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Backyard Brawl: Inside the Blood Feud Between Texas and Texas A&M
It happens once a year, creating a seismic divide throughout the country. It pits brother against brother. It breaks up business deals. It ruins relationships. And once it’s finished, all both sides want is for another year to pass by so they can do it again. It is the Texas/Texas A& M football game. And in the football-obsessed state that is Texas, no single game resonates more.
Every year during the Thanksgiving holidays, the two teams meet for something that has become much more than just a game. It’s a blood feud that represents a tremendous cultural divide in the state. It’s city against country, a rural agricultural school against an urban university. And yet both sides come from the same family, warring cousins who roll up their sleeves once a year in the backyard to settle the question of who’s number one—at least for the time being.
In Backyard Brawl, W. K. Stratton takes you through this rivalry and its history, covering the years when the game was postponed because the fans were just too violent, the branding of UT’s beloved steer, Bevo, by a renegade Aggie, the kidnapping of A&M’s beloved Reveille by boisterous UT students, the theft of UT’s cannon, Old Smokey, and its unceremonious dumping into the murky waters of Austin’s Town Lake, and the fistfights that broke out when celebrating UT fans rushed A&M’s nearly sacred Kyle Field after Texas won the last-ever Southwest Conference title on the Aggies’ home turf.
Stratton also relates the more serious side of the rivalry, particularly the way both schools came together after tradition turned to tragedy in 1999, when the A&M bonfire collapse killed twelve students. And in a touching epilogue, he captures the angst that hit the College Station campus when officials decided to cancel the return of the bonfire in 2002.
Stratton drew a bead on the 2001 season and followed both teams through their schedules leading up to the big clash in College Station. Taking you inside a renowned Aggie Yell practice and introducing you to fervid yet often zany orange-blooded Texas fans through their elaborate tailgating rituals, he creates revealing portraits of the two teams, including head coaches R. C. Slocum and Mack Brown, both of whom are legends in their own time, destined for the Hall of Fame.
Backyard Brawl is a fascinating examination of the greatest war in college football, destined to become a classic for students of the game.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Every year during the Thanksgiving holidays, the two teams meet for something that has become much more than just a game. It’s a blood feud that represents a tremendous cultural divide in the state. It’s city against country, a rural agricultural school against an urban university. And yet both sides come from the same family, warring cousins who roll up their sleeves once a year in the backyard to settle the question of who’s number one—at least for the time being.
In Backyard Brawl, W. K. Stratton takes you through this rivalry and its history, covering the years when the game was postponed because the fans were just too violent, the branding of UT’s beloved steer, Bevo, by a renegade Aggie, the kidnapping of A&M’s beloved Reveille by boisterous UT students, the theft of UT’s cannon, Old Smokey, and its unceremonious dumping into the murky waters of Austin’s Town Lake, and the fistfights that broke out when celebrating UT fans rushed A&M’s nearly sacred Kyle Field after Texas won the last-ever Southwest Conference title on the Aggies’ home turf.
Stratton also relates the more serious side of the rivalry, particularly the way both schools came together after tradition turned to tragedy in 1999, when the A&M bonfire collapse killed twelve students. And in a touching epilogue, he captures the angst that hit the College Station campus when officials decided to cancel the return of the bonfire in 2002.
Stratton drew a bead on the 2001 season and followed both teams through their schedules leading up to the big clash in College Station. Taking you inside a renowned Aggie Yell practice and introducing you to fervid yet often zany orange-blooded Texas fans through their elaborate tailgating rituals, he creates revealing portraits of the two teams, including head coaches R. C. Slocum and Mack Brown, both of whom are legends in their own time, destined for the Hall of Fame.
Backyard Brawl is a fascinating examination of the greatest war in college football, destined to become a classic for students of the game.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
272 pages, Paperback
First published September 3, 2002
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60 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
February 11, 2023
I really enjoyed this book. If you want to choose a side in the A&M-Texas rivalry, you need to read this to understand the history of both football teams. The book discusses famous coaches and players from each of the programs and introduces traditions from College Station and Austin, all while following both schools through the 2001 season. The final pages culminate on the Thanksgiving meeting. I had to read this book quick before I looked up the ending.
