heisman Trophy and recruiting success, and didn't at all notice (or revel in) Bevo settling for Alamo Bowls at the end of seasons that began with conference title aspirations. When will Texas finally decide Mack Brown's not going to be able to return Texas to prominence?
Every college baseball regional seats record crowds on consecutive nights, especially when the host doesn't participate in either of the final two games of the regional, right?
Fans stand for the final inning the final game of every regional, right?
Nothing's more obnoxious than a group of people practicing public hypocrisy. Texas A&M's softened on its "anytime, anywhere" promise and shifted its focus to deeping its SEC rivalries while Texas tries to rebuild its program under Charlie Strong.
The Longhorns have maintained their nonsenical "If you wanted to play us, you shouldn't have left" point of view.
This weekend gave us a taste of how great this rivalry still is, and if you want to play with attendance numbers, the moment these two teams finally meet on the football field again will be roughly, oh, 15 times better.
Thanks for all the love! Ready for the super regionals. #RoadToOmaha #HookedEm pic.twitter.com/Pq20ZBiz35
— Chad Hollingsworth (@ChadH_31) June 3, 2014
My idealistic self likes to believe this weekend opened a few eyes from decision-makers in the state and refreshed some memories of how much better any contest becomes when it's between these these two programs. Maybe, just maybe, all the comical, hypocritical public positioning has reached its inevitable, merciful end and one of college sports' greatest rivalries could resume.
History tells us if it makes cents in college sports, it makes sense in college sports. Somehow, Texas A&M and Texas maintaining their rivalry in any major sport has been the exception to the rule.
Both schools have hired new athletic directors since the Aggies left for the SEC. That hasn't helped.
Both sides are robbing college football, whose popularity boomed because of regional rivalries like what we saw spilling over into Reckling Park in Houston.
This weekend was just a taste, but I hope you got your fill.
Texas and Texas A&M won't be sharing a dinner table again any time soon, no matter how much fun it is to watch when both sides threaten to flip it over the moment they step inside the door.
