Don't think east coast bias exists?

Let me cure you of this misconception. I am living proof of it.

In October, I started work on a book. It's a heck of a good subject and I've gotten a lot of help with it. The subject: the 1999 "Bonfire Game" between Texas A&M and the University of Texas. The game took place a week after the collapse of Aggie Bonfire on Nov. 18, which killed 12 Aggies and injured 27. I've talked to everyone from kids who were hurt in the collapse to EMTs, to reporters covering the event to the guy who called the game on ABC. I've gotten an awful lot of support from guys who played in the game on both sides, which is truly remarkable.

For those who aren't familiar, the Aggies were supposed to be a national championship caliber team in 1999 but had three losses; the Longhorns were supposedly a year away, but needed a win against A&M to have a chance at playing for the national championship. The Aggies had been in that spot the year before and lost on the last second in Austin. After the Bonfire collapse and the heartbreak Aggieland suffered, nobody expected A&M to put up much of a fight.

Instead, after falling behind 16-6, the Aggies mounted a comeback and won a stunning upset, 20-16. It was one of the most memorable games in the history of the rivalry--and nobody has written about it in a decade.

So I've got a chance to write about one of the best-known games in college football in the last 25 years. I wrote nearly 150 query letters, trying to get the interest of some book agents. And, lo and behold, I'm actually represented--by a guy from New York!

So what's the point, right? How about this--for all the letters of interest I got (about 20), I got E-mails back from New York-based agents saying, "Yes, I remember that game. And you did a great job with your query. But since it happened in Texas, I'm not interested."

Ok, let's get this straight--we've got a book about one of the worst tragedies of the 1990s combined with college football in an emotional story of overcoming true adversity. The two schools involved are among the five largest in the nation and, oh, college football is king in the south!

I've got a pretty good idea that, if I don't screw this up, it'll sell well. Hell, Aggies alone would probably buy 10,000 copies. So why doesn't it have a release date yet?

Because five out of the eight major publishers have also said that "it's too regional."

Ok, fine. So what if that "region" includes Texas, the second-most populous (and coolest) state in the union. So what if people across the south will gobble up the story because of their love for football? It happened in flyover country, therefore it's just dull, not hip enough and just oh-so inconsequential.

Pathetic.

Oh, well. Someone's going to pick it up and it'll sell well. And then I'm going to fly to New York and laugh.