It's been a few years now. The more intense flames of emotion have begun to fade, the first round of die has been cast and the rewards reaped. But the emotions are still there, volatile and just below the surface, on both sides. And on Friday, a long and colorful history will receive a new chapter as Texas A&M and Texas will face each other head-to-head as members of different conferences in post-season play for the first time in a major team sport.
Texas is the #2 seed and A&M the #3 in the Rice Regional of the NCAA Baseball Tournament. That the playoff meeting is happening in only the second full year of the separation is possibly a little soon for some, the wounds of the split too fresh. But at the same time, the reunion was inevitable and adding that tinge of fresh bitterness can only make the game more interesting.
It will be a series of firsts:
- first time to play Texas in post-season play in baseball
- first time baseball will face Texas as non-conference foes
- first time any men's team sport will face Texas as non-conference foes
Note: Women's basketball played Texas last November, and Men's and Women's tennis have both faced Texas since conference realignment.
So it's not Thanksgiving, it's not football, but it's still Aggies-Longhorns. What do you think about it?