| 1 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1380060351013649900 |
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| 4 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/big-tex_7603.jpg]] |
| 5 | [[caption-width-right:350:Patron Saint of Corndogs]] |
| 6 | |
| 7 | ->''"You have heard the saying that everything is bigger in the Lone Star state, and it is true that the cats are the size of dogs and the dogs are the size of European cars. But Texans themselves are of normal proportions, with normal-sized dreams and loves, who just happen to own cars that are the size of twenty-five European cars."'' |
| 8 | -->-- ''Literature/TheAreasOfMyExpertise'' by Creator/JohnHodgman |
| 9 | |
| 10 | For over a century, Texans have had a reputation for being [[TheFriendlyTexan cheerful, boastful, and loud]]. They talk about the oil industry (big fields), about herds of cattle (they're huge), and UsefulNotes/AmericanFootball (''everybody'' watches football). Texas can seem [[ExaggeratedTrope "bigger"]] than even [[{{Eagleland}} the nation it belongs to]]. If AmericansAreCowboys, Texans ''definitely'' are. In fact, there is a common joke that Americans view Texas the way the rest of the world views America. |
| 11 | |
| 12 | Because much of West Texas is an arid, barren stretch of rocky cliffs and deserts (with a few scattered small towns here and there), that has become the classic depiction of Texas, though more realistic works tend to be set in the [[{{Suburbia}} suburbs]] of one of Texas' many cities and towns (which are predominantly in the more temperate eastern half of the state). Characters from the Lone Star State are often portrayed as a mashup between the DeepSouth and TheWildWest. The typical Texan man is a GoodOlBoy, while his DistaffCounterpart is a Texas Rose (SouthernBelle). Positive portrayals will be [[TheFriendlyTexan kindhearted]], if a bit InnocentlyInsensitive, while negative portrayals focus on jingoism and [[TheFundamentalist religious fanaticism]]. |
| 13 | |
| 14 | Compare SouthOfTheBorder, which Texas has a... ''complicated'' relationship with. Also check out our [[UsefulNotes/{{Texas}} Useful Notes page]] for real life info about the state. This trope is specifically about the ''stereotypes'' of the state and its people, which often do not neatly apply to the state's actually diverse geography and population. |
| 15 | |
| 16 | ---- |
| 17 | !!The Vastness of Texas Is Referenced In These Works |
| 18 | |
| 19 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 20 | |
| 21 | [[folder:Advertisement]] |
| 22 | * A Geico commercial features the Geico Gecko traveling around the US. He went to Texas, and he talked about how everything is bigger there, such as the hats, the steak, and the hair. |
| 23 | * The Pace salsa commercials shows cowboys sitting around a fire eating chips and salsa, and boast of its big Texas taste, compared with the other brand made in...New York City (NEW YORK CITY?!) |
| 24 | * Kellogg's Sugar Corn Pops had a cartoon Texan, 'Big Yella', as a spokesman for a time. His schtick was he liked everything big and yellow, like Sugar Corn Pops. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3S8w-bw1PlE Look.]] |
| 25 | [[/folder]] |
| 26 | |
| 27 | [[folder:Anime and Manga]] |
| 28 | * ''Manga/Eyeshield21'': |
| 29 | ** The Deimon Devil Bats fight against as Texas team, the NASA Aliens, all of whom (Except for Panther and the younger Gonzalez brother) are extremely huge. QB Homer Fitzgerald and the elder Gonzalez are both particularly advanced examples. One of the chapters involving their game with the Devil Bats is even called "the Muscles of the Americans." Excluding the coach, the rest of the team is portrayed as friendly, loyal, and boisterous, despite appearing very intimidating. |
| 30 | ** Ironically, the only character in ''Eyeshield 21'' that completely fits the Texas stereotype is Japanese, the coach for the Seibu Wild Gunmen. He's essentially a reverse weaboo, owning a variety of guns and a giant ranch in Texas. |
| 31 | * Osaka in the dub of ''Manga/AzumangaDaioh'' is given a Texas accent, Houston in particular, because both Texans and Osakans share the stereotype of being loud, obnoxious country hicks. (Osaka herself, of course, is [[StereotypeFlip the complete opposite]].)[[note]]Worth noting, the English-dub voice actress, Creator/KiraVincentDavis, is a native of Houston, where the anime was dubbed, so at least you know the accent is legit.[[/note]] |
| 32 | * A similar approach was taken with ''Anime/MagicalShoppingArcadeAbenobashi'', which is set in Osaka. |
| 33 | [[/folder]] |
| 34 | |
| 35 | [[folder:Comic Books]] |
| 36 | * After Marvel's ''ComicBook/CivilWar2006'' storyline, each US state got its own superhero team. Texas got a previously-established team called the Rangers, a group which includes three cowboy-themed heroes, an Indian-themed hero, and Armadillo, who is a big armadillo. |
| 37 | * One of the enemies of ''ComicBook/CaptainCarrotAndHisAmazingZooCrew'' was "Armordillo", an armor-plated armadillo with a dangerous tail, who came from the Earth-C US state of "Taxes" (nicknamed the "Lone Stork State"). As such, Armordillo spoke like an Old West gunslinger/outlaw. |
| 38 | ** Several Earth-C versions of Texas cities were also mentioned in the series, including "San Antoadio" (San Antonio) and "Hogston" (Houston). Texas also was the home of historical landmark the Alamole (Alamo). |
