If football is secular religion in Texas, then this benevolent event turned downright sacramental.
Whitney Mosley and Drax Marlow
Willie Nelson, patron saint of Texas music, offered up sacred sounds for the DKR Resarch Fund benefit.
The spirit of late Longhorns coach, Darrell K. Royal, hovered over the evening’s drive to raise $1 million for Alzheimer’s research.
The congregation rose time and again to praise his adored wife, Edith Royal. In a video snip, she delivered the night’s most moving sentiment: “I wish I told him I loved him more. I just assumed he knew. You should say it over and over to somebody who is sick like that”
Sports legends, including golfer and friend Ben Crenshaw, processed to the altar-like stage to submit their tributes.
Stories and parables spilled from the speakers. Current Longhorns coach Mack Brown: “I asked Coach Royal if he would talk to my team. ‘I didn’t like talking to my teams. I’m sure as hell not talking to yours.’”
Then, one scalawag committed veritable sacrilege: Former country star Larry Gatlin joked that DRK died when he did rather than endure four more years of President Barack Obama.
Some gasped. Others laughed and clapped. One visiting music fan promptly dumped her proffered pledge card.
A neurologist from UT Southwestern saved the Austin mood: “This disease is nonpartisan. It strikes Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives.”