Bayou Bucket

One of Houston’s best sporting events is the annual Bayou Bucket game between Rice and the University of Houston.  This year in particular, both teams had a crack at the conference title on the line, so the game had even more meaning than usual.  Today’s crowd was the biggest I have seen at a Rice home game in quite a while.  Two years ago for the Bayou Bucket game there was also a big crowd, but it was the first game of the season so it didn’t mean as much.  Rice held a slight advantage early, then really pulled away in the second half.  We won 56-42 but it really didn’t end up as close as that score would indicate.  Rice had lost three straight to U of H so today’s win was a long time coming!

What an exciting season for college football fans in Houston… U of H and Rice will both be representing the city in bowl games this year!

“autumn” in houston

fall is my favorite time of year.  in conversation i tend to call it “fall” for the sake of brevity, but really i prefer the word “autumn.”  it is just a more engaging word.

interestingly enough, this is one of two short windows during the year when the weather in houston is actually enjoyable.  we have a long, hotter-than-hell summer, followed by a two to three week period in late october to mid november where we have the potential for days in the 60′s or 70′s where you can actually open the windows and when the air is not thick with humidity.  the other time of year when we get one of these windows is in the spring, but it is usually more humid then than it the fall.

of course, having grown up in virginia, the fall here is pathetic in comparison.  in virginia it cools off a full month earlier, and the comfortable temperatures last much longer.  another phenomenon that is lost on houstonians is that of fall foliage.  there are no shades of crimson and gold in the trees here this time of year.  we have two types of trees:  those which keep their leaves or needles the entire year, and those whose leaves simply fall off around the beginning or middle of december without ever changing colors.

the one thing houston has over virginia in the fall is football.  yes, there is football in virginia too, but here it seems to matter more.  there is better bbq and the fans’ passion runs deep.  i hear that the university of virginia has a “football team” if you can call it that, but it’s just a rumor that has been floating around.  yes, houston is home to one of the worst professional teams in the country, but our college football (and even high school) is best in class.  

 

enjoying the rice vs. army game while wearing terry

i have been enjoying taking brantley to the rice university football games this year.  he likes the marching bands and when the teams run out onto the field before the game.  he also seems to think that every time the crowd cheers or applauds that it is for him… he looks up into the bleachers and stands up with a proud smile on his face!