| 39 | * The British children's comic ''Oink!'' featured a one-off feature dedicated to this trope. Notably, it featured people being squashed flat by Texan hailstones. At the end, it regretted that the Texan brain was very much an exception, being half the size of an ordinary garden pea. |
| 40 | * In the [[Characters/DisneyDucksComicUniverse Scrooge McDuck]] short story "The Fabulous Tycoon", Scrooge investigates claims that Texas tycoon Longhorn Tallgrass's fabulously huge and prosperous spread makes him even richer than Scrooge[[note]]Not even close; it turns out [[spoiler:Scrooge ''loaned him the money'' to '''buy''' the spread.]][[/note]]. Cue the recycling of multiple tall tales about how extravagant everything in Texas is. |
| 41 | * ''Franchise/WonderWoman'' [[ComicBook/WonderWoman1942 Vol 1]]: Wondy's friend and sidekick Etta Candy is from Texas, where her family owns a farm. While Etta is physically one of the smallest recurring adult characters in the DCU given she's generally drawn as shorter than 5' she has one of the largest personalities being a BigFun, FatAndProud, BoisterousBruiser. |
| 42 | [[/folder]] |
| 43 | |
| 44 | [[folder:Fan Works]] |
| 45 | * ''Fanfic/InTheEyeOfTheBeholder'' takes place in Texas and just about everyone apart from the Velvet Room denizens are from Texas, which reflects in more than half of the QIB being of Hispanic descent and high school football being very popular. |
| 46 | * ''Webcomic/HetaliaAxisPowers'' fanfic ''[[https://www.fanfiction.net/s/13053111/32/Your-Father-and-Mine Your Father]]'' ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/16690072/chapters/39888180 and Mine]]'' features the AnthropomorphicPersonification of Texas, complete with many of the stereotypes associated with the state she represents. |
| 47 | -->'''Narration:''' The nations all pulled up in front of the large ranch house. Of course, 'large' is a fairly relative term. 'Large' in Texas has a completely different meaning than elsewhere in the world, or even elsewhere in the United States. Let it simply be put, then, that Texas's house and property were substantially greater in size than what many of the other nations were accustomed to. |
| 48 | [[/folder]] |
| 49 | |
| 50 | [[folder:Film]] |
| 51 | * ''Film/AllTheBoysLoveMandyLane''. A ranch? Check. A working {{cowboy}}? Check. Reckless use of guns and fireworks? Check. Filmed in Texas? You bet. |
| 52 | * The plot of ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0893582/ Coyote Funeral]]'' is kicked off by a road sign saying "El Paso, 857 miles". (The sign actually exists, see RealLife below.) |
| 53 | * As mentioned above, ''Film/FridayNightLights'' highlights the SeriousBusiness sports culture of Texas. ''Especially'' the fanaticism over high school football. It's not uncommon for small towns to almost completely shut down on Friday nights in the fall. However, the film can also be considered a GenreDeconstruction since it shows just how brutal and crippling this obsession with football can be on the young players involved in it.^ |
| 54 | * In the 1956 blockbuster ''Film/{{Giant}}'', Bick is taking his new bride Leslie on a railroad trip to his cattle ranch in Texas. When she looks out the window at the passing scenery and wonders when they'll get to Texas, he announces that they've been ''in'' Texas for several hours already. Also, in the beginning of the movie, David asks how much big is Bick's property. He guesses 20-50 thousand acres. Bick reluctantly says that he has 595 thousand acres of land.[[note]]For our international readers, that's a square slightly over 49 km on a side. And while that is a large ranch even by Texas standards, there ''have'' been ranches in Texas bigger than that. The King ranch, for example, is about 825,000 acres.[[/note]] |
| 55 | * Creator/RichardLinklater is from Texas, and has set many of his films there, though given his penchant for hyper-realism they tend to play with the stereotypes rather than embrace them. |
| 56 | ** ''Film/DazedAndConfused'' (1993) is set in Austin, and mostly averts the stereotypes. The main stereotypical aspect comes in the extreme worship given to high school football. All the adults treat football like the most important thing in the universe, overlooking the extreme hazing carried out by the football team, while treating Pink's ambivalence to staying on the football team as inexcusable. |
| 57 | ** ''Film/{{Bernie}}'' (2011), set in a rural Texas QuirkyTown, is a more straightforward example. The plot involves a cowboy hat-wearing SimpleCountryLawyer (named Danny Buck and played by ultimate Texan Creator/MatthewMcConaughey) attempting to convict a popular murderer by appealing to the jury's plain preferences, painting the defendant as an effete elitist. While the characters (except for the [[AssholeVictim murder victim]]) are mostly played sympathetically, the story also addresses homophobia and racism on their part. |
| 58 | ** ''Film/{{Boyhood}}'' (2014), set in various parts of Texas, also mostly averts the stereotype, though it comes up at times. One plotline has Mason's liberal dad struggling against the dominant conservative culture, while another one features teenage Mason being bullied for his artsy, "alternative" personality. Mason also gets a gun and a bible for his 13th birthday, and spends summers learning to shoot at his grandparents' rural ranch. |
