This week has seen a whirlwind of zero productivity, anticipation and excitement tied up in a nice little bow of yet more preoccupation in anything other than school or office work. The only problem Frog fans face this week is which one of the many headlines to follow first? So as you sit in class or in a cubicle, taking in as much Frog news as possible on your computer while tuning out everything going on outside your purple blinders, allow me to untangle the web of jubilant mayhem that surrounds Fort Worth before the showdown in Cowtown.
Fort Worth Mayor Mike Moncrief issued an official decree declaring Friday as “Go Purple Day” in Fort Worth that will have the city looking like the brand new purple uniform tops Nike supplied the Frogs with for Saturday’s game. While students and alumni have varying opinions on the lack of purple in the helmet along with the red stripes to indicate a horned lizard’s ability to shoot blood out of its eyes when attacked, Frog head coach Gary Patterson said his players were happy and when a coach knows his kids are happy, he’s happy. And Patterson was happy cracking jokes Tuesday, saying these uniforms are about as much fun as he can have during a football game. So Frog fans, make sure you pace your purple apparel so it will last until Friday, and look for a possible smile on the Frog general’s face as he checks out the new cleats while he bends over to tie his own shoe for the fourteenth time.
Arguably more exciting than the game itself is the chance to display the TCU campus to the nation on College GameDay. The show is set to air at 9 a.m. Saturday morning, but if you think the party starts then, you will be sorely mistaken. Most of the student body plans to camp out in the Campus Commons right beside GameDay set through the entire night Friday. But with movies playing in the Commons starting late Friday night and food available for 24 hours, not many students will be counting horned frogs in their dreams. Country singer Pat Green brought excitement and thousands of students to the Commons last year, but nothing can compare to the buzz GameDay has brought to campus. Expect masses in the thousands if you try to venture your way to Friday’s fiesta by Frog Fountain.
But wait, yes, last time I checked, there is still a game to play Saturday, and Horned Frogs fans are coming out from all over America to pack Amon Carter Stadium to see the No. 4-ranked Frogs. TCU has not sold out a game since 2006 and has not had a crowd like the one expected Saturday since the Frogs played Texas in 1984. The Frogs have proven they can play at a high level while surrounded by large, rowdy crowds at BYU and Clemson, but a sea of purple at home is a new experience. TCU tradition will finally have a chance to thrive for the first time in many, many years. The only question that remains is will the hype and excitement last after Saturday?
It is a great time to be a Frog wrapped up in a fairy tale year that could not have been scripted any better by Walt Disney. Patterson said his Cinderella-story Frogs are looking to go to the ball this winter, and Saturday could be the day these Frogs become royalty among college football.
Sports Editor Travis L. Brown is a senior news-editorial journalism major from Dallas.
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