Goodbye, Robbie, Goodbye!
November 24, 2012
Saturday, November 24, 2012, is going to be a sentimental day for many longtime Houstonians. Today is the last hurrah for venerable old Robertson Stadium on Cullen at the UH main campus as the Cougars entertain Tulane in the final event ever scheduled for the ancient (by local standards) venue since its 1942 birth. After today’s final UH football game of the 2012 season, Robertson will be destroyed and become the site of a new state of-the-art facility that will go up and be open in time for the start of the 2014 NCAA UH Cougar football season as second year members of the Big East Conference.
J.R. Gonzales has a wonderful commemorative column on Robertson today in his always entertaining “Bayou City History” blog at Houston Chron.Com.
http://blog.chron.com/bayoucityhistory/2012/11/say-a-farewell-to-storied-robertson-stadium/
David Barron has another fine column slant on the Robertson parting moment, but you have to be a digital subscriber to the Houston Chronicle to see his comments.
My take is simply a nostalgic figurative wink and a smile goodbye to a place where I’ve been going since 1946 when UH played their first college football game ever in 1946, to the time in 1954 when my St. Thomas Eagles High School team knocked off eventual State of Texas finalist Austin High of Houston in a major upset, to the track meet in 1958 when I outran future Detroit GB Pat Studstill in my second leg of the 440 relays held there, to the January 1, 1961 first American Football League Championship game between the Houston Oilers and the Los Angeles Chargers, to the return of UH Cougar football to Robertson in 1998, to the last game today between UH and Tulane!
Goodbye, Old Girl. All I can say additionally, regardless of the sentiment surrounding separation, is that my now aging body will not miss your steep climbing ramps and the absence of hand rails on the descending path down to my season ticket aisle seats. Hopefully, your replacement body and spirit venue will come equipped with updated features like gradient steps, handrails, and elevators for the sake of keeping Cougar fans alive and kicking as long as possible.
GO COOGS! ~ BEAT THE GREEN WAVE TODAY!
IT’S OUR LAST HURRAH AT ROBERTSON!
Houston, Baseball, & Other Musings.
The Pecan Park Eagle 