Longhorn Sports: Aggie to the SEC

Yeah... I think it is foolish for Aggie to take their ball and go try to be relevant with the popular kids... and every time I think/talk/hear about it, all I can think of is Gob Bluth.

So Texas A&M has declared its intentions to leave the Big 12 and make for the most corrupt conference since the old SWC, the SEC. I've seen people on message boards talking all kinds of different reasons this is a "good" or "bad" idea or making rationalizations as to what will happen. Everything from "once the NCAA is done with all of the rules hammering they are doing to the SEC, no one will be able to recruit on par with A&M" to "this is all because Texas is arrogant and we can't handle it anymore."

I stand firm in my belief that this is a mistake. I don't think A&M is making an intelligent decision, but rather the act of a spurned, petulant sibling. They are leaving because of the Longhorn Network... they are leaving because Texas directed the traffic last year during the Big XII Missile Crisis. They are leaving because Texas is arrogant and pushes everyone around to get its way.

Maybe they are leaving because they spent the last 10 years watching Texas/Mack/DeLoss build the most successful (arguably) athletics program in the country, leaving them in the dust. Texas is a consistent top team in every sport it competes. They have off years, but for the most part, Texas is always in the national conversation in everything from Football to Swimming to Basketball to whatever. In the reverse, A&M seems to have had on years, but relative secondary status behind Texas, OU or even, gulp, Tech.

Perhaps that frustration boiled over the brim when the Longhorn Network announced they would air high school games. It seems to have been the last straw. And now, with a formal letter, the move is all but assured.

Well... Enjoy the playing with the big boys. There is a reason there is a cheating stereotype in the SEC. Friends who root for that conference only half joke when they call it Since Everybody's Cheating. The academic standards are lower. They do play a higher grade of football. Ask Mississippi State or Kentucky what football season is like. Random good years, but mostly irrelevant. That is what the last 10 years tell us A&M is headed for. Perhaps Sherman has a program building that will rival the big dogs, but history tells us different. Yep, you are Top 10 this year, and yes, Texas ate a giant Karma sandwich last year with 5-7. But Texas *will* re-ascend. Will A&M hold onto fleeting success?

Oh, and one more thing... is A&M going to write a new fight song? I'm serious here. If they aren't going to play Texas anymore, who exactly will feel the sting of "Saw varsity's horns off"? (For the record... just writing that in my blog makes me mildly angry) I know for a fact "Say goodbye to A&M" will take on a whole new significance for me this year.

So... thoughts? Cause I know you have 'em...