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Every college sports fan knows the University of Texas views the “Hook ‘Em Horns” hand signal as an almost sacred form of expression, and Longhorns basketball coach Rodney Terry was not happy with some UCF players who subverted it following a win.
The “Hook ‘Em Horns” gesture became associated with the Texas Longhorns in the 1950s, and since then, it’s become the go-to signal for fans and players who are looking for an easy way to show off their school pride.
It’s only natural that it eventually became a target of mockery for opposing schools who literally turned it on its head by dreaming up the “Horns Down” move that’s frequently deployed to troll the program—a fairly innocent tactic that’s nonetheless become a source of an almost laughable amount of controversy.
Last year, the SEC announced players who throw the “Horns Down” while facing off against Texas will run the risk of being hit with a penalty when the school officially joins the conference. UCF was spared that fate during a basketball game on Wednesday night, but they still ended up at the receiving end of a temper tantrum for getting in on the action.
The UCF Knights walked out of the Moody Center with a 77-71 win over Texas on the road, and we were treated to some drama in the handshake line after Longhorns coach Rodney Terry was seen repeatedly yelling “That’s classless” at opposing players who’d committed some unspecified transgression.
Not sure what was said or happened, but here's #Texas head coach Rodney Terry telling some #UCF players in the handshake line, "That's classless. Don't do that shit." #HookEm pic.twitter.com/XXS3E4zIIB
— Tyler Feldman (@TylerFeldmanTV) January 18, 2024
Plenty of people assumed Horns Down had been the onus for the outburst, and after the game, Terry confirmed that was the case when he said he saw “six or seven guys putting the horns down” after the final whistle blew while asserting UCF was trying to “show them up.”
While part of me wishes Texas could simply accept the fact that opponents are going to keep doing this for as long as its own players use the “Hook ‘Em Horns” signal to celebrate, I’d honestly prefer to keep seeing the school get sanctimonious about the perceived slight based on the drama we’re treated to as a result.