Love it or hate it, the Tiger Touchdown Train Horn has become a longstanding staple of Tiger Football. Several years ago, I wrote an article on the history of the horn on a previous platform, so here is my attempt to educate the newcomers and younger generation of fans of the “history of the horn”. As our time with the Glen Rose Athletic Booster Club has progressed, we have soaked in the memories and historical facts of events before our time. Most of the facts are learned through former club members, fans, and associated community members giving us details on what they remember. Therefore, some details may not be perfectly accurate, but they are the best I can get. What fisherman doesn’t stretch the truth to make the story a little more exciting to tell? Back in the 90’s, you rarely would hear much more than cheering and clapping on a touchdown in Texas. Occasionally, a proud dad would go purchase an air-compressed boat horn and blast its obnoxious squeal after a touchdown. Like a Volkswagen bug, it didn’t do much more than irritate fans sitting in the blast zone of its squeaky chime. If I had to make an educated assumption, it wasn’t until the early 2000’s when more and more football fans started to adopt actual horns to blast the battle cry of celebration. The idea of blasting 120-130 dB of joy isn’t a new concept though. In 1958 during a TCU Frogs game against Texas. Two pranksters rigged an air canister and a train horn together, snuck it into the stadium, and then set it off when TCU scored. Funny historical fact, they couldn’t turn it off. It blared for 15 minutes and refs paused the game. The guys were ejected from the game. In 1994, TCU’s horn was made a reality and has been blasting and smoking ever since. Well after 1994, Glen Rose came a little late into the horn era. Around the year 2007 or 2008, Glen Rose’s former Superintendent Wayne Rotan, described an opponents’ horn and subsequential obliterating loss to Celina as embarrassing. He described each blast of the horn as a reminder of how bad the Tigers were being beaten. This, however, dawned the beginning of a new era; where no longer would a Tiger touchdown come without a deafening reminder of our Glen Rose spirit. Soon after that eye opening necessity of decibel charm, a group of local characters spearheaded by Matt Holder and a few other dads; took the mission at hand and ran with it. With collaboration with local sponsors including Luminant, First Financial Bank, and Champion Auto Sales; a 6x6 Polaris Ranger from Luminant and a set of truck horns were adapted to become Glen Roses’ iconic celebration intensifier and its first eye-catching symbol of Glen Rose spirit. The horn lasted several seasons, with Matt and his group of enthusiasts manually blasting C02 filled tanks above the heads of fans and players alike. The first time I laid eyes upon this monstrosity, I fell in love like a 7th grade schoolboy and his first taste of love. It was a work of art, and I knew it was my destiny to partake in its bone-rumbling satisfaction. The years are muddled in my memory somewhere, but I believe sometime around the years of 2014-2016 the horn became absent. Through gradual decline, the ATV became non-drivable with fuel leaks and constant problems. At times, it made its way placed on a trailer on the south end of Tiger Stadium, but its eventual retirement became inevitable. The silence became the norm again for Glen Rose. Even before my booster days, I concocted a small tank with a horn to help fill the gap in the stands. If my memory serves me correctly, I began my journey in 2017 helping with the Tiger Tunnel. As my interest peaked, so did my prerogative to locate and bring the old train horn out of retirement. After talking to several people in town, the ATV was located and adopted into the booster club’s assets. Several thousand dollars was spent to bring the 6x6 back to life with new K5LA train horns and a new form of air system. Just like that, the idea from 2008 became the beating heartbeat of touchdown mania again. If you know me, and of course my wife will concur, I am a Texas advocate for “bigger is better”. With the design and fruition of the new Tiger Tunnel, the horn became smaller in the shadow of our glorious Tiger. Riddled with mechanical issues and maintenance cost, my dream became reality when a generous local donor single handedly funded my vision. The GRABC and I are forever grateful for his generosity and hope he knows just how much he is appreciated here at Glen Rose. So was born my vision, completely entangled in my head, of a horn completely self-contained and remote activated. From a dual Nathan K5LA touchdown horn to a Kahlenberg battleship horn; blasting its deep bellow for field goals, the horns have no problem carrying musical tone throughout the atmosphere. It is a monumental art piece, casting its booming roar, cannons of smoke, and flashy lights for every score of our Tiger Football Elites. We have compliments and we have the death stares. Most opponents hate our masterpiece, yet some have complimented it. Love it, or hate it, it's here to stay, signaling its victory chime from one end of town to the other.