Lewis Grizzard often wrote of his Georgia heritage that he was "Bulldog born and Bulldog bred and when I die, I'll be Bulldog dead!". Well scoot over Lewis, cause I am Horned Frog born and bred and when I die, I'll be Horned Frog dead. I have been a horned toad fan since I was 9 years old in Sweetwater Texas. In 1952 we didn't even have a TV, but we listened to TCU play on the Humble Southwest Conference football network every week during football season. We also watched or listened to the Sweetwater Mustangs play in the Mustang Bowl. Many of my friends were SMU fans because of the Mustangs, but my Dad loved the Frogs , so we did too.
We moved to Fort Worth in 1955 and my Uncle Jack took us to a TCU-Rice Southwest Conference game at Amon Carter Stadium, the Frogs won 35-0. I fell in love with the stadium and I have made many trips back over the years. The old Southwest Conference was magical and competitive with all other conferences across the country. In 1957 an Abe Martin coached team was led by half backs Jim Shofner and Marvin Lassiter to a 5-4-1 season. Ironically two of those victories were against Alabama and Ohio State who finished the season as the number one team in the national rankings.(TCU was their only loss). That year I watched the Horned Frogs destroy the Crimson Tide 28-0 in Fort Worth.
They have a rich football tradition that makes a fan appreciate the way they get back up and start over again every year. From number one national rankings in the late 1930's to strong seasons in the mid 1950's, to the dismal swamps of despair in the 1960's through the 1980's. A strong resurgence in the 1990's and then the glory years with head coach Gary Paterson. What a jewel of a coach, a rare combination of tenacity and teaching that turns 3 star recruits into competitors with the best of them. Leadership of the highest caliber that leads to increasing achievements over a period of years. Even after disastrous injuries ruined their entrance to the Big Twelve Conference, the Horned Frogs under Paterson came back with a vengeance and tied for the conference title. Got to love 'em for playing in almost every bowl that exists, including the Cotton, Sugar, Orange, Fiesta, Peach and Rose Bowls.
The stadium was rebuilt in recent years and it is now a beautiful place to watch the games.
If you love football, why not be like me and pick a team with a remarkable legacy of overcoming failures and bouncing back to be a winner. The TCU Horned Frogs are all that and more and the future is amazingly bright. Last season, 2014, they finished 12-1 and won the Peach Bowl. The final national coaches poll ranked them number three. Hang around me for a while and I will teach you how to be Horned Frog born and bred.
A HORNED FROG's primary diet is red harvester ants; they'd like 80 to 100 a day. Unfortunately, red ants are falling victim to insecticides and to more aggressive fire ants in much of Texas. The typical HORNED FROG is three to five inches long.
HORNED FROGS are cold-blooded animals and have an unusual pineal gland, resembling a "third eye" on the top of the head, which zoologists believe is part of their system of thermoregulation. When angered or frightened, horned frogs can squirt a fine, four-foot stream of blood from their eyes.
The HORNED FROG was named the State Reptile of Texas in 1992. In stories of Native Americans in the Southwest, horned frogs are depicted as ancient, powerful and respected. Archaeologists find horned frogs on petroglyphs, pottery and other crafts painted hundreds of years before Columbus set sail for America. In some parts of Mexico, folklore persists that these creatures which weep tears of blood are sacred.
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