Austin restaurant acquires important piece of college football coaching history
Update: It appears this is a replica. Either way, well done by Dirty's.
Original article below.
Texas doesn't officially join the SEC until July 1, but objects are in motion as we speak. The Longhorns are replacing Big 12 logos on playing surfaces with the familiar SEC circle across campus, getting to Campbell-Williams Field earlier this week.
About a mile and a half from Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium, an important piece of Texas's impending move has come into place.
Dirty Martin's Place, an Austin institution colloquially known as "Dirty's," revealed they have acquired the infamous undated national championship plaque given to Jimbo Fisher months before he coached his first game at Texas A&M.
The irony here is that even though it's his name on the plaque, Jimbo is ultimately the victim here, of Texas A&M system chancellor John Sharp's horribly misguided public-relations stunt. From the looks of it, Fisher attended A&M system event alongside then-Texas A&M-Commerce head coach Colby Carthel. Carthel was there to be honored for his Lions' recent Division II national championship, and Fisher was there to be honored for his accomplishments at LSU and Florida State(??) when it appears Sharp sprung this bad omen on him.
Any Aggies that stumble upon the plaque will look at it and remember an era of failed expectations and unkept promises. Longhorns view it as a symbol of institutional hubris.
Ultimately, the fan blog Good Bull Hunting summarized the episode perfectly right when it happened back in February 2018:
Look, we get it. Expectations have been raised. We want the best. But at some point A&M needs to stop acting like they’ve crossed the finish line just by hiring Jimbo Fisher. Stop taking credit for his Florida State accomplishments, and certainly stop giving him plaques for championships at A&M that he hasn’t even won yet. Jimbo is a great hire, and the possibility exists that he could do really well in College Station. But right now that’s all it is: a possibility. The odds of him bringing a national title to A&M and the odds of him being the next Fran are probably about the same.
Remember when people made fun of A&M for suddenly adding national titles from almost a century ago? Remember (a couple of days ago) when Jaylen (sic) Ramsey called out tighte (sic) ends coach Tim Brewster for using him to promote a school he didn’t attend? This is going to be added to that list. The Kevin Sumlin era was often the epitome of “all hat, no cattle,” and stuff like this just feels like more of the same. I know it’s the offseason, and there isn’t any actual football to discuss, but that doesn’t mean that A&M leaders need to fill the void with self-aggrandizing drivel.
Anyway, Texas and Texas A&M will meet on the field for the first time in 13 years on Nov. 30 in College Station. Should be fun.
