Who is Bevo Hat Guy? Meet Texas football's newest superfan, Jack Maddox

If you’ve been to any University of Texas sporting event, you’ve seen him in the front row of the crowd.

Apron on, shirt off, horns up and a stuffed Bevo duct-taped to a cowboy hat. The Longhorn plush bobs up and down as UT sophomore and superfan Jack Spencer Maddox screams his lungs out, cheering for whichever sport's team he’s supporting that day.

Known as “THE Bevo Hat Guy” on Instagram, Maddox is quickly making a name for himself as the newest Longhorns superfan. He has been to every home football game, every home basketball game and all but two home volleyball games. He missed those because it was Oklahoma week and, well, he can’t be everywhere no matter how hard he tries.

“In reality, it's either I'm going to the games, I'm in line, or I get out of line and I'm like, I'm just hitting the books and then the library. I'm like losing sleep, you know, and it's pretty intense getting all that work done, but it's basically football games and sports games and the homework,” Maddox said.

A pre-med major, Maddox has an infectious enthusiasm that has helped him balance the incredible workload that comes with his major and the dedication it takes to consistently be on the railings for each game he attends.

His craziest feat? Getting in line for last year’s Texas vs. Gonzaga men’s basketball game, which had a start time of 8 p.m., around 5 or 6 a.m. Alternating between class and line duties, Maddox traded spots with fellow fans for hours, bringing them water and food regularly before the game finally started.

The Longhorns won 93-74, but the job wasn’t finished. Maddox immediately pivoted to his student life as soon as the game ended.

“Everyone was going crazy. But then I literally pulled an all-nighter in the PCL (Perry-Castañeda Library), finishing a presentation. I think I had like 30 minutes of sleep and a triple shot of espresso, and I got through my presentation,” Maddox said.

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UT vs. Texas A&M: Growing up in a split household

What inspired this kind of dedication? It wasn’t as easy as simply growing up with the Longhorns. The Maddox family is a split household in terms of fandom, with his father donning the burnt orange and his mother being dedicated to UT’s eternal rival, Texas A&M. The oldest of a set of triplets, Maddox eventually chose his dad’s side.

His siblings decided to join the Aggies, and with the success that Texas has enjoyed this season in making the College Football Playoff, Maddox has made sure to rub it in.

"Like, almost negative season, below .500 win rate (actually 7-6), yeah, they definitely hear it a lot. Honestly, I know they get mad at it. My sister has told me she doesn't, like, appreciate it,” Maddox said with a grin.

“But you know, as the oldest brother by 10 and 20 seconds, I have to let them know what's good.”

The idea for his iconic hat was conceived during a first-grade birthday party. A young Maddox decided to Build-A-Bevo in a Build-A-Bear as a child, the first step in his journey. More than a decade later, that same animal was getting taped to his hat and turned into a brand, infuriating Maddox’s maroon-loving mother.

“Not under my roof,” she fumed at the time. As her son’s popularity grew, though, she relented, accepting the Texas fandom and even enjoying it to an extent.

Building a Longhorns fandom

While his family might conflict with his fandom, the relationship Maddox has developed with his fellow Texas fans has been crucial. With the time constraints and logistics, he wouldn’t be able to do what he does without the community created through his dedication.

He admits that gaining momentum was rough. What sane person willingly begins waiting in line at Royal-Memorial Stadium at 8 p.m. when the game starts at 11 a.m.?

Well, it turns out that there are quite a few. As fellow fans began to see his iconic hat more and more and recognized his dedication, his small group of freshman friends turned into a burgeoning community.

“Those are my closest friends now, are like the people I've been going to games with for a year and a half. I would have never met them without kind of going to all these games, which has been really nice, honestly,” Maddox said.

There have been plenty of memorable moments in his brief career as a superfan: A kind DM from volleyball coach Jerritt Elliott, who thanked Maddox for his energy. Building relationships with athletes such as Jackson Prince, Brock Cunningham and even Kadin Shedrick, who invited Maddox to play online games with him over break.

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Texas vs. Washington: A Sugar Bowl prediction

Now? It’s Sugar Bowl time, with Maddox and his friends having claimed free student tickets online on a first-come, first-served basis that involved 19 web browser tabs and multiple open windows.

The Longhorns’ volleyball team swept its way to a second consecutive national title, but it’s looking to be a tough test for the football program. Washington’s passing attack, led by Michael Penix Jr., is a hard matchup for the Texas secondary.

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Maddox, in all his youthful optimism, predicts a 38-24 win. Even before the season — cliché as it is — he believed there was something different about Texas. He predicted the Bama beatdown and said that a win in New Orleans in the semifinals would lead to a win in Houston in the championship game.

“I've been saying since before the season started that if there's a year that we could surprise ourselves to win a national championship, it’s this year,” Maddox said.

Fans are rarely rewarded for their faith in their team. The more dedicated the fans, the more they set themselves up for disappointment.

There is something about Maddox’s consistent zeal for Texas that infects those around him, though. And if his team wins on Monday, it’ll be on display for the world to see.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Texas football's newest superfan Bevo Hat Guy is ready for Sugar Bowl