| 59 | * The 2005 remake of ''Film/TheLongestYard'' takes place in this setting--rather, in the fictional Allenville Penitentiary. The only civilization shown aside from the prison is a high school football field and... a trailer. Also of note is the warden's political advisor, who dresses exactly like a Southern dandy. |
| 60 | * Taken to extreme levels in ''Film/{{North}}'', to the point where the Texan family that North visits tries to fatten him up because they pride having the biggest of ''everything''. |
| 61 | --> '''Pa''': Well, I reckon we'll wake up early and eat, then we'll dig for oil and eat, then we'll rope some doggies, bust a few broncs, [[RuleOfThree and then maybe we'll grab a bite to eat]]. |
| 62 | * "Tex" Conway in ''Film/RobotJox''. Despite being a futuristic gladiator, he's a stereotypical Texan, complete with gut, comical accent, down-homey colloquialisms, and ten-gallon hat. However, he somewhat averts the trope by [[spoiler:being a nefarious double agent for the Commies]]. |
| 63 | * Major Corrigan, one of the crew members of the titular ''Film/RocketshipXM'' is so proud of being Texan than when Harry (the ship's professor) mentions that the state of Texas would look as small as "a mere speck" when seeing it from the Moon, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Z85X3HIScw he reproaches him for using that term]]. |
| 64 | * If the cheesy sci-fi movie ''Film/{{ROTOR}}'' is to be believed, a typical lunch in Texas is a steak the size of a toilet seat for each person. |
| 65 | [[/folder]] |
| 66 | |
| 67 | [[folder:Jokes]] |
| 68 | * A classic joke goes something like: A blind man gets on a plane headed to the heart of Texas. He is escorted to his seat, sits down, and comments that the seats are much bigger than what he's used to. The man next to him responds: "Everything is bigger in Texas". He gets off the plane, checks in to his hotel, and then heads to the bar and orders a beer. He tries to pick it up and remarks how heavy it is. A woman sitting next to him responds: "''Everything'' is bigger in Texas!" He enjoys his drink and has a bite to eat, but nature calls. He asks the bartender where the restroom is and the bartender informs him that it's the second door on the right. However, being a blind man, when he heads over to the restroom, he accidentally walks into the third door on the right, labelled "Pool". He walks in and falls face-first into the water, while exclaiming the whole time "Don't Flush! Don't Flush!" |
| 69 | * A common Texan joke involves a Texan bragging about the size of his ranch by explaining that it takes him all day to drive from his house to the end of his property, getting the reply "[[TheAllegedCar Yeah, I've had a car like that too]]..." |
| 70 | * A t-shirt in Rhode Island has the much smaller state inside a map of Texas with the caption "don't mess with Rhode Island either". Also, many ranches are boasted in Texas to be "the size of the state of Rhode Island". |
| 71 | * During the heyday of [[WackyWaterbed water beds]] in the seventies, a joke about a Texas oil man had it that he owned a water bed large enough to rise and fall with the tides. |
| 72 | * Note that while Texas is the biggest state in the ''contiguous'' United States, Alaska is considerably bigger. There have been some jokes built around pointing this out: |
| 73 | ** Sign in a restaurant in Anchorage, Alaska: |
| 74 | --> Pie - $1 per slice. Texas-sized piece - 50 cents |
| 75 | ** There was a stand selling T-shirts with the shape of Texas shown to scale within the shape of Alaska, with the caption "say hello to my little friend." |
| 76 | ** There's also the common line "Maybe Alaska should split in two and make Texas the ''third'' biggest state in the US." |
| 77 | * One piece of creative snark common on the Net is that the Lone Star State doesn't so much have a flag as a Trip Advisor review. |
| 78 | [[/folder]] |
| 79 | |
| 80 | [[folder:Literature]] |
| 81 | * Rick Riordan's ([[Creator/RickRiordan yes]] [[Literature/PercyJacksonAndTheOlympians that one]]) Big Red Tequila had the tagline "Everything is bigger in Texas... Even murder". |
| 82 | * Anthony Trollope's ''The Way We Live Now'' has a subplot about a railroad being built in Texas, which, to the primary cast of English aristocrats, might as well be on the surface of the moon. As entrepreneur Paul Montague puts it (in the TV miniseries, at least): "Parties in Texas usually descend into fisticuffs and gunplay." There's also the evil Texan woman Mrs. [[MeaningfulName Hurt]]le, and FunnyForeigner Hamilton K. Fisker. |
| 83 | * Creator/HBeamPiper's ''Lone Star Planet'', the title planet (Capella IV, also known as New Texas) has named every single one of its life-forms super-something (e.g. supercow, superyams that give superbourbon…). As a result of its inhabitants attempting to create an entire world out of Texan stereotypes, they've lovingly imported and reassembled the Alamo, they wear spurs at all times, and trials for killing a politician boil down to not "did Cowboy Name kill the politician" but "we know Cowboy Name killed the politician, now let's discuss whether the politician had it coming or not". |
| 84 | * ''Literature/FromTheEarthToTheMoon'': Before the Columbiad is even built, a bitter rivalry erupts between representatives of Texas and Florida over which state the cannon will be built in, as they both have approximately the same useful characteristics in terms of location and geography (before it degenerates into CulturalPosturing). Barbicane settles it in Florida's favor when he realizes that if they go with Texas, the whole rigamarole will start again over which town the cannon will be built in, whereas Florida only has one. |
