For our family, Tigerland was not just a stadium. It was where a big chunk of our lives happened, year after year, from August through November.
We had a routine. We sat in the same place when we could. We timed our arrival to avoid the worst of the crowd. We knew the moment when the air finally cooled after a long, hot day, and we knew the nights when it never did. Those details became familiar enough that we stopped noticing them, which is usually how you know something has become part of your life.
When Tanner and Jason were playing, we still had little kids. Tate was small. Addison was even smaller. We brought blankets, and by the fourth quarter, those two were often asleep under our feet. That is what you do when your kids are young, and you are not willing to miss games. You make it work.
In Jason’s senior year, the booster club sold cowbells. We bought one. That first bell did not stand a chance. I rang it hard enough to wear it out in a single season, so we replaced it with a heavier one. That second bell lasted through Truman, Ashton, and Tate. By the end of Tate’s last game, it was visibly misshapen, the clapper having slowly pounded it out of shape over six straight seasons. It felt like a physical record of all those nights.
Tigerland was our home base, but it was not the only place we ended up. We played Bryan at Kyle Field once, which still feels strange to say. We played Huntsville at the Sam Houston State stadium because that was their home field. And we played playoff games at neutral sites, where everything felt bigger and louder before kickoff even started.
Still, Tigerland was the anchor. I can picture it without trying, like I am already walking up the steps to our section. I eventually mapped out where we actually played, because the list surprised me. Tigerland was home, but the season lived all over Texas.
| Venue / Place | Tanner | Jason | Truman | Ashton | Tate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tigerland Stadium (Home) | 20 | 20 | 20 | 23 | 20 | 103 |
| Away games (regular season) | 18 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 20 | 91 |
| Kyle Field | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| SHSU Stadium (Huntsville home games) | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 |
| NRG Stadium (NFL stadium) | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Texas State University | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Prairie View A&M University | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Neutral playoff venue (unknown) | 2 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 16 |
| Total games at venues | 41 | 45 | 44 | 47 | 43 | 220 |
Seeing it laid out like that, it is obvious how quickly “just going to a game” turned into a way of life.
Football season was never just one night a week. Freshman and JV games were usually played on Thursday, which gave the fall a steady rhythm: Thursday night, then Friday night, then repeat it all again the next week.
For freshman and JV away games, I usually went by myself. I would leave work early, drive wherever we were playing, and change clothes in the car. Business casual off. Consol gear on. Then hustle inside and find a seat.
Once, I arrived at one of Jason’s JV games just before halftime. I was still in the parking lot changing when I heard the play-by-play call from inside the stadium, followed by the crowd’s reaction. Something big had happened. Jason had intercepted a pass and returned it for a long gain. I experienced the whole moment in the parking lot and did not get to see it. That memory has stuck with me because it captures that season of life exactly: doing your best to show up, even when the calendar is working against you.
That happened again in Tate’s sophomore year, when the JV traveled to Leander Glenn. Something came up at work, and I could not get away to the game when I wanted. I drove anyway. I pulled into Bible Memorial Stadium with less than a minute left on the clock and realized the game had started earlier than I had on my calendar. We were on defense. I got to see Tate play the last couple of snaps, and then it was over.
Bible Memorial Stadium is 119 miles from College Station. It was about a two-hour drive there and about a two-hour drive back for roughly sixty seconds of football. After the game, I met Tate on the sideline for a hug, a quick picture, and a short recap of how he played. I did not mention that I had missed almost the whole game. In fact, I do not think I ever told him, except with this blog post. But I was there at the end. It was good enough for Tate. It was good enough for me.
If it was a home game, the whole family was there, no matter the level. For varsity away games, we almost always went together too.
We did not have many relatives nearby who could just drop in. Kelly came to a game once when he was in town resetting his hours while driving truck. Later, when Tanner and Emily lived close enough, they came to at least one varsity game most years from 2019 through 2023. Having them, along with Bryce and Gavin, in the stands made it feel like the experience was stretching across seasons and generations. Jamie lived in Bryan and College Station for a few years too, and she made it to at least one home game each season as her schedule allowed.
There were a couple of times when the rhythm tightened even more, and oddly enough, those are some of my favorite years. When Truman and Ashton overlapped for two years, I went to Ashton’s game on Thursday and Truman’s on Friday. Later, the same thing happened with Tate's games on Thursdays and Ashton playing on Fridays.
From the outside, it probably looked exhausting. From the inside, it felt like a gift. I was not being pulled in two directions. I was just showing up twice. Twice in one week, I got to sit in the stands and watch one of my boys play.
Every two years, Texas UIL realigned the districts, which meant our list of opponents shifted. Some years, the district stretched south toward Katy and Richmond. Other years, it ran east to Lufkin and Livingston. Most often, it pulled west toward Austin.
Over time, those places stopped feeling like away games and started feeling like part of my personal map of Texas. Pflugerville. Temple. Waco. Huntsville. Georgetown. The Woodlands. Conroe. Willis. Lufkin. After enough seasons, you do not even think about it. You just drive.
