Last weekend I had a sporting experience that transcended the football game which I had traveled to see. My family and I were invited to go to the Texas A&M v. Baylor game. I was very excited as I enjoy visiting College Station (my oldest son is a freshman there) and this game had bowl implications. If the Aggies won, they would be bowl eligible for the first time in a while with six wins. In addition, I have a distant connection to the Aggies as I coached Matt Sherman (son of Aggie Coach) at STH. I really believe his dad will be a huge success in Aggieland. However, the biggest reason for my excitment was due to the fact that this was my first gametime visit to Kyle Field. Despite having watched a large number of A&M games in my almost 21 years in Texas, I had never gone to one of their games - I could not have imagined how amazing the experience would be.
The experience began shortly after our arrival with the Corps "Step Off". Watching the entire Corps of Cadets marching to the stadium reminded me of my time in the Army. We were in the middle of the boulevard as they marched past - very cool to see them on both sides of you and chilling at the same time. After watching the Corps march we moved through the hordes of supporters and tailgaters. It was a fantastic festival atmosphere in which everyone seemed to be full of excitment and anticipation. A visitor is struck by the friendliness of everyone, of course it does not hurt if you have Aggie kit on!
The pre-game rituals (yell leaders and drumming the team on the field) were impressive, but not as impressive of watching roughly 40,000 students file into the student section. Amazing! The 12th Man support throughout the game is truely unique to college football and perhaps in all of college sports. However, my favorite part of the day was the halftime performance of the Fighting Aggie Band. I have seen them on TV, but nothing beats being there and man, the band was something to brag about!
I remember ten years ago when the Bonfire tragedy occured and while I shared the sorrow of all my fellow Texans, I was a bit perplexed by the outpouring of grief by Aggies I knew. I didn't get it. My day in Aggieland gave me to a sudden understanding of it all. Aggies love their school, the team, and each other. The traditions which are a part of their four (or five or six) years at A&M meld them together with a shared experience. It becomes a part of who they are - and they spend the rest of their life serving as keepers of those traditions. They take care of their own and delight in allowing the uninitiated to share in their experience. Thank you Aggieland for a great day and an experience that was only remotely about a football game. I drank the Kool-Aide and man does it taste good!
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