Tony Buzbee is someone I would call a “remote acquaintance.” I was a precinct chair in Galveston when he was county chair (I believe he’s now a Republican, or at least cozy with the ruling elite). I rented an apartment through his property management company. And I think I dropped off a resume at his law firm once.
Generally speaking, I’d say I respect the guy, although I have to admit he can be awfully ambitious sometimes.
And that’s why I can’t take too much offense at the latest brouhaha in Texas college sports:
If any Longhorn fans were offended by their football team being called a “cupcake” by a Texas A&M System regent, well, “that’s just too damn bad,” says Tony Buzbee, the Aggie regent-turned-provacateur.
A day after the American-Statesman’s Hookem.com posted the provocative comment that Buzbee had made on Facebook, Buzbee told the Houston Chronicle via email that he’s not particularly worried about criticism coming his way from anyone who questions whether his conduct befits a university regent.
In calling for the Longhorns and Aggies to renew their recently interrupted century-old rivalry in football, Buzbee said on Facebook that the Aggies could use some “cupcake games” against easy opponents like the struggling Longhorns, given how tough A&M’s conference schedule is since its move to the SEC.
Here’s the deal: as a Texas alumnus, I am too busy to be offended by what Tony Buzbee thinks, because I am too busy fretting over our 1-3 record and secretly loathing Charlie Strong’s campaign to turn our football squad into a bunch of gentlemen-scholars.
More to the point, I suspect that Tony Buzbee doesn’t really care what Longhorns think because he’s not really talking to us — he’s talking to the Aggie faithful. Remember, they’re the ones who were eager to bail on the Big XII, and ultimately, they’re the ones that have to be persuaded to play Texas again.
I could trot out usual tea-sip chestnuts like “76-37-5”, but the fact is that A&M has put together a great program under Kevin Sumlin. I don’t think anyone expects them to be as good this year as they were in the recent past with Johnny Football, Mike Evans, and crew. In fact, they might even be a little overrated at #15 in the USA Today Coaches Poll and #14 in the AP Poll. But, they are a good program, on par with where the Horns were when I roamed the 40 Acres (this was early in Mack Brown’s tenure).
Accordingly, the Aggs ultimately going to have more leverage in any discussion regarding scheduling. All things considered: I’m actually grateful to have someone like Buzbee advocating for a reunion game.
Now with that said, do I think Buzbee’s comments are simply being made out of “love of the game”? I have no idea. The cynic in me thinks that he might be trying to gin up some publicity for a future political campaign (even though he is wildly successful as an attorney, property developer, etc. I would not be surprised if he ran for statewide office — especially if he smells blood in the water regarding attorney general and admitted-felon Ken Paxton).
The Caledonian Mafia 