A Hall of Famer Just Told Denison to Go Kick Some Bearcat Butt

The 128th Battle of the Ax has acquired an outside opinion, and it is not on Sherman's side.

Shaquille O'Neal recorded a video endorsement for the Denison Yellow Jackets this week, describing the fixture as "the longest running rivalry in the great state of Texas" and signing off by telling Denison to "go kick some Bearcat butt."

The video reached Denison through a local DJ who made the contact.

What it is worth

Not points, is the short answer.

A rivalry with 127 previous meetings has survived every kind of outside attention, and a recorded message from a retired basketball player in another state does not change what happens on the field. Sherman has been playing this game since the nineteenth century.

What it does change is attention. A Hall of Fame endorsement travels, and the 128th Battle of the Ax will be watched by people who could not have found Grayson County on a map last week. That cuts both ways for a rivalry that has never needed the help.

The claims in the video

O'Neal's script asserts that Denison has won 12 of 13 games, and that Denison is home to a first round Seahawks draft pick, Jadarian Price.

Neither claim has been independently verified by this site, and both were read from a script by someone with no connection to either school. Bearcat supporters inclined to dispute the first one may want to note that it is his number, not ours.

The fixture

Denison and Sherman have played the Battle of the Ax more times than almost any two schools in Texas. The 128th meeting is the next one.

Sources

https://www.kxii.com/2026/08/26/denison-gets-endorsement-shaquille-oneal-ahead-128th-battle-ax/