| 85 | * ''Literature/ArcOfAScythe'' has the world run by a BenevolentAI which also runs "Charter Regions" with social experiments. Texas, or the Lone Star Region, is the Region where it practices minimal laws and law enforcement, and the people there like to talk loud, shoot guns, and play up Texan stereotypes. The fact that the A.I. has also cured death helps with this: unless you're a [[MurderInc scythe]], killing someone is [[ImmortalLifeIsCheap a mild inconvenience]]. [[spoiler:In the third book, when Goddard has taken over the rest of North Merica, Texas is the lone holdout still rebelling against his rule.]] |
| 86 | [[/folder]] |
| 87 | |
| 88 | [[folder:Live-Action TV]] |
| 89 | * Dr. Sheldon Cooper of ''Series/TheBigBangTheory'' is from the Gulf coast of Texas and is about as non-stereotypical a Texan as you can imagine (his Texas-sized ego notwithstanding). However, he seems to hold most Texans in disdain for being examples of the trope. |
| 90 | ** Sheldon tries to invoke this trope in one episode when his friends prank him, saying Texans know how to get revenge. It fails. |
| 91 | --->''After disarming a trap set by Sheldon and rearming it against him:''\ |
| 92 | '''Leonard (to Sheldon):''' You might be from Texas, but I'm from UsefulNotes/NewJersey. |
| 93 | ** When Sheldon gets drunk on Long Island iced tea and decides to fight Creator/WilWheaton for insulting Amy, he starts speaking like a stereotypical Texan. |
| 94 | --->'''Sheldon:''' Penny, please. I think I've evolved beyond my simple, rustic upbringing... On the other hand, that low-down polecat done wronged my woman.\ |
| 95 | '''Penny:''' Welcome to Long Island, Tex. |
| 96 | ** Sheldon has also shown he has an extensive knowledge of football, despite not actually being interested in it. |
| 97 | * ''Series/HogansHeroes'': One of the many pilots who passed through the Stalag 13 underground was a large and enthusiastic Texan. He wore a cowboy hat (yes, while flying his plane), used many Texan colloquialisms and was very amused by meeting actual foreigners such as the British Newkirk and French [=LeBeau=]. |
| 98 | * One of ''Series/{{Longmire}}'''s love interests is a woman from Texas, who is a cheerful, polite SouthernBelle who also loves the wilderness and understands his cowboy personality. |
| 99 | * ''Series/TheNuttHouse'': The Texplex tower in Houston is a giant tower wearing an even larger cowboy hat. Big Jake Herder, CEO of Texplex, wears a cowboy hat and spurs all the time, and there are gouges in the meeting-room table from where he puts his feet up. |
| 100 | * Gordon Bullit in the fourth season of ''Series/TheOC'' is a walking, talking Texan stereotype. |
| 101 | * Invoked on ''Series/TrueBlood'', which takes occasional trips to other cities in the South and Dallas is one of them. One can forgive Texan vampires for following the old stereotypes since many of them are actually from the Wild West era, but then there's human businessman Gus, who's from Japan but puts on a fake Texan accent and "cowboy businessman" style of dress. It's so over-the-top, it seems more like he's ''mocking'' Texans rather than trying to fit in to do business. In real life, the vast majority of Texan businesspeople wear the same boring suits as everywhere else. |
| 102 | [[/folder]] |
| 103 | |
| 104 | [[folder:Music]] |
| 105 | * Music/KennyRogers' 1987 song "Planet Texas" puts a humorous spin on this. The narrator of the song is taken on an intergalactic tour by a group of [[SpaceWestern alien cowboys]]. He asks them where they are from, and they respond "the biggest place in Outer Space, the planet known as Texas." |
| 106 | * Although it was done by a Frenchman rather than a Texan, Music/JeanMichelJarre's 1986 ''Rendez-vous Houston'' mega-concert, celebrating Houston's and Texas' 150th anniversaries and NASA's 25th anniversary, went completely over the top. [[Franks2000InchTV Downtown Houston's skyline of skyscrapers was used as a backdrop to project images and even films on]], and tons of fireworks (which were technically illegal) were launched into the sky from their roofs. As if that hadn't been enough, Jarre even broke his own record for the largest concert audience ever with over 1.5 million people who clogged large parts of Houston's city highway system and took hours to get back home after the show. For most spectators, the only way to actually ''hear'' the concert was the radio broadcast, and all they could ever watch was the gigantic light show. |
| 107 | [[/folder]] |
| 108 | |
| 109 | [[folder:Pinball]] |
| 110 | * The gambler in Creator/SternPinball's ''Pinball/HighRollerCasino'' is a growling, beefy man with a white stetson hat who boasts about Texas. |
| 111 | -->"This one's for Texas!" |
| 112 | [[/folder]] |
| 113 | |
| 114 | [[folder:Professional Wrestling]] |
| 115 | * Pretty much any wrestler from Texas (or at least billed as such) who used a cowboy gimmick is this. |
| 116 | * Stan Hansen is quite possibly the biggest personificaion of this trope in the history of pop culture, let alone professional wrestling. A loud, violent, tobacco chewing cowboy with a prominent mustache who wanted to fight everyone. He always came to the ring in a ten gallon hat, chaps, a western vest, western-style wrestling boots, and a bullrope in tow. He would even throw up the Texas Longhorn salute after hitting his opponents with his finisher, The Lariat. |
