Red River Rivalry super fan attends 77th straight game
DALLAS — Saturday, the Longhorns won the Red River Rivalry, beating Oklahoma 34 to 3. It was the 120th meeting between the two teams, and many fans make it a tradition to go every year.
But one UT super fan attended his 77th straight game.
"It's not just the game, it's the things that surround it," said Gardner Parker.
It's one of the biggest games of the year, every year, and there's something about the Red River Rivalry that keeps Parker coming back.
"I can remember years where I never thought we'd beat them again, and I can remember years where I never thought that they'd beat us again," he said.
He's probably been through that cycle a few times. Saturday was Parker's 77th straight Red River Rivalry game.
His dad took him to his first rivalry game in the 1940s when he was just five years old.
"My dad went to the University of Texas," he said, "he was just a big 'Horns fan"
After that, he was hooked. Gardner followed in his dad's footsteps, graduating from UT. And he's as excited about this year's nationally ranked number-one team as anyone.
"This, to me, is the best Texas team we've ever had," said Parker.
But even though he was in Pasadena for the 2005 national championship and plenty of other big games, there's nothing like one of the most storied rivalries in college football.
"It's because half the stadium is red and half is orange. That tunnel, when the teams come out, it just does something to me. No other game does that," he said.