On a recent visit to Eatiz's I noticed a local legend standing next to me. It was the one and only Eric Dickerson. I thought to myself I can't believe I'm standing next to the guy who helped put SMU football on the map. So I looked around and to see if anyone else noticed that part of the Pony Express backfield was here shopping for prepared meals? To my disappointment nobody noticed him but hey its been almost 30 years now since the Pony Express was running wild through college football.

 

Seeing Dickerson made me think of his signature goggles he wore and the rich history of the SMU football program. A history that I think some people have forgot due to what the death penalty and break up of the old SWC did to the program. While I may have gone to TCU I can certainly appreciate the history of what SMU has done.

 

When I think of SMU football I think of it in five categories  1) Doak Walker 2) The Pony Express Era 3) The Death Penalty 4) Ramon Flanigan Era 5) The June Jones Era. Doak Walker really put the team on the map but I feel like a lot of people don't really know much about him. The Heisman trophy running back helped SMU dominate the old Southwest conference playing both on offense and defense in the late 40's. Former Texas running back Ricky William honored Walker by wearing his jersey in the late 90's when he played in the Cotton bowl, the house that Doak built.This was a classy move by Williams and helped a new generation become more aware of the legendary Mustang.

 

The Pony Express backfield was one of the greatest college backfields ever assembled. I would have loved to have been in Dallas in the early 80's and watched the Pony Express run wild. This era is still present in more recent football memories. The play called the music city miracle which the NFL Tennessee Titans used to win a playoff game and propel them to the Super Bowl was taken from the pony express teams. The Mustangs used this play against Texas Tech to win a game that kept there undefeated season alive.

 

The Death Penalty, need I say more? The program is still recovering from this. The 90's Mustangs were lead by a quarterback who was there for almost the entire decade. 1992-1997 marked the Ramon Flaingan era. I truly believe Flanigan did a good job as the Mustang's quarterback. He helped lead them to there first wining season since the death penalty.

 

June Jones now leads the team into a new era. One that has a lot of potential. With an impressive bowl win last week the program seems to be headed in the right direction. Seems as if Mustang Mania is back!

 

The SMU football program is getting some more attention for a documentary, Article 19: The Life, Death and Rebirth of SMU Football, being produced by a former student, Thaddeus Matula. I'm looking forward to seeing this and really learning more on the Pony Express era Mustangs. This seems like it would be a great documentary to be featured on ESPN's 30 for 30 show. To check out more on Matula's documentary click on the link below.