I felt like the author painted both schools in an equal light. There are probably some details that both schools aren't proud of (regarding race, cheating scandals, drinking, etc.), but I appreciated that the author always brought it back to both schools being innocent -- in the end, everyone just wants to win a football game.
That being said, I felt like there were some parts that could have been left out. It feela weird when grown men talk about how hot students are at their alma mater. Idk maybe just me...
Solid book, made me fall in love with the Aggies again. Very proud of the farmers today.
I felt like the author painted both schools in an equal light. There are probably some details that both schools aren't proud of (regarding race, cheating scandals, drinking, etc.), but I appreciated that the author always brought it back to both schools being innocent -- in the end, everyone just wants to win a football game.
That being said, I felt like there were some parts that could have been left out. It feela weird when grown men talk about how hot students are at their alma mater. Idk maybe just me...
Solid book, made me fall in love with the Aggies again. Very proud of the farmers today.
February 7, 2024
A good book that helped me get excited about UT Football and the Texas Tech rivalry. It goes into a good account of the traditions, match ups, and popular figures that made both teams what they are today.
There is some sliminess with how the author describes young women in the book, but otherwise its is a light read
There is some sliminess with how the author describes young women in the book, but otherwise its is a light read
October 23, 2022
Read this book a while back. The writer is not associated with either school, so it may or may not be biased depending on how you take it. The way those school are funded tells a lot of the story on the history of the universities and how they developed and grew.
July 23, 2023
Hahahaha very on brand read for me! It honestly was really good - goes into a lot of technicalities about coaching which I thought was interesting but if you’re more into the tradition and less into the football this book may not be for you! I really enjoyed it!!
July 17, 2024
Listened to audiobook*
Super intriguing stories and anecdotes on the rivalry. The author really could illustrate scenes well. I also really enjoyed his side stories when he would go on tangents… overall would recommend to any lover of football.
Super intriguing stories and anecdotes on the rivalry. The author really could illustrate scenes well. I also really enjoyed his side stories when he would go on tangents… overall would recommend to any lover of football.
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February 26, 2014"I have been living in Texas for almost 20 years, and I already know that football is a religion in this state. We are just 15 miles from the University of Texas campus, and we have learned to love college football in general,and the Longhorns, in particular. This book is a wonderful history of the University of Texas rivalry with Texas A&M University. Many of the traditions that confused this poor transplant, have now been explained.
But the book is also a history of the two programs, plus a little bit of the Oklahoma University team and that rivalry. If you know what a teasipper is, or you haven't heard a good Aggie joke in awhile, or you just want to know why this state holds its gridiron heroes in such high regard, this is a GREAT book!
I was pleased to see a page devoted to the suburban sprawl that I call home and the landmark 'round rock', and also a mention of some great Texas musicians like Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett, Pat Green, etc.... And let's not even get into the tailgate parties of the crazy Longhorn fans!
I am sure you will remember the bonfire tragedy of 1999. This tells about how the two schools put their rivalry aside and were joined as a family in that hard time.
I think any college football fan who is curious about the great Texas football traditions would enjoy this book."
But the book is also a history of the two programs, plus a little bit of the Oklahoma University team and that rivalry. If you know what a teasipper is, or you haven't heard a good Aggie joke in awhile, or you just want to know why this state holds its gridiron heroes in such high regard, this is a GREAT book!
I was pleased to see a page devoted to the suburban sprawl that I call home and the landmark 'round rock', and also a mention of some great Texas musicians like Robert Earl Keen, Lyle Lovett, Pat Green, etc.... And let's not even get into the tailgate parties of the crazy Longhorn fans!
I am sure you will remember the bonfire tragedy of 1999. This tells about how the two schools put their rivalry aside and were joined as a family in that hard time.
I think any college football fan who is curious about the great Texas football traditions would enjoy this book."
