My friends, I miss the days of Ann Richards and a winning Dallas Cowboys football team. It seemed like back then, Texas was on the rise. We were the leaders and we were certainly the friendliest state in the union.

I'm not saying that Texas is not the best state in the union. It very well may be. I've just seen so much change that now some of that magic is gone and our boasts are getting a little ridiculous.

Humility, Texas -- that's what we need. We need to buckle down and prove we're the greatest state instead of just talking about how we are. So yeah, I'll be a cheerleader for Texas, but it needs a coach first.

  • 1

    Our Independent Spirit

    Sure we're independent...until we need federal disaster aid. Texas requests and receives more disaster aid than any other state. This makes all those calls to secede even even more ridiculous.

    And let's not forget those people who want a wall between Texas and Mexico, but want the U.S. or Mexico to pay for it. That's hardly being independent.

  • 2

    Our History

    There is such a thing as "Tall Tales From Texas," and we love to tell them. Texas really has no more right to secede than any other state. And what about that meme saying that Texas is the only state that can fly its flag at the same height as the American flag? Also BS -- any state can do that.

  • 3

    Our Size

    "Everything is bigger in Texas." Yep, including unusable land.

    Who cares how many square miles you have if so much of it is desert or areas like the Caprock that really can't be built on? Texas is big alright, and that's why there's so many crappy little one-horse, no stoplight, depressed little towns.

  • 4

    Our Food

    I love some Texas barbecue and chicken fried steak. I would certainly take it over all other choices, but if you're talking variety, well, then Texas isn't where it's at.

    The seafood in most of the state sucks, and in all but the biggest of cities there's not much besides chain restaurants with American fare. In larger cities, you don't just get Asian food, but you get restaurants from different regions and so on. In most Texas towns you won't get the basics: Italian, Asian, Greek, etc. (Of course you'll get Mexican, which is the best, but that's besides the point.)

  • 5

    Our 'Folksy' Demeanor

    Who doesn't love a good ol' country boy? Well, in many cases gay people, progressive people and immigrants.

    Sure, the guys in the big hats are sweet as can be to other people in big hats, but sometimes not so sweet to those who look or think a little different. I'll also say that this is a recent thing and is probably not exclusive to Texas.

    Our 'live and let live' attitude has slowly been replaced by a 'live the way we want you to or get out attitude.'

  • 6

    Our Speech

    I'm not talking words here. There is a certain word economy in words like 'y'all' and 'fixin' to.' Nope, it's that Texas drawl that generally gets worse depending on the size of the town you live it.

    True story, I have a friend in the broadcasting business who got a job in Colorado and they offered to send him to speech therapy classes to get rid of his accent. Think about that: He needed THERAPY to be able to communicate outside of the Lone Star State. A drawl is cute until you don't need it anymore.

  • BONUS

    6 Funny Slogans for Lubbock

More From Rock 108