| 117 | * Wrestling/BarryWindham, a native of Sweetwater, Texas; also had a cowboy gimmick that was largely inspired by that of his father, Blackjack Mulligan. Obviously this also applies to Mulligan's tag team partner, Blackjack Lanza. |
| 118 | * Wrestling/JohnBradshawLayfield played this completely straight at the beginning of his career when he was known as Justin "Hawk" Bradshaw, and was often accused of being a Barry Windham clone. Then he began teaming with Windham as the New Blackjacks. He toned down his Texas roots as a member of the Acolytes with Wrestling/RonSimmons, but began playing them back up as they evolved into Wrestling/{{the APA}}. Once he officially became "JBL", he was billed as being from New York City (where he actually lives), but was essentially a wrestling version of JR Ewing; riding in a limousine with giant Texas-sized longhorns on the front and wearing 10-gallon hats. |
| 119 | * Wrestling/TerryFunk was this, more so than even the other wrestlers in his own family (who also trained Stan Hansen). He was billed from the Double Cross Ranch in Amarillo, Texas, wore western-style ponchos to the ring, and often carried his branding iron with him [[AxCrazy which he'd frequently use to attack his opponents]]. |
| 120 | * [[ZigZaggingTrope Zig Zagged]] by Wrestling/DustyRhodes of all people, despite otherwise being one of the biggest examples of this trope in wrestling. He played it completely straight when teaming with Dick Murdoch as one half of the (what else?) Texas Outlaws. But he averted it when working cities and towns in the Northeast, in favor of a [[PrettyFlyForAWhiteGuy funkier, George Clinton-inspired persona]]. He began playing up his Texas roots again when he returned to the south, but would still frequently tap into his "funky" side to get over with black fans. |
| 121 | * Dustin Rhodes was this at the beginning of his career as "The Natural", when his gimmick was essentially a clone of his father. But he completely subverted this when jumping to the WWF as Wrestling/{{Goldust}}. Now in AEW he's "The Natural" once again, but has a look that's largely inspired by Goldust, even painting half of his face to represent his dual personality. |
| 122 | * Played with by Wrestling/EddieGuerrero, who was from El Paso and would often be seen in cowboy boots when not wrestling, but his gimmick was more of a sneaky cholo than anything you'd specifically associate with Texas. |
| 123 | * The Wrestling/{{Von Erich|Family}} boys were a much more casual version of this. They were presented to fans in the Dallas-based World Class Championship Wrestling as clean-cut hometown heroes with family values and had their athletic backgrounds (especially football) played up on television. |
| 124 | ** David Von Erich, however, played this much straighter than his brothers, as he favored 10-gallon hats and was billed as "The Yellow Rose of Texas". |
| 125 | ** Interestingly enough, they acquired the Von Erich name because their father Fritz was initially an aversion, working a [[AllGermansAreNazis villainous Nazi gimmick and being billed from Germany]]. However, as Fritz got older and turned face, he started playing up his real-life Texas roots. |
| 126 | [[/folder]] |
| 127 | |
| 128 | [[folder:Theatre]] |
| 129 | * In ''Theatre/TheMostHappyFella'', the BetaCouple sing a number about how everything is big in Dallas, where they're from, "but the rest of Texas looks a mess." |
| 130 | [[/folder]] |
| 131 | |
| 132 | [[folder:Video Games]] |
| 133 | * ''VideoGame/BattleFantasia'' Takes place in a fantasy world with your typical western European fantasy kingdom, a steampunk Dwarf kingdom, Magic talkin rabbits... and a masked gunslinger from Texas... Right. |
| 134 | * ''VideoGame/GuiltyGear -STRIVE-'' has Goldlewis Dickinson, who certainly fits the part, being a large-but-strong American decked out in a SpaghettiWestern inspired outfit, possessing a love for burgers and using a coffin housing an alien from Area 51 as his weapon. |
| 135 | * ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'': The Engineer Comes from Bee Cave, Texas. While he has the typical southern drawl and has a lot of wild west themed unlocks, he's also probably the smartest member of the team, in exchange for also being the shortest. He does, however, have the ability to build what is by far the biggest weapon in the game, the [[MoreDakka Level 3]] SentryGun. |
| 136 | * ''VideoGame/ThemsFightinHerds'' pays homage to the trope with the largest fighter in the cast: Who else, '''[[MeaningfulName Texas]]'''. A huge honkin bull with a yoke positioned to look like a cowboy hat, the leader of cattlekind in the wild west-like Prairie, and a LargeHam tough-but-friendly thick Southern accent, Texas more than lives up to his name. |
| 137 | [[/folder]] |
| 138 | |
| 139 | [[folder:Web Animation]] |
| 140 | * ''WebAnimation/MysterySkullsAnimated'' takes place in Texas and the story is centered around the very tall ghost of a local young man, who has stolen and personalized a BigBadassRig to chase down his old girlfriend and his murderer by the end of "Freaking Out". |
| 141 | [[/folder]] |
| 142 | |
| 143 | [[folder:Web Comics]] |
| 144 | * The comic ''Torio'' had [[http://torio.comicgenesis.com/d/20070205.html Jimmy Benson]], a perpetually-grinning, belt-buckle-flaunting Texan who even spoke in bigger letters than the rest of the cast (compared to [[ShrinkingViolet Crispin]], who had trouble maintaining capital letters). He was based on a couple of Texan roommates the author had, neither of whom would ever shut up about how awesome Texas was. |
