Going Bowling and After We Strike
Our Texas Tech football team finished their regular season against long-time rival and Big XII cop-outs, the Texas Longhorns. The game was a rough ride, but we can say for sure, that our team battled through to the end, despite the score. Luckily, our guys’ season is not over, as they became bowl-eligible with a 24-23 win against the UCF Golden Knights on senior night here in Lubbock, finishing the season with a regular season record of 6-6. The Red Raiders will take on the California Golden Bears of the PAC-12 in the Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana on December 16th. Cal also finished with a record of 6-6, and is not a team that can be underestimated. We are excited to see this game play out and hope that the Red Raider fan base will make the trip out to support our team in this important bowl match-up.
Looking past this season, the 2024 season is bound to garner some high hopes once again, as the Red Raiders will be welcoming their highest-rated recruit of all time, five-star wide receiver Micah Hudson from Temple, Texas. Paired with red-hot high school quarterback Will Hammond, and many other young football talents, we look forward to experiencing the bright future of this team in the newly updated Jones AT&T Center.
Entering The McCasland Era
The Red Raider basketball team began their season early this November, and so far so good for the new-look group led by coach Grant McCasland. Notably, the team earned fifth place in the Bad Boy Mowers Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, losing only to the eventual champion of the tournament, the Villanova Wildcats, and beating the renowned Michigan Wolverines. The guys are currently sitting at a 5-2 record and began their season facing some offensive struggles, but like any other changed team, there is a period of growth that the players already seem to be building upon. From electric plays from transfers Warren Washington, Chance McMillian, and Joe Toussaint, to clutch plays from returning player Pop Isaacs, Red Raider basketball fans have plenty to be excited for this season. Big XII conference play will open on January 6th versus the Texas Longhorns in Austin. Please continue to show up and support the team at the USA, let’s help push this team to another undefeated season at home!
Saddle Tramp Spotlight: Landon Mehta
The brother we would like to highlight in this newsletter is a member of the Fall 2020, Pandemic Panhandlers pledge class, Landon Mehta. Landon is from Pensacola, Florida, and graduated from Pensacola Catholic High School in the spring of 2020. He has served as our Public Relations head for the past two semesters now and has done a tremendous job in his position. As PR head, Landon handles most of the photo taking for the organization, takes care of all of our social media accounts, upkeeps our website, and publishes newsletters such as this one! I was able to talk with Landon a bit about his experience in Saddle Tramps and heading the PR committee, he could not be more appreciative of his position. “[In a photo] you are capturing only one moment in time, the circumstances will never be the same … I enjoy the fact that I am capturing the gentlemen at that moment if that is them screaming their heads off or looking down in sadness. It’s those feelings, those emotions that make a picture so much more important.” In a single sporting event, Landon typically takes over five thousand photos to share with our organization and somehow narrows down his captures to make a post recapping and showing off our experience and emotions through a social media post. As an organization, we are extremely appreciative of the work Landon puts in, and it shows. “I saw the gentlemen in the org start using [the photos] for profile pictures as well as posting them on their social media. This was and is one of the most gratifying feelings in this position, because going through thousands of photos, it can get tiring and overwhelming, but the support from the public as well as my brothers is my drive to keep sharing my particular skill set with an organization that means a lot to me.” Through our social media, Landon gets a unique opportunity to interact with the public, and he describes it as “always special … I get to capture moments of somebody that someone loves and share it with them. As well as seeing Saddle Tramp alumni share a bit about their time as a Saddle Tramp.” To close out, Landon told me about one of his favorite experiences as a Saddle Tramp: the Texas Bowl game in 2022. “That is an opportunity that would have only been possible because I was a Saddle Tramp and I was on PR. Opportunities like these only come for those who want them so take a chance and take some photos!” We are extremely thankful for all of the work Landon has and continues to put in for our organization and hope he can be fully recognized for all of the efforts he puts in through this newsletter.
Photos taken by Landon Mehta And Mason Clark
Article written by Blakes Moos