by Bob Francis, Fort Worth Report
September 6, 2026
Football is big business. Particularly in Texas.
So, along with two-a-days in the blistering August heat, Jerry Jones’ blustery talk of championships and high school coaches being Monday morning quarterbacked out of a gig, it’s a time to both Fear the Frog and climb on the sponsorship bandwagon. From bobbleheads to tequila to supermarkets to custom boots with four figure price tags, companies are hoping for a big score this season. Here are some with local ties.
Let’s start with the just-back-from-Ireland TCU Horned Frogs. We poured out the details last week about Fort Worth-based La Pulga Tequila’s new 2026 Horned Frogs Limited Edition Tequila Blanco with a limited-edition Horned Frogs Three-Year Collection box set also available.
While TCU may have lost the game across the pond, there is a bobblehead at the end of the rainbow for the mighty Horned Frogs. While TCU fans are drowning their sorrows in a bottle of Horned Frog tequila over the loss, they can at least stare at an officially licensed, limited-edition TCU “Fear the Frog” Bobblehead, which was announced on Sept. 4. The bobbleheads are part of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum’s college slogan series.
That of course brings up the question of the origin of the “Fear the Frog” slogan. It began in 2012, TCU’s inaugural Big 12 Conference season. Now, the 45-foot tall, 90-foot wide purple cloth banners with those words have become a tradition at home games. Hoisted by students across the lower east side of Amon G. Carter Stadium, the banner is unveiled during home games to rally school spirit.
That giant flag has now been joined by two other, much older TCU slogans that have been made into banners: “Riff Ram Bah Zoo” and “Give ‘em hell TCU.” As to the origin of those cheers, the lineage is less clear. The full cheer is:
Riff, Ram, Bah Zoo
Lickety, Lickety, Zoo, Zoo
Who, Wah, Wah, Who
Give ’em Hell, TCU.
According to TCU, it’s the oldest cheer in the Southwest Conference (a once-mighty football conference), and appeared in the 1905 Horned Frog yearbook with slightly different words.
The bobblehead is of SuperFrog decked out in football gear. According to the school, TCU is nicknamed the Horned Frogs because the football field was supposedly covered in native Texas horned lizards when the school started its football program in Waco in 1896. A unique college mascot, “Addie the All-American Frog” debuted as TCU’s mascot in 1949, then became SuperFrog in 1979. It wasn’t until 1999 that the mascot underwent a more modern transformation into the SuperFrog that TCU students know now and is used as the basis of the bobblehead.
The bobbleheads cost $40 and will ship in February. They are individually numbered to 2,026.
In pro football news, two of the state’s top brands are joining for a little cross promotion. Grocery giant H-E-B and the Dallas Cowboys are teaming up. Kicking off this season, fans will see new game-day experiences, Cowboys-themed in-store activations, ticket and merchandise giveaways, player-led commercials and nonprofit support in North Texas.
New H-E-B commercials will feature Cowboys stars Dak Prescott, Brandon Aubrey, Caleb Downs and DeMarvion Overshown. As part of the deal, H-E-B is donating $500,000 to 10 DFW-area nonprofits, plus up to $50,000 to The Salvation Army tied to Cowboys defensive sacks. The nonprofits that received $50,000 each were: Arlington Charities, Community Food Bank, Crossroads Community Services, Denton Freedom House Food Pantry, Frisco Family Services, GRACE Grapevine, Heart of the City Lewisville, Irving Cares, Samaritan Inn Food Pantry and Trusted World.
H-E-B doesn’t do footwear, but don’t worry, the Dallas Cowboys have that covered too.
Lucchese Bootmaker has introduced the latest iteration of itstheir Dallas Cowboys collection, marking the company’s third year as the official bootmaker of the team. You can celebrate the Cowboys’ founding year with “The 1960,” a boot utilizing the team’s colors and, of course, the iconic star. It retails for $3,495.
Mergers & Acquisitions
Fort Worth-based Distribution Solutions Group has acquired American Fasteners Corp., a South Florida distributor of fasteners, tools, construction supplies and industrial products. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The acquisition strengthens Distribution Solutions’s maintenance, repair and operations business by expanding its customer base and presence in the South Florida market and providing a base to reach export markets throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.
American Fasteners was founded in 1981.
“American Fasteners is a highly respected business with strong customer relationships and an excellent position in the South Florida market,” said J. Bryan King, chairman and CEO of Distribution Solutions Group. “This acquisition is a natural extension of our strategy to build scale in maintenance, repair and operations through high-quality businesses that expand our capabilities, customer relationships and geographic reach.”
American Fasteners has annual revenues of approximately $39 million, according to the news release.
DSG is a specialty distribution company providing products and services to the maintenance, repair & operations, original equipment manufacturer and industrial technologies markets.
Hudson House to Southlake
Southlake will be getting some ice-cold martinis.
Hudson House restaurants is adding a location in Southlake. Hudson House owners, Dallas-based Vandelay Companies, plan to open the group’s east coast–inspired neighborhood restaurant known for their ice-cold martinis on Sept. 14. The new, 5,000-square-foot restaurant is located at 1131 E. Southlake Blvd. There are currently nine Hudson House locations around Texas, including one in Fort Worth at 4600 Dexter Ave.
Joint venture in Austin
Fort Worth-based Trademark Property Company has formed a joint venture with Cohen & Steers to acquire Oak Hill Plaza, a shopping center in Austin. The center is 92.5% occupied with tenants including Wells Fargo, Jim’s Restaurant, The Picklr, Pluckers, Dollar Tree and AutoZone. With the center, Trademark Property now has three properties in the area.
Bowie House refinanced
Fort Worth’s boutique hotel Bowie House, Auberge Collection has been refinanced. JLL Capital Markets announced the refinancing of the original $40 million loan for the property that opened in December 2023. JLL arranged a floating-rate loan for up to five years through MetLife.
Bowie House, Auberge Collection is a 106-key, 192,052-square-foot luxury boutique hotel located at 3700 Camp Bowie Blvd. The hotel has earned two Michelin keys honors and has served as a location for several scenes in Taylor Sheridan’s “Landman” series.
Do you have news for Bob on Business? Email business editor Bob Francis at [email protected].
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