The Current Storm of Texas Tech Football
There’s a proverb, somewhere, from our ancestors and forefathers on the Llano Estacado about how tough it is to live in the area. That one day all of that setbacks and hardships endured by the good people of Staked Plains will finally arrive to some level success and comfort. I don’t know if that proverb exists, but it feels true.
For all the beauty of the area, West Texas has it’s turbulence with Spring weather and those pesky dust storms which build character and endurance for those exposed to the elements. For every awful day of storms, you get five to six good days. Right now, Texas Tech Red Raider Football is in the middle of a prolonged dust storm.
There are those who believe this current storm is brought on by a vindictive sports deity who put a curse on Texas Tech over an arbitrary matter involving a pirate, a retired politician, and a player claiming mistreatment with a minor ailment like a concussion (sic).
While that sentiment sells books and illuminates message board websites it’s simply easier to blame a god, fate, or astrology for why a given sports team isn’t winning and therefore ruining your weekend.
Curses, much like recently claimed Texas Aggie football championships, aren’t real. Learned folks know from experience or history that storms are borne out of their environment and atmosphere. Nobody likes dust storms, but how you compose yourself during one matters.
The current environment and soil for Texas Tech Football is self-inflicted, to be sure. Whether it was pulling the trigger too early on Kliff Kingsbury as Head Coach to new and excruciating of losing games the storm was a making of Texas Tech along with the changing landscape of the Big 12 and College Football.
The years of 2011 and 2012 are the most pivotal moments for why Red Raider Nation is in it’s current storm. Not forcing the issue of leaving the Big 12 to head West for the PAC 12 would have saved Tech a lot of headaches and no longer having to kowtow to that school in Austin.
The aforementioned Kingsbury has blossomed into quite the NFL talent as Head Coach. Some can rightfully argue Kingsbury was meant to be a pro coach, but imagine getting him to Lubbock in 2016 or 2017 with a few more years under his belt to be seasoned to be the top man in Lubbock.
Some Tech fans would have you believe the only way to weather the storm would be to burn down the house by hiring a disgraced former Baylor coach. The obsession with some fans and even purported donors for He Who Shall Not Be Named prove that arson is a favorite pastime for a subsection of the Red Raider Fanbase.
All this to say, the storm is about over. Whether it’s with Matt Wells or not, the storm will pass and there will be wins again. This dust bowl of futility will come to an end and we can all enjoy our Saturdays again three hours at a time.
-Allen Corbin
Allen Corbin is a native West Texan and formerly covered Texas Tech Athletics from 2006 to 2015 for Townsquare Media in Lubbock. He currently resides along the Wasatch Mountain range in Utah.
