My New Love: Hands On Head Fan

Football coverage has certainly evolved over the years.  It seems just like yesterday that Tom Mees and Chris Berman were anchoring Sportscenter on my wall mounted television in my room during my high school years (thanks Pops - you rock).  This was a superb era.  Motley Crue was touring, Ozzy Osbourne could speak coherently, Nolan Ryan was in training preparing to kick Robin Ventura's ass in the coming years, MTV played music videos religiously, and there were far fewer cameras to provide us with the tidbits on the field as well as in the stands at our sporting venues....yep, times have certainly changed....


This past Saturday, when UT was embarrassed on their home field by UCLA, the sentiment of me on my couch with my boy Noonz could be summed up quite succinctly by the following image:

Admit it.  You love watching the opposition's fan base react in the above fashion.  We as fans have moved our focus from exhilaration for our team's success to craving the downright utter disappointment and disbelief of the other team's fans in attendance or in our presence.  Oddly, this has become my favorite aspect of every college football game broadcast which I submit myself to enduring on any given Saturday (except, of course, when the Horns are involved, but I am a professional journalist, thus I must be honest regarding the above imagery as it is spot on for this segment/rant).  Hands on Head Fan truly sums up what we are looking for every week.  It appears that the cameramen are also scanning the stadium dwellers relentlessly as these images are becoming more and more popular.  Pay attention this weekend to test my theory.  By the way, check out the guy in the background in the video above as he mouths "You got to be kidding me."  No, sir.  They were not kidding.  The UCLA Bruins mauled the Longhorns to the disbelief of that little Longhorn girl above, as well as an entire nation of Texas faithful. 

But, why do we fans love this so much?  Simple.  We want the opposition to be pounded into oblivion.  The only fans who like close and competitive football games are those who have absolutely no stake in either team.  Consider coaches for a minute.  Their team could be up 55-0 and they will still look and behave like they have a wager on needing successful quadruple bypass surgery prior to the game ending.  It is never enough.  No lead is too large.  If the game is close, forget it.  Those types of games cause upset stomachs and massive quantities of alcohol to be consumed in parking lots, tailgates, sports bars, and living rooms across America.  Put another way, they cause smokers to leave the patch and Nicorette for a pack of Pall Mall non-filters in the time it takes for Congress to vote themselves a raise during the greatest recession in 70 years (yeah, they already did that).  Speaking of nanoseconds and criminals...um...hmmmm...yeah I could not link anything to that description which would be deemed as cerebral wit.  Just know this, Hand on Head Fan brings me great joy each and every week.  Unlike Congress.  Yep, that was Congress and football in the same post.  Only here on Pigskin n' Politics.  Hook'em.