| 145 | * Inverted in ''Webcomic/IrregularWebcomic'': Steve, who is Australian, can't quite believe there are ranches in Texas, because how would you fit cattle stations into an area that small? |
| 146 | [[/folder]] |
| 147 | |
| 148 | [[folder:Web Original]] |
| 149 | * Creator/RoosterTeeth, the creators of ''WebAnimation/RedVsBlue'', primarily consist of Texans. In fact, the main, if not top badass is also from Texas. And her Freelancer ''nickname'' is Agent Tex/as. [[spoiler:Her real name is Allison.]] RT's webcomics lampshade this frequently, with one instance of them blindfolding themselves and drinking different beers, to see if they could tell the difference between Budweiser and Lonestar. Two of the three couldn't. |
| 150 | * ''Literature/SkippysList'', Rule #47: I am not a citizen of Texas, and those other, forty-nine, lesser states. |
| 151 | * ''Blog/ThingsMrWelchIsNoLongerAllowedToDoInAnRPG'' has lots of stereotypes of Texans, but considering the author is a Texan, they seem to be badges of pride. |
| 152 | -->504. If the party is to frequently meet with Queen Victoria, I cannot play a Texan.\ |
| 153 | 870. I will not use my vast personal knowledge of Dublin, Texas to get an unfair advantage in the campaign.\ |
| 154 | 973. Shotguns are not a traditional part of Texas funerals.\ |
| 155 | 1008. Texans do not get revolvers as a racial weapon proficiency. |
| 156 | * About one half of [[Roleplay/SurvivalOfTheFittest SOTF-TV]]'s characters (the other half being from a SuckySchool in UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}}) are from a wealthy private school in Bryan, Texas. While the stereotype hasn't come up as much as you'd expect, it has received LampshadeHanging both in and out of character. |
| 157 | * ''Roleplay/WeAreOurAdventuringAvatars'': Mindy the 12-ft tall diplomat is a native of Texas. She's taller than the rest of the members of Kerberos Security, and she's quite friendly once you get to know her. |
| 158 | * ''WebOriginal/MysteryFleshPitNationalPark'': The [[WombLevel Pit]] was discovered by oil workers in the Permian Basin of West Texas, and [[EldritchAbomination it certainly is "big"]]. |
| 159 | [[/folder]] |
| 160 | |
| 161 | [[folder:Western Animation]] |
| 162 | * The AffablyEvil oil tycoon in ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' acts as a stereotypical rich Texan, complete with the accent, white cowboy boots, and white ten-gallon hat. He's also very trigger-happy with his [[GunsAkimbo double pistols]]. [[MeaningfulName His name is Rich(ard) Texan.]] |
| 163 | * ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' dips in and out of this stereotype with every other episode, sometimes portraying Texas and Texans more realistically and other times portraying them as naive, conservative throwbacks who only care about hunting, beer and football. The landscape of Texas in the show also seems to include nothing but suburbia, desert and empty fields. Given that Creator/MikeJudge is actually a Texan, and has portrayed a much less stereotypical Texas in ''WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead'' and ''Film/OfficeSpace'' (yes, both of those took place in Texas), this is more a case of AffectionateParody. In addition, the Hills live in the suburbs of a somewhat small town, which generally are much closer to the stereotyped depictions seen in the show than the big cities like [[UsefulNotes/DFWMetroplex Dallas]] and UsefulNotes/{{Houston}} are. |
| 164 | ** One episode had Hank pandering to a visiting [[HollywoodNewEngland Bostonian investor]] to use Strickland as its propane supplier. The investor expected this trope and kept pestering Hank about cowboy hats and boots and used words like "russlin'" and "twisters". The investor eventually went with Strickland's competitor Thatherton because he acted the stereotype. |
| 165 | ** Meanwhile Peggy has been known to refer to "the Republic of Texas." (Texas actually ''was'' an independent republic for a number of years between declaring its independence from Mexico and being annexed by the US, the latter at its request. The stereotypical Texan will never quite have reconciled him/herself to said loss of independence.) |
| 166 | * On ''WesternAnimation/GarfieldAndFriends'', Garfield and his friends would often visit "Polecat Flats", a dude ranch set in Texas which was portrayed as a barren desert complete with cacti, coyotes and cattle. This is because it's set in West Texas. |
| 167 | * ''WesternAnimation/FamilyGuy'' paid a visit to this version of Texas in the season five episode "[[Recap/FamilyGuyS5E15BoysDoCry Boys Do Cry]]". Everyone dresses like a cowboy and rides horses, Brian is given a free gun with his purchase of alcohol, the Griffins' neighbor is a professional "queer-chaser-and-beater", and the TV news reports on the discovery of "Superdevil" by church scientists. The gun/alcohol thing is especially funny to people in Texas, since the alcohol laws there are draconian to the point that the TABC is known in the bar industry as the Beverage Nazis. The main complaint about Texans in that episode was that they are racist and homophobic. Keep in mind, the ''primary'' purpose of the episode was really for the writers to deliver a very scathing, personal (and hyperbolical) attack on President UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush, so this episode was really one of ''Family Guy'''s most flagrant examples of WriterOnBoard. |
