Volume VIII Newsletter #13 06-09-2023
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Important: Click on the small black letters “VIEW IN BROWSER” above to enlarge and enhance the photos and text on your cellphone.
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SPRING & SUMMER TREATS: Kool-Aid and Rat Poison
by Larry Carlson ( lc13@txstate.edu )
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I am often reminded of, and often resurrect Darrell Royal’s definitive dismissal of football players — or teams — supposedly loaded with potential.
“Potential,” DKR shrugged, “just means you haven’t done anything yet.”
Where do you think the Longhorns will be ranked when the first official preseason polls register in August? And where would you put ’em, either in your brain or in your heart of hearts?
Texas football, of late, has been more overrated than Whataburger. The talent has been there but the development has not, now for 13 ugly years. Football prophets chide those who have jumped early on the “Texas is back” train too many times. But many of those same soothsayers consistently peg the Horns higher than is merited in the preseason. Talk about rat poison.
This writer is not about to knock UT’s impressive three-deep quarterback picture. But the lone QB at Texas with starting experience has been credited as a “winning pitcher” only six times.
Interesting to note that perhaps three former Horn QBs will be starters elsewhere this fall.
The best, Cam Rising, is recovering from an ACL tear but aims to lead Utah to a third straight PAC-12 title. Hudson Card has a chance to be outstanding at Purdue and Casey Thompson joins his former coach, Tom Herman, at Florida Atlantic after a whistlestop tour at Nebraska.
But my noting that UT quarterbacks are short on game experience is not going to shut down any unlicensed “burnt orange Kool-Aid stands” this summer.
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So go ahead and let the Kool-Aid flow if you want. The “Athletic” had Texas unranked in its first “way too early” poll this year. After spring drills were completed, the Horns were promoted to number 19.
To read Professor Carlson’s full article on “Kool-aid and Rat Poison”
visit https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/koolaid-ratpoison
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There Is No Other Coach in The History of American Colleges Sports Who Has Started More NCAA College Sports Programs Then former U.T. Soccer Coach Dang Pibulvech.
In 2017 TLSN asked Dang to share his Longhorn story. He did! His coaching career captures the highs and lows of starting three different Division I soccer teams from scratch- Washington, Texas, and Nevada.
He did not do well at Texas, and he concedes that point. However, he delivered an important message to all who coach.
It took him years to understand that losing does not dictate self-worth and intrinsic character. Instead, he said, “No coach should gauge their success in winning on a once-in-a-lifetime national championship, but instead should gauge their success in building a program that gives the team a lifetime of chances to win the national title.”
Recently TLSN received word that Texas’ first NCAA soccer coach has serious health issues. One of his friends contacted TLSN and said:
“Some sad news to share with you all. Dang is in a sad state. He is bedridden and has lost most of his mobility. He can’t walk, sit up, or use his arms and hands.” He lives in squalor conditions in a small room with a live-in caregiver.
TLSN is hoping to assist him.
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Dang Pibulvech all smiles.
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Beth Coblentz is the new Chairwoman of TLSN.
Beth replaces one of the three founders of TLSN, Benny Pace, who, after five years as Chairman and growing the TLSN website from 19,000 impressions to 425,000 impressions, will leave the board with the title of Chairman Emeritus of TLSN.
Beth says, “I am honored to be elected as the first Chairwoman on the TLSN board. I joined the board three years ago because I wanted to be part of this charity that has improved people’s lives.”
To read more about Beth as a Longhorn volleyball player and more about her very successful career in the business world, please visit her TLSN webpage at:
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Beth will lead TLSN into the next phase of reconnecting with former Longhorn student-athletes, coaches, and support staff personnel by creating a representative TLSN Board of 9 former Longhorn student-athletes who are supported by a representative advisory Committee.
Currently, TLSN has five board members. Two Football players-Benny Pace and Billy Dale, One Women’s Basketball player- Sherryl Hauglum, one Women’s Volleyball player – Beth Coblentz, and one manager – Jim Kay.
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Three on the TLSN Board of Directors are shown Left to right- Chairwoman Beth Coblentz, Jim Kay, and Sherryl Hauglum.
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The other two board members are the past chairman Benny Pace and yours truly, toasting the beginning of our excellent adventure years ago to build a website, share Longhorn sports history, form a 501 (c) (3), and offer financial support to those who qualify for help.
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The TLSN Boards’ main goals are to :
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Reach out to more than 10,000 former Longhorn former student-athletes, support staff personnel, coaches, and their immediate families and share the TLSN mission,
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To support those who, through no fault of their own, qualify for temporary financial assistance, and
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Continue to capture the history of those who have built the Longhorn brand and tell their stories in podcast, interview, text, and photo formats.
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Please share this newsletter with teammates, coaches, trainers, and managers. ????
If you would like to donate to TLSN, we are a 5.01 ( c ) (3) please go to :
Hook’em Horns! Beth Coblentz
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Save the date below – Beth and her teammates will be honored for their 1981 volleyball National championship along with the 1988 and 2012 national championship teams.
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Horn Fans And Players Come In All Shapes And Sizes “Nestled” Together To Form The Longhorn Nation.
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Longhorn fan devotion echoes marriage vows by pledging to stand by their Horns in sickness and health.
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Photo circa 1916- Unlike many marriages, Longhorn fans and their relationship with UT rarely end in divorce. Longhorn loyalty is the crucial single-minded devotion that lasts a lifetime.
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In circa 2023– You can’t simply walk into DKR stadium, Moody, Disch-Falk, Jamail Swimming Center, or Mike A. Myers Stadium and be ordained a Longhorn fan.
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Longhorn sports arenas are sacred facilities -holy grounds that enshrine special moments in Longhorn sports history.
These stadiums are the battlegrounds where fans and players merge into one burnt-orange spirit to celebrate the past, cheer the present, and empower the future.
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You must earn the right to the title of “Longhorn fan,” and usually, that starts on the shoulders of sports heroes and families.
The images below are iconic and symbolic of when fan loyalty begins- IN OUR YOUTH. The boy on Bill Atessis’s shoulder in 1970 attended UT and is now practicing law in Texas.
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It is in our youth, a sense of identity is absorbed from family ties. Teaching a 3-year-old how to say Hook’em with a hand gesture pays lifetime dividends. Sprinkle in the right amount of attendance at Longhorn sporting events, reciting Longhorn folklore, myths, and legends, and the child will sprout Horns.
Who cares if the stories told by family members depict the players as god-like instead of earthly mortals? The end justifies the means when building a Longhorn fan from the ground up.
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This photo was taken seconds after Texas’ 1970 win over Arkansas. Tiger Hanner is on Atessis shoulders.
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Tiger Hanner is with his mom and dad, Lenesse and Karl, showing off a replica of Chris Gilbert’s #25 helmet.
Karl Hanner and DKR were close friends, which led to locker room visits from time to time for Karl and Tiger.
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Do you think this boy dressed up by family members in the Longhorn “T” and holding a football had a chance to be anything but the captain of the 1908 Texas football team?
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To learn more about the anatomy of a Longhorn fan, click on:
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Did you know?
That TLSN has a webpage that honors many of the former Longhorn athletes who gave their lives in WWI and WWII. The link is
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TLSN is a 501 (c)(3) Longhorn Sports history educational website with a compassionate component.
Fortunately, most former Longhorn student-athletes, coaches, and support staff personnel have successfully transitioned to the job market with health insurance and loss of income safety nets.
Still, help is needed for some, and TLSN donors have opened hearts and wallets to extend a helping hand. TLSN’s donors have assisted those who qualify with grants varying from $2000 to $25,000.
Please be one of those open hearts and donate to TLSN.
All of us associated with the TLSN Board and the advisor committee do so without compensation. It is our gift back to the Longhorn brand builders of our great university.
Join us by giving back. Every dollar will assist a qualifying former UT athlete, coach, support staff member, or their immediate family.
Here is the link to donate
The TLSN website and newsletter are free to access, delivering educational, historical, and insightful Longhorn sports history as told through the eyes of those who created it.
Https://texaslsn.org
TLSN is not associated with the UT Athletics Department or any organization closely aligned with UT.
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