A guy posting on Premium said that Environment/Health/Safety put the kabosh on the cannon on the tower. This is, of course, in direct conflict with what the Commandant said on here a few days ago. Anyone know any anything?

Premium Thread

I thought for sure it was false but someone else got on and said they had heard something similar about it being moved to a practice field. Hopefully someone will get on here and clarify.

While we have not yet finalized the location of the cannon for this weekend's game, the one thing we DO know is that it will NOT be in the stadium.

Although last Saturday we thought the top of the SW tower was an option, we were very premature in our analysis, and failed to take into account safety concerns, structural concerns, and impact on concessions and fans seated and standing in that area. Once we were apprised of all those concerns, we started looking for other options. At this time we have NOT yet finalized a location for the cannon, but will be conducting more testing this evening to hopefully find a location that works for all - including the Environmental Health and Safety folks.

Once we know a set location for the cannon, we will let everyone know. Regardless of where we place the cannon, it will still be a great game day for all, we will all enjoy the newly renovated stadium, and the Ags will Beat the HELL Outta Lamar!

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

Thanks sir. Hopefully y'all can get it in the stadium permanently when the west is redone.

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While we have not yet finalized the location of the cannon for this weekend's game, the one thing we DO know is that it will NOT be in the stadium.

Although last Saturday we thought the top of the SW tower was an option, we were very premature in our analysis, and failed to take into account safety concerns, structural concerns, and impact on concessions and fans seated and standing in that area. Once we were apprised of all those concerns, we started looking for other options. At this time we have NOT yet finalized a location for the cannon, but will be conducting more testing this evening to hopefully find a location that works for all - including the Environmental Health and Safety folks.

Once we know a set location for the cannon, we will let everyone know. Regardless of where we place the cannon, it will still be a great game day for all, we will all enjoy the newly renovated stadium, and the Ags will Beat the HELL Outta Lamar!

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

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Thanks for the update sir but from a planning standpoint this is unacceptable. Where were the health and safety folks when laying this out. The administration needs to get this figured out. Change order if needed to create a spot for the cannon. Huge black eye for the administration.

The new M101A1 105mm cannon is going to be placed on the practice football field just south of the stadium for the football game this Saturday. The PMC cannon crew will man the cannon, as they have in the past with the Spirit of '02. There will be a live feed of the game for the crew to watch, and a video camera will be taping the crew also. When the team scores, the camera will video the crew firing the cannon, the cannon will fire, and it will be shown on the jumbotron with a live feed.

Given that we can't place the cannon in the stadium for safety reason, this is the best and safest procedure for the cannon at this time. We are going to look at other options for the cannon next season, but for this season we feel confident that this is the best option that works for all. The cannon will be placed on the practice field tonight, and the site is NOT open to the public, at any time. The Spirit of '02 will still fire for step-off on the quad, and will still march in with the PMC.

As mentioned in a previous post, I fully understand that this is a change to how the cannon has been used in the past, but as you will see if you're attending the game this weekend, Kyle Field has changed - A LOT. As a result, we have had to change a lot of how we've done business in the past - including march-in and the cannon. However, while we have modified our procedures to accommodate the newly renovated stadium, it is still the same game day experience, with the Corps march-in, the pass in review, the Aggie Band marching at halftime, and the cannon firing after every score.

We look forward to a great game this Saturday, and to learning some lessons with the new stadium. Regardless of what we learn, it will still be a great game, the Corps, Aggie Band, and PMC will still be a big part of the game day experience, and I know the 100,000+ fans are going to have a great time in the "new" Kyle Field.

Thanks for your support of our Corps! BTHO Lamar!

-__-

Thanks for the update sir. I know you can only play the cards you're dealt. For your info, a number of us are planning to bring this up to the powers that be frequently. We were promised that our unique traditions would be carefully considered and included in the new stadium, and from march-in to midnight yell to the cannon, the ball has been dropped. Not acceptable.

Jock, what has been changed about Yell?

Rotating butts. Not enough room.

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Rotating butts. Not enough room.

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Different outfits at each midnight yell? That sucks in the sense that butts miss out on all the yells, but that's good that the Corps has grown.

Also, what's happening with the cannon at midnight yell.

Cannon will still fire at Midnight Yell. From the SW tunnel firing to the north, away from the crowd. But the Spirit of '02 will STILL fire at Midnight Yell.

