'Tis the season ... pre-kickoff thoughts

After a summer off, it’s time to tee up Extra Points again. I hope you’ll savor these as much as I enjoy supplying the food for thought.

Summer is winding down and I hope all of you had a great one. It seemed to go by fast, didn’t it? Now we find ourselves on the lip of the college football cup, about to fall in to all that the great game has to offer between now and the end of December. I can’t wait!

College football isn’t all that’s going on with TCU Athletics. Women’s volleyball and women's soccer teams are off to hot starts. If you can, get to a home match for both teams. The environments are great and the Big 12 schedules for both these teams bring the best in the nation to the TCU campus. Not to be missed.

The new Amon G. Carter Stadium is nearing completion and it is a football palace. The great thing about it is that the stadium’s in the same place, but it’s not the same old place. It’s impressive and your chance to get a preview comes next week on the afternoon of September 6 for the ribbon-cutting and dedication.

I can’t stop thinking about Neil Armstrong. The First Man on the Moon died earlier this week and what a childhood hero he was to guys like me.  I was 7 years old and heading into second grade in the summer of 1969 when Armstrong and his Apollo 11 crew made history and effectively settled the space race.  When he took his “One step for man, one giant leap for mankind” he held the world spellbound and fulfilled John F. Kennedy’s promise of putting a man on the moon by the end of the 1960’s. My entire family watched the shadowy images over the narration of Walter Cronkite on July 20-21. It was special. I don’t know about you, but I never have to work for the answer when someone mentions Apollo 11 and the first man on the moon. I can recall Neil Armstrong’s name as if he’s a family member or a neighbor. That’s how big Armstrong is to me. What are your memories?

That’ll do it for today.  I’d love to hear from you.  Send in your comments and ideas, and I’ll take a swing at ‘em.

Kick ‘Em High!