adium, President John F. Kennedy would give one of his most famous speeches of his short-lived presidency.
“But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain?” Kennedy said. “Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic?
Then Kennedy asked a question that football fans still have till this day.
“Why does Rice play Texas?”
The crowd at Rice Stadium roared. They were ready to tackle Texas, who were ranked No. 2 in the nation.
Before the fans could stop their cheers, Kennedy answered his barrage of questions with one of his most recognizable sound bites.
“We choose to go to the moon in this decade, and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard. Because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.”
While the pep rally was intended for the United State’s fledgling space program, the speech might have prepared the Rice Owls for their 1962 showdown with Texas. Between the speech and the time of the game, the Longhorns moved-up the polls and were No. 1 in the nation. The Owls had yet to win a game.
Forty-five days after President Kennedy had stood on the same field and challenged the United States to do the impossible — to put a man on the moon — the Rice Owls sought to do the sports equivalent — to take down the top football team in the country.
To most, it would have probably had been more reasonable to put a man on the moon.
On Oct. 27, 1962, the Longhorns were disarmed. And though the Owls didn’t win the game, the 14-14 tie dashed Texas’ national title hopes and became the highlight of the Owls bleak season, which they finished with only two wins.
In the 94 years since Texas and Rice started playing each other in football, the Owls have struggled. Texas is 68-21-1 all-time against Rice — that lone tie coming at Rice Stadium in 1962, when Kennedy’s speech helped two Houston programs, Rice and NASA, tackle the impossible.
The rivalry with Rice has not always been hotly contested. The Owls have lost nine straight to Texas after their 1994 win at home and have failed to win in Austin since beating No. 5 Texas in 1965 on a final-minute field goal 20-17.
Back on that Houston September afternoon in 1962, Kennedy was nearing the end of his speech when he told the story of British explorer George Mallory, who would die climbing Mount Everest. Before Mallory left to conquer the world’s largest peak, he was asked why he wanted to climb an impossible mountain, where death was a very real possibility.
“Because it is there.”
And for Rice, Texas has always been there.
So why do the Owls continue on their journey toward the impossible?
Because if a man can make it back to the moon, then Rice can beat Texas again.
Famous Kennedy speech an iconic part of Texas-Rice rivalry
Published: Monday, September 22, 2008
Updated: Monday, September 22, 2008
2 comments
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Outstanding speech--the spirit behind the words so capture what I think of when I contemplate the good in that American spirit and president. Thank you for including the info. about the Rice rivalry. I now have another great story.
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Sure victory is the goal, but accepting the challenge, preparing for the game and competing to the best of your ability is winning in itself.
