SUPPORTING THE TEXANS

From sends offs to t-shirts Christy Degenhart is all about

The small town stereotype of being all about high school football is pretty fitting in Wimberley. So when the Wimberley football team is headed to Dallas next Friday, collectively we say, “Hey we’re going to State!” Yes, we… like we had something to do with it.

But you know what? We did have something to do with it. Perhaps some more than others. We gathered at the “Y” intersection at Wimberley Ace and yelled encouragement at the players who would defeat Silsbee to go on to Jerry’s World in Dallas. I’m sure we all held our head up a little higher in hearing the news.

Getting the community to gather at one place is a task in itself, but it is one of the many tasks Christy Degenhart helps out with as she supports the Texans.

It is not hard to find Christy. At the send off, she is the one with the bullhorn. Both she and her husband Tad are owners of Wimberley Ace. Both are WHS graduates and show their pride.

Wimberley T shirts, caps and plenty more are available in a section at the store devoted to everything Texan with twenty-five percent of sales going to the Wimberley Texan Booster Club. “The Booster Club supports everybody, tennis, volleyball, debate, everybody. All you have to do is ask,” Christy said.

Last Thursday night, the night before the semifinal playoff game, she had a special task. The Degenharts were set to host dinner –for the entire football team. No small task.

Christy wanted to cook spaghetti, but wisely Tad talked her into buying barbecue. Still wanting to provide something homemade for the eighty or so players invited, Christy made pumpkin bread.

Her enthusiasm and smile are always present, as is her affection for Wimberley.

“Tad’s mom was the high school’s secretary, a founding member.” Christy’s family moved to Wimberley in her senior year of high school and cemented her roots here. Her son is as junior football player, her daughter a sophomore cheerleader.

“It’s very exciting. My son’s on the team, and my daughter is a cheerleader. She was pumped in the Alamodome,” she said. “It takes on a whole new meaning when you know the kids…and their parents are people we graduated with… this town is special, it’s a special place.”

“It’s important that the kids notice and know how much support they have for the send off. There are people not related (to the kids), and they come to the games. We’re all excited for the kids and the kids appreciate it.”

She is always looking for opinions on what they order for the merchandising section at Ace. She gets opinions from her family. (Tad is very opinionated, she says.) But the fire at Ace a few years back hurt the family, and the community. In some ways it was a blessing, however.

“When the store reopened, that changed everything for us. It enabled us to change things… it is the same square footage as the last store. People don’t believe it. The last store didn’t work well. We planned this better. That allowed us to make a bigger Texan Section.” She continued.

“We sold more shirts, no hats, then (we started selling) baseball caps…we moved it and expanded two years ago.” There are lots of Texan merchandise, but the section is also appealing to everybody with lots of red, white and blue.

Her daughter was the catalyst for more involvement in the send offs. “In 2017 the send offs got bigger and bigger and got more attention. It was so much fun, just so much fun and pure joy. For thirty seconds, we can be proud parents, and they have to listen to me on the megaphone… they respond to the megaphone. They hop to it. They ask (my daughter) why is your mom so extra?”

When it comes to the Wimberley Texan football team there is much praise to go around to the parents.

“Our team mom, Christy McCollum (QB Cooper McCollum’s mom), is the one that makes all the great things happen for the kids. She organizes the sign painting, locker signs, team dinners, snacks for the team and breakfasts for the coaches on Saturday morning. She has the entire process running like a well-oiled machine and has made this season so much fun for the moms and the kids.”

Christy will be in Dallas for the final game of the 2019 season, as a lot of us will be.

What a Christmas present State Champions would be for the town.

“This is a team to remember, we’re playing in December!” Christy said