So the Corps will march in on grass?

Another question, where will the Band & Corps be seated? From looking at the construction cams I'm not sure I see an entrance from the field into the stands for the band.

Also....

With grass for the march in, the Cav's horse dung will be interesting.

I've answered this question before on a different thread, but am happy to address it again - especially since I walked Kyle Field with the Athletic Dep't reps two weeks ago.

Yes, the Corps will still march into Kyle Field this year as we have in the past. It'll be different than years past due to the renovations, and we'll no doubt learn some lessons that very first game that we'll have to adjust to, but the Corps will still march into Kyle Field this year just as we have in the past. That includes the PMC.

Yes, the entire field will have grass this year, but we'll still be able to march in. Yes, it'll be interesting to have the Cav marching in on grass, followed by the Corps, but we'll work it and ensure that we don't disrupt the sidelines for the teams (we've already discussed what we need to do to ensure we keep the sidelines "clean."). The grass on the sidelines is only going to occur this year. Next year, when the stadium is complete, there WILL be a track around the field, which will make the march-ins a lot easier and more reminiscent of years past.

The Band and Corps will sit in pretty much the same place in the stadium as last year. The band will sit in the northeast corner of the stadium, between the 10 and 30 yard lines. The Corps will sit to the north of the band into the northeast corner of the stadium. Any overflow will sit in the south end zone. You will see this year that the Corps will still pretty much fill up the lower level of the north east corner of the stadium, just as they have in years past.

I hope this answers your questions. As I mentioned earlier, we are going to learn a LOT that first game about how to do our march-ins the most effective way possible, but the Corps WILL STILL march-in and we will adjust as necessary after that first game to ensure we can continue to do so the entire football season.

The renovated stadium is going to be a great venue for football, and will also be a great venue for our Corps to march-in, just as we have for decades past.

Thanks for your support of our Corps! Gig 'em!



[This message has been edited by Commandant79 (edited 8/2/2014 11:49a).]

Goodbull! Can't wait to watch some zips slip in their boots as they march around the grass field

I'm not sure why there is so much concern about marching on grass. The corps did it for a hundred years on Simpson.

The cavalry will march in before the Corps? Colonel Adams always said that what separates a good parade from a bad parade is that in a good parade, the horses come last.

Cav has been marching in before the Corps for years. Main reason is to get them through the stadium, then load them up and get them back to the Fiddlers Green as quickly as possible so they don't disrupt traffic around the stadium.

This has worked well from what I've seen in the short time I've been here. The "pooper scoopers" follow the Cav and do their best to ensure the track is clean for the follow-on formations. From what I've seen, they do a great job, and from my vantage point, all the march-ins have been GREAT parades.

I've been more parades than I can count, and it's not a real parade if you don't step in some horse sh*t.

I wonder if the horse poop will smear in the grass when they try to shovel it up

Still not a fan of the Cav coming in before the Corps and with no music playing. It's as if they are a seperate organization. As a PMC member in the late 70's I loved coming into Kyle with the band playing "Gary Owen" or "The Yellow Rose of Texas!"

Can't say I disagree with you, DevilD. Unfortunately, MANY things have changed since we used to march-in the way we did in the late 70s. And its going to change again with the current stadium renovations.

What we are committed to is trying to maintain as much of the storied tradition of the Corps march-in to Kyle Field as we can, while adjusting as necessary to the many changes that continue to take place on an annual basis at Texas A&M and Kyle Field.

Having the Cav march-in first is as much about safety and timing as anything else. Can't say I like it all that much either, but at least the Cav STILL marches in, just like the rest of the Corps does, and continues to carry on that tradition, despite all the changes to the stadium, the pre-game routine, and those who say that its "too hard" to do. I'll take that over NOT having the Cav march in at all - which some have advocated.

Thanks for your support of our our Corps! Gig 'em!

[This message has been edited by Commandant79 (edited 8/3/2014 10:45a).]

Definitely looking forward to seeing the Corps (including Cav) at the march-ins this year.

And you have our support.

Waiting for the cav to recreate the Mud March after a week long downpour with their little half section.



[This message has been edited by BQ78 (edited 8/4/2014 12:16p).]

Sir, where will the Spirit of '02 be? If there's room inside, are they going to have to use reduced loads?

[This message has been edited by bigtruckguy3500 (edited 8/4/2014 3:29p).]

The Spirit of '02 will be placed OUTSIDE the stadium in the southeast corner. There will be a pad for it there, and it will still fire after all scores. The athletic dept is going to run a live TV feed to the gun crew, plus they'll have the stadium folks on walkie talkie, so they'll know when to fire after scores.

