Steve Sarkisian opened his Monday press conference with an apology, though not the one his fans wanted.
“I owe an apology to Longhorn Nation,” Sarkisian said as he opened his weekly news conference. “I made a mistake at the end of the game in not singing ‘The Eyes of Texas’ when the game was done. That was not anything intentional. That was not anything that had to do with our players. I think our players just followed me up the ramp into the locker room.
“Obviously upset by the way the game ended and literally walked off the field. So I apologize to everybody for that, that’ll never happen again.”
None -- okay, you can't say none -- very few Texas fans were mad that Sarkisian skipped the school song. They were mad that Texas lost the game. They were mad that Texas lost the game in an all-too familiar fashion, turning a 31-17 late first-half lead into a 41-34 defeat. Had Texas won the game, Sarkisian could have rode Bevo straight past the band as "The Eyes" played and most wouldn't have cared. Might've been a little miffed, sure, but not mad.
Texas players and coaches were so distraught after the Oklahoma State loss that only a few hung around for The Eyes of Texas pic.twitter.com/mp4R9RLkIA
— Anwar Richardson (@AnwarRichardson) October 22, 2022
Of course, by apologizing, Sarkisian feeds into the perception that Texas cares about appeasing its sacred cows (pun intended) first and winning second.
When he got the job in January 2021, Sarkisian proclaimed, “I know this much, ‘The Eyes of Texas’ is our school song. We support that song. We’re going to sing that song, we’re going to sing it proudly.”
Sarkisian arrived at Texas an outsider with no prior connection to the program, and thus no emotional attachment to "The Eyes." Contrast that stance to the one of his predecessor, Tom Herman, who supported a portion of his roster (the vast majority of them Black) who opted out of honoring "The Eyes" as the song's controversial history came to light in the summer of 2020. Sarkisian swore allegiance to "The Eyes" because allegiance to "The Eyes" mattered to the people making the hire.
Here in 2022, Texas is 5-3 heading into an off week. When the Longhorns take the field again Nov. 5 at Kansas State, far more important than the head count for "The Eyes" is whether or not it's played in victory or defeat.