@Irish_Cowboy88@Profhofcantonf Howley it was great. Understated. Just fantastic solid consistent play.
I feel stupid because I didn’t realize that Howley had been inducted
I was curious once too.
I have never lived in Texas. But I worked remotely with Texans for years, and I spent so much time in the DFW area twenty years ago that it remains one of my favorite places on earth to visit.
So let me try to explain what I learned.
Start with this. In America, everyone is proud of their state. But Texas is different, and here is the tell. You never have to ask a Texan where they are from. They will tell you. Usually within the first two minutes.
Part of it is size. Texas is enormous. You can drive for a full day and never leave it. Part of it is the sheer variety. Real mountains in the west. Pine forests in the east. Beaches on the Gulf. Ranch land, oil country, desert, hill country, and some of the biggest cities in America. Almost every kind of terrain on the continent exists inside one state line.
But the real root is the history, and Texans know their history.
Texas was its own country. A fully independent republic with its own president, army, navy, and embassies. It fought Mexico for its independence and won it on the battlefield, then chose to join the United States as an equal. Six flags have flown over that land. Spain, France, Mexico, the Republic of Texas, the Confederacy, and the United States. That was real history long before it was a theme park.
And here is the part outsiders miss most.
When the rest of the world pictures America, they are very often picturing Texas. The ranches. The boots. The oil. The swagger. The TV show Dallas ran for twenty years and exported that image to the entire planet. Texas became the shorthand for America itself.
But here is the thing I love most about Texans.
As much as they love Texas, they love America more.
It is, by almost any measure, the most patriotic state in the Union.
That is the answer. Texas pride is not arrogance. It is a country that remembers being a country, and chose this one anyway. 🦋