| 168 | * Sandy Cheeks from ''WesternAnimation/SpongeBobSquarePants''. |
| 169 | -->"Back in Texas, we call ice cream 'Frozen Cowjuice.'" |
| 170 | ** Subverted when she goes after the Alaskan Bull Worm. Despite Sandy's insistence that her Texan upbringing should lead her to be used to be largeness, it turns out [=SpongeBob=]'s idea of big is MUCH bigger than Sandy's. Because, you know, [[DontExplainTheJoke Alaska is even bigger than Texas]]. |
| 171 | --->'''Sandy:''' Ohhhhhhhh. This is the tongue, and the whole cave [[ExplainExplainOhCrap is the...worm.]] ''[{{Beat}}]'' '''''[[ScrewThisImOuttaHere RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!]]''''' |
| 172 | * In ''WesternAnimation/TheFlintstones'', Fred has several relatives (most notably his wealthy Uncle Tex) from its prehistoric counterpart of "Texarock" (though the name was interchangeably used with "Texas"). One map in an episode showed that the entire state itself was larger than its real-world counterpart. |
| 173 | * ''WesternAnimation/TheFairlyOddParents'' |
| 174 | ** Similar to the Rich Texan, Doug Dimmadome, Owner of the Dimmsdale Dimmadome, is a part time CorruptCorporateExecutive that owns a good deal of Dimmsdale, has an "odd southern drawl", and wears cowboy gear with a cowboy hat that occasionally is so big that it goes past the top of the screen, no matter how far a shot he's in. |
| 175 | ** In another episode, the fairies decide to settle a matter with "a butt kicking, rip snorting, Texas cage match!" |
| 176 | * Clay from ''WesternAnimation/XiaolinShowdown'' comes from Texas. He always wears a cowboy hat, uses down home country sayings, WouldntHitAGirl, and is the largest of the group. Whenever Texas is seen, it's all desert, with Clay's dad owning a beef ranch. Even the Shen Gong Wu found there, the Star Hinabi, is known as the Lone Star until it's discovered and is marked as Texan. |
| 177 | * An episode of ''WesternAnimation/DuckTales1987'' had Scrooge going to Texas because of his city's depleted oil supply. You expect everything in Texas, oil businessmen, cowboys etc. |
| 178 | * The ending of one ''WesternAnimation/JohnnyBravo'' episode had Johnny and his mom, failing to win a trip to Paris, France, visiting Paris, ''Texas'' instead. Naturally, the portrayal is a mash-up of every DeepSouth and wild west stereotype ever, bearing almost no resemblance to the actual town. They did ''not'', however, make up the Eiffel Tower with the cowboy hat - [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Paris_Texas_Eiffel.jpg that actually exists]]. |
| 179 | * [[CorruptCorporateExecutive Mr. Larrity]] in ''WesternAnimation/CodeMonkeys'' is from Texas, and definitely shows it -- he has a fortune built off of oil, he drives a car with bull horns, always wears a cowboy hat, and his weapon of choice is a [[{{BFG}} quad-barrel shotgun]]. |
| 180 | * Ironically, the ''Texas''-class of ''WesternAnimation/StarTrekLowerDecks'' is one of the ''smallest'' ships in the fleet, almost the size of the ''Nova''-class from ''Series/StarTrekVoyager''. That being said, the ''Texas''-class is actually a PintSizedPowerhouse capable of overpowering a ''Sovereign''-class with ease. The class' creator, Vice Admiral Les Buenamigo, has various little trinkets in his office related to Texas, including a Texas flag and a picture of the Alamo. |
| 181 | * ''WesternAnimation/MollyOfDenali'': Trini references this trope in "Cabbagezilla", where she says that she "know[s] big" since she's from Texas. And indeed, she grows a giant cabbage. |
| 182 | [[/folder]] |
| 183 | |
| 184 | [[folder:Real Life]] |
| 185 | * Late Cretaceous Texas was home to the long-necked ''Alamosaurus'', the largest dinosaur in North America and one of the largest dinosaurs of its time. Add in ''Deinosuchus'', a thirty-five-foot-long monstrous crocodilian, one of the largest ever to exist. Then there's ''Quetzalcoatlus'', a GiantFlyer pterosaur the size of a ''[[http://www.livescience.com/images/i/000/017/809/original/Quetz-giraffe-110706.JPG?interpolation=lanczos-none&downsize=*:1000 frickin giraffe]]''! |
| 186 | * If you ever go to Cave of the Winds in Colorado and are from Texas, you will get confronted with this stereotype. At one point in the tour, they'll stop at a particular formation and ask the group if anyone's from Texas. If you raise your hand, they say "This shows you that not everything's bigger in Texas!", leaving you with some form of confusion or annoyance. |
| 187 | * ...so of course [[http://health.msn.com/weight-loss/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100257787>1=31036 Five of the top ten fattest cities in America are in Texas.]] |
| 188 | * Texas' highway system. Where to begin... |
| 189 | ** Many of Texas' highways are quite large, with ten lanes not uncommon, and many older highways are currently being expanded. Many freeways also have long frontage roads, contributing to their width. |
| 190 | ** Interstate 10. Period. The section of I-10 ''inside'' Texas, 878 miles long, is longer than the individual sections of I-10 either east or west of the state. To put it into perspective: Orange, the easternmost town on I-10 in Texas, is closer to Florida's Atlantic coast than it is to El Paso, and El Paso is closer to Los Angeles than it is to Orange. It's the longest highway under a single authority (Texas [=DoT=]) on the continent. Additionally, west of Houston on I-10 is the Katy Freeway, one of the widest roads in the world with 26 lanes at its widest point (including frontage roads, exit lanes, the mainline general purpose lanes, and HOV lanes). |
