AUSTIN, Texas — The Texas Tribune published a story full of emails obtained from University of Texas donors, some of whom threatened to pull their money if the university dropped "The Eyes of Texas" as the school song.
The names were predictably redacted by the school to protect the names of the emailers and obviously to keep the cash rolling in.
Understandable, but still awkward after witnessing the Texas locker room nearly implode during the season.
A new football coach has been hired and, as if you didn't already know, “The Eyes” is staying. The administration has made it abundantly clear and Steve Sarkisian didn’t mince words during his introductory press conference when he said, “We’re going to sing it proudly.” Sark was given that directive well before he signed that six-year, $34.2 million contract to replace Tom Herman, who badly botched the whole thing.
I doubt it will be an issue in Sark’s tenure. It took a huge confluence of events locally and nationally to morph into what it became, but this next season will likely be more about football and less about lyrical content.
With that said, no school song ever won a football game, but the sheer fury from fans and donors over some players — many of them Black — having a problem with the song’s origins still boggles the mind.
Here’s a hypothetical question, Texas fan. Would you trade canceling “The Eyes” for five national football championships over the next 10 years? (It’s what Nick Saban has done at Alabama since 2011, by the way).
If winning is the ultimate goal, the answer is a resounding yes.
But it isn’t.
Want to know why issues over a school song don’t make national headlines in places like Tuscaloosa and Clemson?
Those programs are too busy with other priorities, like winning.