I put together this list of regular-season opponents not to relive every game, but to document the repetition. The repetition is part of what made this chapter feel so big. Over the years, we played 64 different opponents in regular-season games.
| Opponent | Tanner | Jason | Truman | Ashton | Tate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atascosita | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Austin | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Austin Anderson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Austin Westlake | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| Autenticos from Mexico | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Belton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Bryan | 4 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 12 |
| Bryan Rudder | 0 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 11 |
| Buda Hays | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Caney Creek | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Cedar Creek | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cedar Park | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| College Station | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 8 |
| Columbus | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Conroe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Converse Judson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Copperas Cove | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| Cypress Woods | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Forney | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Fort Bend Elkins | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Franklin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Georgetown | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Georgetown East View | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Harker Heights | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Houston CE King | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Houston MacArthur | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Huntsville | 0 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 10 |
| Katy Paetow | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Killeen Ellison | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 6 |
| Killeen Shoemaker | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| Klein Oak | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Kyle Lehman | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Lake Belton | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| Lake Travis | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lamar Consolidated | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Lamar Fulshear | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| Leander | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Leander Glenn | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Leander Rouse | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Livingston | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Lockhart | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Lufkin | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| Magnolia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Magnolia West | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| McNeil | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Montgomery | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Montgomery Lake Creek | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
| Oak Ridge | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Pflugerville Hendrickson | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| Pflugerville Weiss | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Richmond Foster | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| San Angelo Central | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Temple | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 5 |
| The Woodlands | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Waco | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Waco Midway | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Waco University | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 5 |
| Willis | 0 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 6 |
| Woodlands College Park | 1 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Total Regular Season Games | 39 | 38 | 41 | 41 | 40 | 199 |
For Tanner, everything was new. Where to sit. How early to arrive. How invested I was willing to admit I already was.
By his senior year, everything felt bigger. More people. More noise. More expectation. And then there was the Bryan game at Kyle Field. Watching your son play a high school football game in a college stadium changes how you experience that space. Kyle Field lives in my mind as a Saturday stadium, not a Friday night one, and certainly not with your kid in a high school uniform. It was strange, and it was incredible, especially seeing how many people showed up for a high school game.
Jason’s years are when I learned that football seasons do not repeat. They build. Jason played in more playoff games, which meant more neutral sites, bigger crowds, and a noticeable shift in energy. Prairie View A&M. NRG Stadium. There was no pretending those were just another Friday night.
Truman’s senior year disrupted everything. COVID delayed the start of the season by a month, and Tigerland felt like a different place. We sat spaced out in the stands ("social distancing"), masked up, and away from our regular spot. Tickets mostly went to parents, so the crowd was thinner and the noise came in shorter bursts. It was still football, but the atmosphere reminded me how much of what I loved was the shared ritual as much as the game.
Truman and Ashton overlapped for two seasons. Toward the end, they were both on varsity at the same time. There were games when they were on the field together, even ending up in the same gang tackle. Watching that happen compressed time for me. Two sons, different paths, colliding in the same moment.
Ashton’s years felt like continuity. Football had become normal. Playoff runs were expected. Neutral sites were familiar. We played games at places like Texas State without the wide-eyed feeling those venues once carried.
We also started playing teams from Pflugerville. Their home field was affectionately called “The Pfield,” and because we played there year after year, it became one of those places our family joked about and remembered long after.
By the time Tate was playing, there was no learning curve left. The routine was set. When he reached varsity, I knew it was the last run, but I did not treat it that way. I did not count games or try to slow things down. I just kept showing up.
Playoff football had its own cast of characters. Different towns, different stadiums, and opponents you remember because the stakes were higher.
NRG stands out. Walking into an NFL stadium to watch your son play a high school playoff game forces perspective. Everything is built for a different level of football. The scale. The lighting. The sound. And when you lose a game in a place like that, the disappointment does not leave quickly.
| Opponent | Tanner | Jason | Truman | Ashton | Tate | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Austin Westlake | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Brenham | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Crosby | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Fort Bend Marshall | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| Friendswood | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Galveston Ball | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Jacksonville | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Klein | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| La Porte | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Lamar Fulshear | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Longview Pine Tree | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Magnolia | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mt. Belvieu Barbers Hill | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Mt. Pleasant | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Ridge Point | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Seguin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Temple | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Waco | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Total Playoff Games | 2 | 7 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 21 |
Over all those years, I missed two games because of work. In both cases, one of my boys (Tanner and Jason) left the game with a concussion. I already hated missing games. After that, it felt even less negotiable.
That final season was full. Big wins. An undefeated regular season. Finally beating College Station, with Tate making the game-sealing interception. Playoff football stretched the year a little longer and made the nights heavier. When it ended, it ended the way so many seasons do: with a loss and a long drive home. Annette and I looked at each other and said, almost at the same time, that this was it. No more sitting in the bleachers cheering our favorite varsity players.
What I remember most is the quiet. No plans for next week. No schedules to manage. Just the sense that something familiar had stopped.
The next season, Annette and I went to the first home game anyway. We sat in the same spot. Watched warmups. Listened to the band. Everything looked the same, except this time, there was no one on the field we were there to watch. We did not bring the cowbell. We were just fans.
That was when it really hit me.
The routine still worked, but it was no longer ours. The maroon game-day gear went back into the closet, and this time it stayed there. No drama. Just the quiet understanding that an era had ended.
Standing there at Tigerland, watching a game without one of my sons on the field, I realized how much of my life had been measured in Thursdays and Fridays, in drives across Texas, and in the sound of a cowbell that had finally been rung out of shape.
I would not trade a single mile of it.
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