| 191 | ** Texas is known among road-geeks for having ''many'' "four-level stack" interchanges (interchanges with direct high-speed ramps forming four levels of roadways), typically a ''very'' large type of interchange. Texas also has its own design, the five-level "Texas-style stack", which incorporates frontage roads meeting at-grade for its fifth level. The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/High_Five_Interchange Dallas High-Five]] is a good example. |
| 192 | ** State Highway 130 has the highest speed limit in the United States at 85 mph (137 kph). For comparison, the only higher posted speed limits are 140 kph (~87 mph) in several European countries, and, of course, Germany, which has no speed limits on stretches of its Autobahn system. |
| 193 | * Rick Perry, former 2012 Republican candidate for President, takes this trope to ProudWarriorRaceGuy levels. |
| 194 | * UsefulNotes/GeorgeWBush and his father UsefulNotes/GeorgeHWBush are not from Texas, but have lived most of their lives there. Junior was born in Connecticut, but grew up in and became two-term governor of Texas, with the accent to boot. |
| 195 | * The Texas State Capitol building is 11 feet taller than the US Capitol building. Don't tell me size doesn't matter! |
| 196 | * The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Jacinto_Monument San Jacinto Monument]] is taller than the Washington Monument. In fact, it's the tallest monumental column in the world. |
| 197 | * There is a pornstar named Alexis Texas (who is, in fact, a Texas native) who is known for her large butt. |
| 198 | * Molly Ivins complains about her state in [[http://www.thenation.com/article/texas-america?page=full "Is Texas America?"]], an article for ''The Nation'' magazine. [[SelfDeprecation Ivins practically built her career on talking smack about Texas]], [[CulturalRebel and made no secret of her belief that she was one of the only intelligent people from there]]. |
| 199 | * [[https://www.buc-ees.com/index.php Buc-ee's]], a chain of ''freakishly'' large gas stations with convenience stores at least as big as a standard supermarket, equally as impressive souvenir and outdoor supply sections, and an array of freshly cooked food that puts most shopping mall food courts to shame. Most if not all of them do not allow 18-wheelers on the premises. The largest one (in New Braunfels) is the largest convenience store in the world, ringing in at ''68,000'' square feet, with 83 toilets and ''120 fuel pumps''. They advertise aggressively along the interstate highways with signature black billboards that can show up over 100 miles away from the nearest location; they have even started popping up in other states (one such billboard along I-10 in Florida advertising the Baytown location states "737 miles - [[{{BladderOfSteel}} you can hold it!]]")[[labelnote:Postscript]]The location of said sign is now a LOT less than 737 miles from the nearest Buc-ee's. The company opened its first store outside Texas in January 2019 in Robertsdale, Alabama... along I-10. It's since expanded into Florida and several other states.[[/labelnote]] |
| 200 | * The trope image is Big Tex, a massive animatronic cowboy who greets visitors of the State Fair of Texas. He caught fire once, but was quickly rebuilt and continues to be a landmark of Dallas today. |
| 201 | * Texas World Speedway could count, if speeds matter: |
| 202 | ** The fastest speed record ever achieved in a stock car was set at the track in January 2009, by Greg Biffle, topping out at 218 MPH in his Roush Fenway ford. This was achieved in a test session, as Roush Fenway was testing at Texas World Speedway to circumvent NASCAR's rules on testing on tracks NASCAR uses for racing. |
| 203 | * Mario Andretti's qualifying run of 214 MPH in 1973 for an [=IndyCar=] race earned Texas World Speedway "The World's Fastest Speedway" moniker. |
| 204 | * The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex has the current, and one former, record-holder for [[Franks2000InchTV largest video board]] in the world. |
| 205 | ** When Cowboys Stadium first opened, it came with a gigantic screen over the field of play that was touted by their PR department as a 25000 square inch screen; official measurements give the board a 2104" diagonal measurement. This stood as the world's largest video board until May of 2011, when Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina finished installation of a 200' by 80' display on their backstretch. |
| 206 | ** Charlotte's corporate sibling, Texas Motor Speedway[[note]]not to be confused with Texas World Speedway[[/note]], brought the record back to the DFW Metroplex (specifically the far northern edge of Fort Worth) with a 218' by 94' video board. The track gave it the nickname "Big Hoss" when it debuted on the April 2014 race weekend. |
| 207 | * Played with: ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Texas_(BB-35) USS Texas]]'' is the largest UsefulNotes/WorldWarI-era Dreadnought-type battleship in the world... [[LastOfHisKind by virtue of being the last surviving Dreadnought-type battleship in the world]]. |
| 208 | * Texas is the second largest state in America with 268,596.46 square miles, only beaten by Alaska which is 665,384.04 square miles, approximately three times larger. |
| 209 | [[/folder]] |
| 210 |
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