Enjoyed reading again

This is beautiful

Great ttt. Hadn't seen this before incredible read. Thank you for sharing.

Outstanding prose, especially after this incredible 2012-2013 seasm. Captures the Aggie Spirit that lives within all of us. Thanks...

Now forming at the north end of Kyle Field...It's the Nationally Famous Fightin'...Texas...Aggie...Band!...WHOOOOOP!!

Wow.

Nice, OP!

It's dusty in here.

Glad this was bumped enjoyed so much ... So proud of our school ...

Unfortunately, I didn't graduate, (extenuating circumstances) but this is the exact way as to how one becomes an Aggie. It's truly "...a Spirit can ne'er be told"

Maybe someday I'll get to dunk that Ring...

quote:

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...people don't come to Texas A&M and become Aggies, they come to Texas A&M and find the Aggie that's always been inside them.

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This is so very true, at least in my case. Thank-you for sharing this wonderful story.

I hope that I can find a way to teach this to my children.

Your post will help.

Thank you op.

I almost put a tldr on this before I looked more closely ... wow - excellent post!



"Were we to become a top ten university and lose that spirit, those traditions, our culture, we would be nothing more than another giant education factory. A big brain with no heart. Hell, we might as well be in Austin." -Dr. Robert Gates

I took my sons to Aggieland for the first time last week. My wife wanted to go--we hadn't been there since grad school more than ten years ago. My boys are 7 and 5. We only had a few hours and didn't know where to go first. We started with the MSC Medal of Honor displays. I don't know how many times I've read those, but I still can't make it through even one without breaking down. Those are some hard stories to translate to elementary school kids, and they probably wondered why dad's voice sounded funny.

Yada, Yada, Yada, We left town after lunch at the Chicken.

Gig 'Em.

Bump

Gig 'em

Helluva read! Should go into spreadsheets archive

Thanks for bumping this awesome thread.

Good read - also fun to look back and see usernames from the past.

Still a great read.

Incredible job by OP......how the hell I missed this the first time through, or why I chose not to respond.....?

Similar experience for me, I had grown up basically worshipping all things cow, until I had the chance my senior year to take one of my senior trips to Austin to visit the campus and check it out. It just didn't feel right......kinda cold, impersonal.......GENERIC is the best word I can think of. Just a really weird vibe at that place, I wanted to love it, but......meh. Not 6 months later I went to a cousin's graduation ceremony at G Rollie. 1984. First time I had ever set foot on campus. And no lie, within the first 30 minutes I was all in. This was where I was going to school. It instantly felt like home. Friendly people everywhere, and it just had the feel of community that I didn't get at any of my visits anywhere else. Got to meet Dr. Hesby that day.....you think THAT man didn't make an impression on me? Bought the whole A&M experience in one afternoon, hook line & sinker. And almost 30 years later, nothing's changed.......

I have been an Aggie since 1984. I went to my first game and bonfire that year. I concur with the OP, that night at Kyle in 1984 made a lasting impression on me, even at 7. I bleed maroon. No, I do not have a degree, yet, as choices I made when I was 18-20 weren't the best. I am currently going back to school at night at 35, and will put in my transfer application to A&M so that I can attend in the fall of 2014. I want my Aggie Ring! I have always wanted to coach football. I want to coach football at A&M. I want to be able to walk into a recruits living room and tell them what being an Aggie is all about. I will do whatever it takes to get there. I now have 6 beautiful children (all want to be Aggies and one wants to be in the Corp) and have taken them to Parents Weekend and the Spring Game for the last several years. This one was extra special because all 6 kids were able to attend for the very first time. My wife is a Godsend who has supported my dream and desire to be a football coach. She graduated from Central College in Pela, Iowa and I took her to her first game against Oklahoma State in 2010. She felt the "Spirit" the moment she walked in Kyle. It changed her. She is now an Aggie. I love God, my family, and Texas A&M. Sorry so long, but the OP brought back memories.

Wonderful read!

I had a similar experience, but in Waco of all places.

My cousin went to Baylor and I visited him during my senior year of high school (1985) to go to the A&M vs Baylor game. I didn't know anything about A&M.

By halftime, I was watching the Ags in the stands and wishing that I was a part of them. The yells, the spirit...but I was stuck in the passive, pathetic Baylor section. We got outscored in that game, largely due to a horrible roughing the punter call, but it didn't matter. I was hooked.

I visited A&M later that fall. Applied to only one school and was luckily accepted.

Met my wife there. Our son starts at A&M this fall, Class of 2017. We went down to the Arkansas game this year and I was fortunate enough to watch my boy find the Aggie inside him. There is no place better, nothing can compare.

Met my wife the day I graduated from high school. She was headed to A&M, I was headed to tu. I came to College Station to visit her and attend a football game. I knew absolutely NOTHING about A&M....the traditions, the yells, etc. We went to the game, toured the campus and the MSC. I was mesemerized. Long story short- I transferred in next semester and never looked back. Class of '88.

I took a good friend to the Florida/ A&M game last year. She is a huge Gator fan and even wore a Gator jersey to the game, but by the end of the game she was cheering on the Ags. After the game i asked her why she wanted A&M to win the game so badly when she was such a die hard Gator fan. She said she couldnt help it, she was so moved by the fans who never gave up and were yelling as loud when they were losing, as when they were winning.

Its hard to explain, but somewhere standing amongst the students engulfed by the passion she found her inner Aggie. Shes hooked and we'll be going to more games this year.

[This message has been edited by AgRob (edited 4/15/2013 2:37p).]