We had to move the gun outside the stadium because after several tests inside the stadium, it was determined that no matter what size of powder charge we fired, we exceeded acceptable decibel levels no matter where inside the stadium we fired it. The 12th man Foundation folks have been great in working with us on an alternate solution outside the stadium, and we believe it will work fine in the southeast corner, and that the crowd will still be able to hear it fire.

Just so you know, we will use the Spirit of '02 to fire for games until Nov, when we are bringing in a refurbished M101A1, 105mm howitzer to fire at the stadium in the future. The Spirit of '02 will still fire for all other events, including step-off, and will still march into the stadium with the Cav (as well as parades and other events), but the new 105mm howitzer will fire for football games in the future. The new gun will be housed with the Cav, but will be a showpiece gun that will be used for games only.

Hope this answers your question. Thanks for your support of our Corps. Gig 'em!

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=722432197824768

Here is a video of the new cannon firing!!

quote:

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until Nov, when we are bringing in a refurbished M101A1, 105mm howitzer to fire at the stadium in the future

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That is ridiculous. And by ridiculous (or ridic as the HS kids say), I mean

RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME!

Can you imagine how cool that would be if still played t.u.?

Agreed. If it had to be replaced, at least we replaced it with something awesome.

We used to use a "modern" looking howitzer in the north end zone in the early-to-mid 60's. Don't know what ever happened to that weapon....

An 8" howitzer would be awesome. A 105mm is a peashooter but that will be just fine. Worked with a guy who was on the helping crew of a towed 155mm that was at the famous '63 t.u. game at Kyle. Talked about how the report shook the glass in the press box a bit much. I believe that was the last time for an FA piece at a game until the 3" gun was found/refurbished around 1980.

In years back the Aggie Band was on the field, not in the stands, during March In. PMC entered last. The Band entered the field thru the tunnel in the horseshoe, marched down the south end zone line, did a counter march and stopped at midfield. Then we did a right flank and moved to the stands. This was before the team came back onto the field for pre-game stuff. The tunnel disappeared after the Zone construction and pre-game is longer now, so the routine had to change. Time moved on.

Any tradition we can keep/maintain in this 'sea change' period is OK with me. March In continues and that is good.

Awesome howitzer!

I don't think it would have been too difficult or too expensive (in the big picture) to put an elevated platform on one of the new corners of Kyle for a fixed artillery piece.

I know, it is only money...

Decibels, too loud. Thank a lawyer.

Believe it or not, that WAS an option, and we had planned to put a Pack 75 howitzer on some sort of elevated platform in the Southeast corner of the stadium on a permanent basis. However, design issues, location issues, and of course, noise issues made this an untenable option.

We are pleased with the location outside the stadium, and are grateful that the 12th Man Foundation took the cannon into account as they looked at final designs for the stadium. I am confident that the new 105mm howitzer will make a very BOLD statement that will be heard - and possibly felt - by ALL when our team scores, which I hope happens OFTEN this year.

Lots of car alarms going off too.

So reading the new TEXAS AGGIE, there will no longer be a reviewing stand?

There is going to be a Reviewing Stand area this year, but we will NOT be able to use the "trailer" that has been used as a reviewing stand the past few years. Not enough room for it with the new renovations. The Reviewing Stand area this year will be in front of the front row of seats on the West side of the stadium, and access will be restricted only to those who have the credentials to be part of the Reviewing Party.

In the future there IS going to be a Reviewing Stand, but we have yet to determine where it will be and how large it will be. Those discussions are forthcoming with the Athletic Dept. I do NOT anticipate that we will have the large reviewing stand as we have in the recent past. More to follow, but I do not believe the new reviewing stand will be anywhere as large as the "trailer" reviewing stand we have used in the recent past.

Again, a lot more to follow on this subject, but we WILL have a Reviewing Stand in the future for Corps March-ins.

Thanks for your support of our Corps. Gig 'em!

Thanks for the info

WBBQ74 - I was there and recall it that way too.
When I first started at A&M the PMC was not in existence - and when it first started it followed the Corps at March-In...
And, the FTAB did center up on Kyle during March-In...

Makes sense for the PMC to go first so they can stable and change in time for the game.

[This message has been edited by Commandant79 (edited 8/30/2014 5:13p).]

Sir, will the march-in still happen an hour and a half before kickoff like normal?

[This message has been edited by austinm14 (edited 8/30/2014 3:27p).]

Great news regarding the cannon. This will be an awesome experience!

The cannon inside Kyle again!

Well done!

General, it's not clear to me which gun will be used on top of the SW tower. Will it be the Spirit of '02 taken up there after march-in?