Texas Tech Fires Up the "Fun and Get Your Guns Up" Offense

Everybody who knows me or reads my columns knows that I love college towns that love their football teams.  I've been to college campuses all over the country, and nothing fires me up more than meeting rabid fans of football teams I previously knew little to nothing about.  My first trip to Lubbock, Texas, was one of the best examples to describe this kind of experience.

In the fall of 2004, my wife (who was my girlfriend at the time) accepted an internship at Texas Tech University as part of requirement to her Ph.D. program.  I flew into Lubbock and the first thing I noticed was that the town had no trees.  Not a good start.  But as we drove around, we eventually came to the university. 

Now, I have been to Austin and College Station and I couldn't believe that there was another university in the same state that was this big.  Complete with a Law School and a Medical School, this place was not only beautiful but was a world-class institution. 

It was the day before the Texas Tech vs. TCU game and people around town were decked out in their red and black.  They kept shaking their hands at each other with their thumbs and index fingers pointed out while saying something. 

I asked my wife, "What did that guy say?"  She replied, "Get your guns up!"  I said, "What does that mean?"  She replied while making the same gesture with her hand, "Get your guns up!  That's Tech's cheer."  I thought, "Wow.  That's different."

On our way out of the campus gates, the guard in the guard shack stuck her hand out and gave us  the "Get Your Guns Up" sign.  At the sight of this, I knew I was in a real college town.

I found out that the game was an early Saturday kickoff and since LSU wasn't playing until later in the afternoon, I thought that maybe I'd check out a Texas Tech game.

We were in the store getting a few things and my wife suggested that I should buy a Tech hat for the game.  I started to, but then decided that I would just wear a red shirt and try to blend in.

We headed for some lunch over at Spanky's, a college-town joint if there ever was one.  It's basically a two-story burger joint right across the street from the football stadium with an upstairs balcony where you can eat out in the fresh, dry air of West Texas.

The menu said their specialty was their cheese sticks.  I had never heard of cheese sticks being a specialty before so we got an order.  Well, cheese sticks is a deceiving name for these things.  Picture a Chinese egg roll stuffed with mozzarella cheese.  They were about as fat as three of my fingers and as long as my whole hand. 

With an appetizer like this, I was afraid to see the entree.  Nevertheless, a trip to Lubbock isn't complete without stopping at Spanky's.

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