Posted: Thursday, November 9, 2006 6:00 pm
Here are some of the more notable traditions at Texas A&M:
12th Man
Perhaps the best-known of the Aggie football traditions, the 12th Man — the practice of the A&M student body standing during the entire game — has a strong Husker connection. Dana X. Bible, who would later coach at Nebraska, was the Aggies’ head coach in 1922 when E. King Gill, a former football player, was called from the press box to stand at the ready on the sidelines during a big game against mighty Centre College. Gill later said, “I simply stood by in case my team needed me.”
Aggie Band
Many believe the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band puts on the best halftime show in the land. All the musicians, all 350 of them, are members of A&M’s Corps of Cadets. The band is led by the Senior Boots, senior class members who wear boots to signify their leader status. The Senior Boots greet the A&M football players when they return to the field after the halftime intermission.
Aggie Ring
You can often tell an Aggie by the ring worn by graduates. They are all the same —- each showing various symbols held dear at A&M — except for the class year.
Bonfire
A symbol of the Aggies’ burning desire to beat Texas when the two rivals play, the tradition of building a massive bonfire started in 1909. There was no bonfire in 1963 following the assassination of President Kennedy, and the tradition was stopped on campus in 1999 after 12 students were killed in a collapse while the logs were being assembled for the annual event. The tradition now continues off-campus.
Gig 'em
Frog hunters are known to "gig" their prey, and the cheer at Texas A&M started before the TCU game in 1930, when A&M regent Pinky Downs answered his own question of “What are we going to do to those Horned Frogs?” with a resounding “Gig ’em, Aggies!”
Midnight Yell
The Midnight Yell, or Yell Practice, is held the night before home games in Kyle Field and on Thursday nights before away games at the Grove. The purpose is to get the student body, the 12th Man, fired up for the game. The Yell is also held on the night before road games in the city of the opponent. The Yell includes old Army yells and the school fight song.
Mugging down
That’s what they call the kissing that goes on with Aggie fans after every A&M score. They say you’re supposed to get your kissing practice in when the lights go out at the end of Yell Practice.
Reveille
One of the more famous mascots in all of sports, A&M’s prized pooch is treated like a queen. She wasn’t always a collie, as she is today. The first Reveille — she started barking at the bugle call — was a little, black-and-white dog who had been injured when she was struck by a car carrying a group of cadets. When a Reveille dies — the current mascot is Reveille VII — she is buried at the north entrance of the field facing the scoreboard so she can keep track of how the Aggies are doing.
Silver Taps
When an Aggie student dies, a Silver Taps ceremony is held on the first Tuesday of the following month. At 10:15 p.m. on that Tuesday, lights are extinguished at the school’s Academic Plaza. Students gather at the statue of former A&M President Lawrence Sullivan Ross, and a 21-gun salute is fired, followed by the playing of Silver Taps. Taps is played to the north, south and west but not to the east, because “the sun will never rise on that Aggie again.”
For more information on A&M traditions, visit http://aggietraditions.tamu.edu.