Matt Portillo inaccurately describes why Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium fans felt compelled to boo, in his firing line Monday (“A reason to be embarassed”). I booed in the game after Garrett Gilbert’s second interception, joining many other dedicated fans.

Unfortunately, one cannot distinguish between boos intended for an individual athlete from those intended for the coaching staff. My disappointment was with the latter. Although Gilbert has not been on his “athletic A-game” for almost a year, I have great respect for him and his abilities, but I also support the Longhorns and their chances to win.

Booing a student athlete is unacceptable. But Portillo fails to yield judgment to the many responsible Texas fans. Last season, we watched our football team crumble. After the first quarter this Saturday, it appeared that Texas was about to repeat its past performance. The boos were directed at the poor coaching decisions that seemed to jeopardize a year of rebuilding.

The football season is directly correlated with important activities at the University, including alumni donations, partnerships and advertising revenues. After last season, donations stagnated and advertising revenues drastically fell, forcing various supported programs to trim their budgets further. A prime example is Texas Student Media and its properties, including The Daily Texan, which saw a horrible decline in advertising revenues because of last season.

So winning one football game or having a successful season matters across the University and to all who depend on the Longhorns’ success.

It’s more than a game.

— Tristan Mace
Public relations senior