Commandant79 - thanks for all the hard work to keep A&M from being just like any other generic school.
I can't wait to see a game the next time I'm stateside in November.
The last game I went to, the whole entrance with the flag girls was a little strange but I'll get over it with a few explosions from a howitzer.

Were there any butts on the field last night? If those are cadets, It looks like no more than a handful of outfits.

Nevermind, it looks like there were a few outfits.

That cannon silliness was straight retarded last night. It would be better to shut it down than continue with the video feed from another location

Taking this up a few...

I know there are audio limitations to broadcasting a game, but the cannon was noticeably absent on TV. I hope a change order goes in to deal with this in the second phase of reconstruction.

It was not only notable absent on TV but also inside Kyle Field as well, except for the CCTV feed. I don't have a solution but I am concerned about the can of worms the current "solution" opens.

Just curious....why did we get a new cannon?

As I've mentioned before, the solution we have for the cannon this year is for THIS YEAR only. We will look for other options next year as the renovation of Kyle Field is completed. We have some tweaks to make to the live feed, but overall I thought it went better than expected. Sure, its not the same as having the cannon fire in the stadium, but its a workable solution, and we'll get better at it with each game.

As for TV, the cannon firing has NEVER been an "automatic" thing for TV networks to show. Having watched A&M football on TV around the world for over 30 years, I RARELY saw the cannon fired while watching games on TV. We rarely saw the Aggie Band on TV either - something I still get asked about often.

The bottom line wrt TV is that we don't control what ESPN, CBS, NBC, FOX, ABC, or even the SEC Network show on TV. I would love those networks to show Midnight Yell Practice, Step-off, the march-ins, the halftime performances by the Aggie Band, and even the fish capturing the Yell Leaders at the end of the game - but those rarely get any coverage by the networks. If they do, its usually a quick 10-15 second clip, then they move on to something else. I am pleased that when the networks pan the crowd, that cadets USUALLY get shown at various times.

I realize the live feed of the cannon firing at a location outside the stadium isn't the optimum solution, but its a workable solution for the time being, and we WILL do all we can to find something more viable for next year. In the meantime, this years solution is this years solution - its not going to change this year, but we will try our best to make it better for the next game.

Thanks again for all your support of our Corps! Beat the HELL Outta Rice!

I think Ryan meant that we couldn't hear it on TV like we have in the past.

Commandant79 - thanks for listening sir and continuing to work a better solution on this. I really hope that all parties can converge on an idea which somehow allows the cannon to be part of the stadium next year. I'm not a fan of the live feed but completely understand that this is the most workable solution at this time. Many fellow CTs & BQs will likely disagree with me on this but at this point I'd settle for 4 static displays of cannons on each activation tower and the actual cannon on static display somewhere on the field. Just throwing ideas out to you but really hoping we can bring the cannon back into/on top of Kyle in some way next season. Thanks again for all you do and have done to bring Corps end strength back up.

V/R,

N-1 '89
FDT '89
USN Forever

redcrayon is correct.

A&M is one of the finest engineering schools in the world. I'm sure SOMEONE could engineer a sound dampening method that could deal with the decibel issue.

What if they built a wall that the cannon faced and fired directly into so sound and powder wouldn't be directly going at anybody, but it would reflect back on the firing crew. And then there's also the smoke issue.

Instead of the new howitzer, how about finding and refurbishing an old pak 75. Small, easily transportable, and still put out a good size bang!

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Although last Saturday we thought the top of the SW tower was an option, we were very premature in our analysis, and failed to take into account safety concerns, structural concerns, and impact on concessions and fans seated and standing in that area.

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What explanation for this failure to account for "safety concerns, structural concerns, ...." could possibly be acceptable?? You state that an analysis was performed, but that analysis did NOT account for safety??

That is completely unacceptable, irresponsible, and unprofessional. Regardless of the dynamic situation and changes to precedent, SAFETY and structural concerns should NEVER be omitted from any analysis as related to this (or any similar) scenario.

As such, I have several questions in the interest of the safety and health of the public:

• Who performed this analysis?
  
• What are their credentials?
  
• Who evaluated the qualifications of those performing this analysis?

First, let me just say that I love the Cannon. The Spirit of '02, specifically, but I even love the idea of upgrading to the Howitzer. I was in the Corps, I love that something the Corps does gets so much attention at games, I love that a few other schools have "cannons" that ours blows right out of the water.