October 3, 2014
This book is pretty much what is says in the title. It's a historical account of the rivalry between the college American football teams of the University of Texas and Texas A&M. It achieves what is sets out to do and it does it in an interesting and entertaining way, describing all the major events and people involved over the past century or so. The book is long enough to provide a decent description of the highlights, but doesn't go into tedious detailed accounts of games, which is something that I feared might happen. Although the focus of the book is obviously the football, there is a lot of interesting background material and stories about the two universities and the cities in which they are located, as well as Texas in general.
I feel that I should warn you that this is a pretty specialised subject for a UK audience. I am British and live in the UK, but I have family connections to both universities, I spend a lot of time in Texas and I used to play and coach American football in the UK, so I found the book really interesting. However, if you're not interested in the sport and don't have any real knowledge of the Texan culture, then this book is probably going to be of limited interest. That said, if you still think you might like to read it, I would recommend it.
I feel that I should warn you that this is a pretty specialised subject for a UK audience. I am British and live in the UK, but I have family connections to both universities, I spend a lot of time in Texas and I used to play and coach American football in the UK, so I found the book really interesting. However, if you're not interested in the sport and don't have any real knowledge of the Texan culture, then this book is probably going to be of limited interest. That said, if you still think you might like to read it, I would recommend it.
January 7, 2011
This was a good book but I was on an off about it. What am I meaning? Well W.K. Stratton did a great job describing the atmosphere of a College Football game. The tailgates, the fans, the food, and of course, the game. He describes the game the best. The hits, the runs, the huge plays, etc. I could not stop reading when he talked about these topics. It was like I was there or even near it. I got off track whenever he talked about his friends and people he met and his life and what places he went. I'm sorry but I got this book to read about those topics I listed above.
This book was an on and off book but I still recomend it to people who love college football. Also to the ones who miss it like crazy. Thats how I began to read it. I missed college football being around so I picked up a book that has the College gameday right in your hands.
This book was an on and off book but I still recomend it to people who love college football. Also to the ones who miss it like crazy. Thats how I began to read it. I missed college football being around so I picked up a book that has the College gameday right in your hands.
May 25, 2012
Got this as a gift from my bro for Christmas. A decent, quick read. It's always great to read about Texas football, even when, in this case, it's written by an Oklahoman who attended a non-football school then moved to Austin in his forties. Because of that, he doesn't really capture the passion of the rivalry or the traditions, even though that's what he's covering. I guess I would say his writing itself just wasn't passionate. There were moments in his following of the 2001 season for both schools that he opted not to go to specific road games, etc, even when invited. At times like that, you just feel cheated as a reader: "Wait a minute. Did I or did I not pay money to read the account of a season? And you just decided not to do it?" Final judgment: compelling subject, lazy, non-professional writing. It deserves a good writer from one of our schools to do it justice.
August 25, 2015
This was the worst sports book I ever read. For starters, "Backyard Brawl" is the moniker that Pitt and West Virginia use(d) for their annual rivalry. Beyond that relatively minor-yet-irritating point, Stratton's poor writing is bested only by his poorer research, which is illustrated best by his presenting apocryphal stories ("Bevo" originating from A&M students branding a steer with the score of an early game) as fact. I was also quite enthralled by his anecdote about eating BBQ in Taylor, Texas, which definitely qualifies as a recommended game day activity, more so than tailgating in Austin or Northgate bar-hopping in College Station. Waste of time.
January 14, 2009
If you have grown up in a family of Aggies, love the Longhorns or football anywhere in the State of Texas then this is a must read. Laughed, cried & enjoyed it to the end. So glad my daughter gave me this one for Christmas!
March 2, 2008
Great story about the UT/A&M rivalry.
December 30, 2012
I enjoy TX history. Thought this would be more historical than, "Rah! Rah! I love college ball!" My fault, book was not a good fit for me.
November 10, 2013
A very enjoyable read. My daughter wants to go to UT, or t.u. if your an Aggie fan. Enjoyed discussing the traditions with my daughter. If your a fan of either school you'll enjoy this book.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews