I want a Dr Pepper bottle!

As any Baylor fan can tell you, a great point of pride at Baylor and in Waco is the fact that Waco is the birthplace of Dr Pepper.  Created in the 1880s at the Old Corner Drug Store, it is now enjoyed around the world, but the ties to Baylor remain strong.

One sign of those ties is the tradition of Dr Pepper's production of bottles commemorating conference championships.  Unfortunately, these are rare items, treasured by Baylor fans.  In recent years, we have enjoyed seeing a couple of commemorative bottles after the Lady Bears' basketball national championship seasons.  I don't want to downplay those championships at all, but I am ready for another football bottle!

The last time the Bears won the conference championship was in 1980, with Mike Singletary, Walter Abercrombie, and Jay Jeffrey.  (Technically, they shared the title in 1994 with half the conference--five teams were 4-3 in conference play--because undefeated A&M was ineligible. . . . But that doesn't really count.)  We've had some great seasons in recent years.  After a long drought, with years and years of losing records, we finally have gone to bowl games--three in a row!  We have our Heisman Trophy winner, we have a new stadium taking shape.

But we don't have a bottle!  I want a bottle!  With all the hype and optimism surrounding the Bears this summer, I beginning to BELIEVE!

Two bottles.  Let's have another "season of glory" and get a third!

An early Baylor road trip memory at Kyle Field

I was Baylor-bred, through and through.  Both my parents went to Baylor, and we were going to Baylor football games from my earliest memory.  But not all of the family bled green and gold. . . . My paternal grandfather was--gasp!--an Aggie!  He came by it honestly.  A WW2 veteran and electrical engineer, he was typical Aggie material.  With his influence, and the influence of Steve Price, my best friend, I, for a short period of time, was an Aggie fan.  I remember even wearing an Aggie shirt!  My parents must have been so ashamed.

To solidify my Aggie-ness, Granddaddy took my brother and me to Kyle field for a football game.  The year was 1978, and the nationally ranked Aggies, at 5-1, were ready to take on the Baylor Bears.  Or so they thought. We stayed in Granddaddy and Grandmommy's RV in the lot next to Kyle field, and I'm sure Mark and I were decked out in Aggie gear.  But something unexpected happened that day.  A freshman named Walter Abercrombie stepped onto the field, refusing to be intimidated by the boys in maroon.  As told by the Baylor football website:

"During his first collegiate game in 1978 against No. 12 Texas A&M, Abercrombie set the standard for what was to be expected by rushing for 207 yards, establishing an NCAA record for rushing yards in a first contest." 

Ultimately, Baylor won 24-6.  Well, that did it for A&M!  No more Aggie shirts for me!  Granddaddy told my parents that, as we were walking back to the RV, I declared that I didn't want to go to A&M after all!

That was a turning point for me, but a turning point for Baylor, too.  1978 was a losing season, but with Abercrombie running the ball, and with the indomitable Mike Singletary on defense, the Bears won the Peach Bowl in 1979, and after winning the SWC championship in 1980, played in the Cotton Bowl.

Abercrombie ran for an amazing 10.89 yards per carry that game, and went on to set the career rushing record at Baylor, rushing for 3,665 yards, a record which may never be broken.  He will always be remembered as one Baylor's greats, but, more importantly for me, I will always remember him as the man who saved me from being an Aggie!

The Baylor web site has a nice write up about the game.