Second, and I hate to say it, but if the best solution is to set the cannon outside of Kyle, and video it, playing said video on Gigatron, because you can't hear the cannon otherwise, that's hokey. How does anyone know we didn't just video the cannon previously? If that's the best solution, end it. Traditions die- it's terrible, tragic, and we hate it, but sometimes, for a lot of reasons, they just have to die.

Third, if we don't want the tradition to die, come up with an effective way to put the cannon in Kyle. Or on top of Kyle. Whatever.

That's all I've got.

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First, let me just say that I love the Cannon. The Spirit of '02, specifically, but I even love the idea of upgrading to the Howitzer. I was in the Corps, I love that something the Corps does gets so much attention at games, I love that a few other schools have "cannons" that ours blows right out of the water.

Second, and I hate to say it, but if the best solution is to set the cannon outside of Kyle, and video it, playing said video on Gigatron, because you can't hear the cannon otherwise, that's hokey. How does anyone know we didn't just video the cannon previously? If that's the best solution, end it. Traditions die- it's terrible, tragic, and we hate it, but sometimes, for a lot of reasons, they just have to die.

Third, if we don't want the tradition to die, come up with an effective way to put the cannon in Kyle. Or on top of Kyle. Whatever.

That's all I've got.

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This is being shared on FB, dated yesterday;

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"The University has decided we will set up one cannon as a decoy and play a recording of the old cannon firing during the games. "

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Can anyone confirm or deny? (Please say it ain't so...)

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Although last Saturday we thought the top of the SW tower was an option, we were very premature in our analysis, and failed to take into account safety concerns, structural concerns, and impact on concessions and fans seated and standing in that area.

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What explanation for this failure to account for "safety concerns, structural concerns, ...." could possibly be acceptable?? You state that an analysis was performed, but that analysis did NOT account for safety??

That is completely unacceptable, irresponsible, and unprofessional. Regardless of the dynamic situation and changes to precedent, SAFETY and structural concerns should NEVER be omitted from any analysis as related to this (or any similar) scenario.

As such, I have several questions in the interest of the safety and health of the public:

• Who performed this analysis?
  
• What are their credentials?
  
• Who evaluated the qualifications of those performing this analysis?

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Welcome to A&M. This happens all the time in what they build; this is just the first time you may have noticed.

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Although last Saturday we thought the top of the SW tower was an option, we were very premature in our analysis, and failed to take into account safety concerns, structural concerns, and impact on concessions and fans seated and standing in that area.

---

What explanation for this failure to account for "safety concerns, structural concerns, ...." could possibly be acceptable?? You state that an analysis was performed, but that analysis did NOT account for safety??

That is completely unacceptable, irresponsible, and unprofessional. Regardless of the dynamic situation and changes to precedent, SAFETY and structural concerns should NEVER be omitted from any analysis as related to this (or any similar) scenario.

As such, I have several questions in the interest of the safety and health of the public:

• Who performed this analysis?
  
• What are their credentials?
  
• Who evaluated the qualifications of those performing this analysis?

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Welcome to A&M. This happens all the time in what they build; this is just the first time you may have noticed.

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That is a very provocative claim... I assume that by "they" you mean University officials/staff (since that was the premise of my original statement). Could you provide examples of what you mean by "all the time," please? Again, you are making a significant accusation.

I can provide examples.
However, this being a public forum I must respectfully decline to do so.

I suggest asking people in maintenance. They are the ones who have to fix things once the opening press conference is over and the building opens.

Latest I've heard...Commandant79, can you confirm or deny? Thank you.

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I talked with some guys who are in the Cav. I asked if they have heard anything recently about the cannon.

They were pretty upset. They said that as today, the '02 will be used at step off. The new cannon will sit outside of the stadium at the southeast corner. The firing pin will be removed and it will be for looks only. We will have a prerecorded firing shown on the gigatron. There will be no live fire after scores.

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From looking into this matter, it appears that absolutely NO ONE in an administrative position with the university wishes to take ownership of the banishment of the cannon from Kyle. Heck, no one even will take responsibility for the decision to place the cannon on the practice field. What's the real story? They promised us a new stadium that would not only preserve our traditions, but highlight them. Who is behind all this? Phillip Ray? Mark Hussey? John Sharp? Regents? We need someone with which we can establish a dialogue.