Texas High School Football:
More Than the Game
July 30, 2011 – January 22, 2012
Texas high school football is more than a game. It is the bond that holds together communities, from small burgs barely able to field a six-man team to 5A suburban schools that faithfully fill 20,000 seat stadiums to cheer their hometown heroes. It is the soul of Texas towns.
It is the caravans of cars that drive 200 miles on a Friday night to support the home team, the endless post-game analyses in coffee shops, the local pride in past victories and legendary players. It’s also marching bands, drill teams, pep rallies, mascots, cheerleaders, twirlers, booster clubs, fans and fanatics. For at least a few hours every week in the fall, Texas high school football is the glue that transcends cultural, ethnic, and spiritual differences to define us all as Texan.
The action on the field, the noise in the stands, the pageantry of halftime and homecoming, the rousing pep talks in the locker room, the pronouncements echoing from the press box, the grueling hours of practice, are all part of a larger story about ourselves as Texans – a story that will be told at The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum as it has never been told before by guest curator Joe Nick Patoski.
Special Exhibit Catalog Available
Pick up your very own copy of the Texas High School Football: More Than The Game exhibit catalog available in hard cover ($29.95) or paperback ($19.95). This 96-page colorful look at the history of the popular sport and unique culture is filled with stories and photos of artifacts from the special exhibit. Written by guest curator and author Joe Nick Patoski, (Selena: Como La Flor, Willie Nelson: An Epic Life) the catalog is a captivating tribute to the state's most popular sport and will make a great collector's item.
Join the Museum as a Story of Texas Society member and you may receive one of three "Bullock Edition" prints from Austin photographer Bill Kennedy's series of Texas high school stadiums, featured in the special exhibit, Texas High School Football: More Than The Game. Learn more... |
Major support for this exhibit comes from Reilly Family Foundation, The Discovery Fund, Albert and Ethel Herzstein Hall Fund, Humanities Texas, Dodge Jones Foundation, Julie and Mike Denny, Abilene Convention and Visitors Bureau/ Sports Alliance and Johan R. Green.
Additional support comes from AstroTurf , All-Star Inflatables, Discount Furniture Muebleria Alex, Flores & Lopez - Injury attorneys , StarTechPC.com and Texas High School Coaches Association.
Media support comes from KEYE TV, Telemundo and Border Media.
Texas High School Football: More Than the Game is on view in the Albert and Ethel Herzstein Hall of Special Exhibitions July 30, 2011, through January 22, 2012. Admission to the Museum’s exhibits, including Texas High School Football is $9 for adults; $8 for college students (with valid ID); $7 for seniors/military (with valid ID); $6 for youth ages 4-17, free for ages 3 and under. The Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum is located at 1800 N. Congress Avenue at the corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd. For more information, call (512) 936-4649.
Image of promotional card courtesy Texas High School Football Hall of Fame, Waco.
Image of fans courtesy Midland High School.
Image of tuba player, courtesy Hill White.
