Texas Longhorns Football

Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium holds over 100,000 people, and when the Longhorns run out to "Texas Fight" while Bevo the longhorn steer watches from the sideline, the entire place erupts. This is big-time college football in the state that takes football more seriously than anywhere else on earth. Hook 'em Horns is more than a hand sign - it's a way of life in Austin.

The Red River Rivalry against Oklahoma every October at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas is one of the greatest spectacles in sports. The stadium split 50/50 between burnt orange and crimson, the State Fair of Texas happening right outside, and the intensity of two programs that genuinely cannot stand each other. If you only go to one college football game in your life, this might be the one.

Game day on the Drag - the stretch of Guadalupe Street along campus - is a party from morning to night. The tailgates are Texas-sized, which means smokers running full briskets, satellite TVs for the early games, and enough Tito's Vodka (an Austin original) to fill Barton Springs. The whole campus and surrounding area becomes one massive pregame celebration.

Before the game, Scholz Garten - the oldest operating beer garden in Texas, opened in 1866 - is a Longhorn tradition. After the game, Sixth Street in downtown Austin is right there and ready. Live music on every block, tacos at 2 AM, and the unmistakable energy of a college town that doubles as one of America's greatest cities. Texas is back? Texas never left. Hook 'em.