What a Great Day to be a Baylor Bear!   As we approach tomorrow’s final conference football match-up vs the Texas Longhorns, I am reminded of my first game against them as a player. It was my freshman year in 1978, and we were heading into the last game of the season in Waco. Our record was 3-8 and Texas, ranked 9th in the country, was 7-3 and heavily favored to win. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY, thought we had a chance to win the game.   

Longtime Baylor fans have heard the story about Head Coach Teaff eating the worm in front of the team before the game that year. As an eyewitness to the incident, this is what happened:

In the locker room, just minutes before we took the field, Head Coach Grant Teaff gathered the team and told us a story I will never forget.  

He said, “Two fishermen went out on a frozen lake to fish. They were 10 feet apart and used the same type of pole, same type of line, same size hook, same bait, everything. But one fisherman caught a fish every time he put his line in the water and the other one did not catch anything. Finally, the unsuccessful fisherman went to the successful fisherman and said, ‘Hey, what is your secret?’  “The successful fisherman reached in his mouth, pulled out a worm, and said, ‘You have to keep the worms warm.’

 “Young men,” coach continued, “I’ll be the toughest coach on the field today. Will you be the toughest players on the field?  I’m gonna keep the worms warm!”  At that very moment, Coach Teaff tilted his head back and dropped a big earthworm into his mouth. The team went berserk.  Some of us were laughing, some were hyped up, and others were just grossed out. Whatever the case, we walked out of that locker room looking as if the weight of the world had been lifted off our shoulders. 

 Final score: Baylor 38, Texas 14.

 I can’t tell you for certain whether or not our coach actually ate the worm. He later revealed that he discreetly removed it from his mouth after we left the locker room. It doesn’t matter. All that matters is that it worked. The Longhorns took an “L”  that day…and a LONG ride back to Austin. 

 We can play an important role in a win tomorrow for the Bears by showing up and getting loud. Let’s send the Longhorns out in such a way that they will always remember the Baylor Bears!

Sic ’em Bears!! 

Walter Abercrombie

Executive Director

To return to the home page, click here.