Monday, November 17, 2008

Aggie Football

We went to the A&M/Baylor game on Saturday. WOW . . . how sad!!!! I did find out what's been going on with my team this year, though. For some reason (unknown to most of us!), the coach has decided to bench the seniors and play the freshmen this year. GRRRR!!!! This is wrong on so many levels! Anyways, I'm trying not to dwell on the negative. :-)

One of my cousins is a senior at Baylor this year, and Saturday happened to be senior day. So, she was recognized during halftime. How fun to get to be a part of that!

I haven't been to an Aggie game since my senior (or should I say second senior) year. I'd forgotten how exhausting it can be as a member of the 12th Man! For those of you who've never been to an Aggie Football Game, let me give you a little description: (indoctrinating . . . or brainwashing - however you see it!)

  • The Aggie fans (a.k.a. the 12th Man) DO NOT sit down during the game except during the other team's half time performance.
  • The 12th Man's job is to yell, stomp, clap - basically make as much noise as possible - anytime the other team has the ball.
  • We also do "yells", which are short chants led by the "yell leaders" throughout the game.
  • Aggies never lose . . . sometimes, we run out of time in the game before we finish scoring.
  • No matter the score on the scoreboard when the clocks run out, the Aggies ALWAYS WIN the halftime show!!
  • If our score isn't as high as we'd like when the time runs out, we stick around in the stands for more "yell practice" . . . clearly we didn't yell our team on well enough or our score would have been higher. :-)

These are just a few of the jobs of the 12th Man during each football game - all to cheer on our team. It's really an experience . . . not just a game. Even if you're not a fan of Texas A&M (we can discuss this personally later - I'll try to convert you!) or football, you should experience at least one Aggie Football game in your lifetime!



There's a saying about Texas A&M: "From the outside looking in, you can't understand it. From the inside looking out, you can't explain it." I was reminded of this while sitting with another of my cousins & his wife - neither of which went to A&M. It was fun explaining what was going on during the game with all the people in the stands.

1 comment:

Janna said...

"indoctrinating . . . or brainwashing - however you see it!"

Jenn, I laughed so hard when I read this. You know as an alum you don't have to be in the 12th man anymore! Yeah, I know that is part of the fun though. I'll never forget a yell practice that Mitra took me too. Sadly it was before an AR game, but it was so much fun to see traditions I've grown up knowing put in action.