Jun. 26—***

My apologies if I am repeating myself today. I could use the line: “I can’t remember what I had for breakfast” but that would be untrue always. With little exception, I have the same thing every day: cereal with no milk, banana and grape juice.

And part of the routine often includes a stroll through the headlines at The Athletic. A must read every time it appears is Stewart Mandel’s mailbag, where he answers questions from real readers. Similar to what Kathy Reiser puts together for The News-Gazette, only more sports.

The latest edition for Mandel included a question on which current college football program has the more tortured fan base. One that keeps watching its team suffer devastating losses while its rivals have success.

That came from somebody in Dallas, who based on the way it was asked, had an answer he was looking for. Mandel seemed to provide it, pointing to the many frustrations for Texas A&M fans.

Mandel deftly laid out the past decade of Aggies football, including teases by Kevin Sumlin and Johnny Manziel. There was the failure of Jimbo Fisher to duplicate his Florida State success in College Station. The addition of hated Texas to the SEC over the Aggies objections. And a 2024 loss to Texas the first time the teams played as SEC members, which started a three-game skid at the end of an unranked season.

Mandel makes his case. And I’m getting hungry for breakfast. Should have told you earlier, the cereal of choice is Cap’n Crunch with Crunch Berries. Yes, I’ve got issues.