Orange Blood

     None of us can be a kid forever but if we try hard enough those childhood memories will last a lifetime.  Last week one of those memories came full circle.  Like most young boys between the ages of 12 and 17 my thoughts with the exceptions of girls were mostly related to sports.  My High School and favorite college team were the only football teams I followed with any fascination. The University of Texas is only 70 miles from my birth place and during my teen years the Longhorn captured several NCAA football championships.            Darrell   Royal was the UT coach during those years.  He was a special man who's blood was as orange as the orange  Longhorn emblem on the Texas helmets  Saturday afternoons were special with him on the sidelines. Hours upon hours with a transistor radio stuck to my head  listening to the Humble Oil Network calling the play by play of every Texas game  was a sure sign that the leaves were  starting to fall and the air would  soon begin to cool.
     Last week Darrell Royal called his last play when he died at the age of 88.  He was a great coach who thought field position was the key to victory.  If given a chance he would have ran the ball every time because he once said "three things can happen when you pass and two of them are bad".
     Championships will be won and lost but there will never be another coach the likes of Darrell K Royal.