Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson trolls TCU with t-shirt ahead of Iron Skillet Game

This Saturday the SMU Mustangs and TCU Horned Frogs will renew their rivalry and compete in the Battle for the Iron Skillet. It’s a fierce local rivalry that has started to spill off the field and all the way into local politics.

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson is excited for the game, having worn a shirt to troll TCU. It was printed in SMU’s colors with large lettering that reads, “TCU Sucks.” He didn’t just wear that shirt anywhere, either he did so at a city council meeting.

You can look at an image of Eric Johnson wearing the shirt ahead of the SMU-TCU game on Saturday, here:

Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson wore the following t-shirt to yesterday's city council meeting, and has challenged Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker to help get more Iron Skillet games scheduled. The SMU-TCU series is currently scheduled to end next year. pic.twitter.com/6a6fQNaupI

— RedditCFB (@RedditCFB) September 19, 2024

On top of wearing the shirt calling out TCU, Eric Johnson also called on Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker to help get more games scheduled in the rivalry series. That comes after TCU decided that they would be ending the series for the foreseeable future.

“When you transition from a four-team playoff to a 12-team playoff in my opinion, that changes your scheduling dynamic,” TCU head coach Sonny Dykes said at the time.

This year’s Battle for the Iron Skillet is going to be the 103rd time the two schools that sit just 35 miles apart are going to play one another. It will also be their last time playing in Dallas for the foreseeable future. Next season, the final game for the time being in the series will be played in Fort Worth.

TCU has an all-time record of 53-42-7 over SMU. The Horned Frogs have also won two straight games in the series since Dykes left SMU to join TCU. In total, Dykes has won the last four Battle for the Iron Skillets that he’s been the head coach of, including two wins for each side.

Rhett Lashlee details importance of SMU-TCU rivalry for

Ahead of this season’s Battle for the Iron Skillet, SMU Mustangs head coach Rhett Lashlee shared the importance of this rivalry game.

“It’s been played over 100 times so it’s important to a lot of people. I think when you look at rivalries around the country, this one’s pretty unique, when both schools are separated by 30, 40 miles in the same greater metroplex area… It’s unique to have two teams this close together in a rivalry. That’s rare. The fact that we’re only going to play two more times, that was their decision, not worried about that. We’re worried about trying to play good football and get a win. And you know, that’s just the truth. That’s the truth. It’s a big game because it’s the next game,” Lashlee said.

“And it’s important to our fanbase, it’s important to our players just like it is to their fanbase and their players and that’s what makes college football great. And you know, I’m sure one day it’ll come back, just like Texas and Texas A&M has and all that. But we’re going to be in the present and right now we’re playing them, so we’re going to play well.” 

SMU and TCU will kickoff at 5:00 p.m. EST on Saturday, September 21st.