SUYL: Tailgating/Sports Teams

"We are the Aggies; the Aggies are We. True to each other as Aggies can be..."

Aggies always do things just a little different...a little bigger if you will. When I started my freshman year at Texas A&M eight years ago, tailgating wasn't really a big deal. Sure, you might see some ticket holders out with their card table and chairs, a small packable grill and some sausages, but usually the tents were only for Corps Reunions. Well, somehow in the last seven years, things have really picked up and you'd be hard-pressed to find an empty lot of grass anywhere near Kyle Field to throw up a tent, tables and chairs.

This is my fourth season as a season ticket holder and while still a work in progress, we've tailgated before (or after) every home game (and even some away games).

These pictures are from pre-post game activities:

This was taken last October. Leah had just celebrated her first anniversary, I was getting married in 40-something days and Michelle had just gotten engaged a week or two earlier. Love these girls!


Jay always finds girls. Always:


The Band and Corps march in. And let me tell you, when you're standing on the grassy median when they split off around you, it. Is. Incredible. Aggie fan or not:

This was taken the same day as the one of Leah, Michelle and I. These are our "we're getting married in 40-something days" faces:

These are from during the game:

The seniors from the Corps of Cadets welcome the football team into the game with a boot line:

We almost always have a flyover:

We use the 12th Man towels that are normally waving fiercely in the air as sun shields:

No matter the outcome of the game when time runs out, we ALWAYS win halftime with our nationally famous band:

We yell. A lot:

One of my favorite memories as a student at A&M was my freshman year. We all remember where we were when the attacks of September 11 took place. Well, I was a freshman just trying to get a little extra sleep one morning when my roommate woke me up to tell me the news. 11 days later, we had a home football game scheduled and my dad was planning on coming. I remember the buzz around campus the few days before about a group of students trying to get together a way to celebrate America. It was supposed to end up that the third deck all wore red, the middle deck white and the bottom deck blue. Our tickets were on the 3rd deck of the student side so I bought a red "Standing for America" t-shirt and told my dad to bring a red shirt with him. I will never forget the tears in our eyes and the gasps we both experienced when we walked out of the third deck walkway and saw this:

(Disclaimer: unfortunately, this is not my photograph, and was instead taken from the seats on the Former Student side. I was actually sitting on the opposite side and I think if you squint really hard you could probably find me somewhere between the 3rd and 4th sets of light on the third deck right next to the lady's American flag. Hehe. Regardless, it was awesome)

And last but not least, we sing the Aggie War Hymn at our wedding receptions:

I can't even begin to tell you about all the traditions at A&M because you and I would both be here for days. But I will say that whether national champions or mediocre barely-a-winning-season, the Ags can pack in 70,000+ fans at every home football game! That's why I LOVE being an Aggie -- true team dedication!

Gig 'em, Aggies! A-WHOOP!