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Welcome to Aggieland
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Welcome to Aggieland


Sep 2, 2018, 6:49 PM

Howdy Clemson Fans –

Aggie here, welcome to Aggieland this weekend!

I know we’ve played before, happy to report our fans have had great reports on Clemson fans in the series we played a few years back. It’s likely many of you coming this weekend already know the ropes as well, but in the event you are travelling and need some tips....

First Off - Stadium Seating: I often find it best to put this up front game week, for those trying to source tickets at the last minute. Opponent sections tend to be 130 and 131 (first level) and 416-421 (upper level). I am most certain on 130 and 131, but the 400 level seating changes depending on level of ticket sales.

HOWEVER: Don’t hesitate at an opportunity to sit among Aggies. You will be treated well and may even enjoy the culture if you’re type that’s open to taking it all in. NOTE: It is a student tradition to stand the entire game. It is the “12th Man” tradition, dates back to 1922 and represents their willingness to suit up if needed. Student sections are the second and third levels of the East stands, and some sections in the South Endzone. http://gameday.12thman.com/map.html

Other tips...

1 – Flying – If just coming to get to College Station, Houston is the best bet (1 ½ to 2 hour drive to Aggieland). IAH is best distance-wise, but the Southwest airlines hub (lower cost flights) is Hobby and you’ll have to drive through Houston to get to College Station (my opinion is the cheaper flight is not worth the risk of hitting Houston traffic, unless you don’t really care and want to stop for food in Houston --- Houston is fantastic for food). College Station does have flights, but limited choice. You can fly into Austin or San Antonio, but longer drives and depends on whether you want to also see/do something there. I assume you already have flight arrangements. Feel free to post though if you need more tips.

2 – Hotels – Really no specific recommendations needed. Rooms are limited, but if you’re not picky, most anything you pick in Bryan / College Station (they’re essentially the same city) is fine (it’s a college town). Holler if you have specific problems here. I do recommend staying in B/CS so you can go to Midnight Yell (I may be biased, haha, but one of College Football’s most unique traditions). If desperate for a room, picking something along the drive between B/CS and your airport in Houston would work.

3 – Pre Game Day Activities You’ll get a wide range of tips here if you ask Aggies for them. Really hard to direct you since it’s really a matter of what your interests are. The weather is not looking too promising for next weekend.

But just some ideas –

• Golfing around B/CS. The University’s course is said by my good friend that loves golfing to actually be pretty good for a University course.
• Bush Library – Bush Sr.’s library is at A&M and interesting. Barbara Bush was laid to rest there several months ago.
• Tour Kyle Field – You can tour Kyle Field if there early enough this week. May be a good way to see and enjoy the redeveloped stadium we sunk half a billion into. https://www.12thmanfoundation.com/about-us/stadium-tours
• Chill Friday: If you are coming in Thursday, it may be best to just chill around town or even get a workout in at the Student Rec Center ($5 or so for a day pass). On road trips, I actually like to chill out by having brunch or walk around areas I know will be packed later. Walk around campus and tour the Corps of Cadets center (museum), the Quad (where the Corps lives), Memorial Student Center, and Academic Building (be sure to walk under the Century Tree). It will actually give you a better sense of the history of Texas A&M and why it seems to have a “military air” around on Game Day.
• Houston – Holler if staying in Houston. I am from Houston. Too much to do without knowing what you’d be looking for.

4 – Aggie Hosts: You will find people are welcoming and like to talk about Aggie traditions, make recommendations to see something Aggie, wishing you “Howdy” when making eye-contact as you walk across campus, etc. Even saying “Howdy” is a tradition here. And you are very likely to be invited to tailgates. Please don’t automatically assume this is boasting or something. The reality of it is the school is very conservative and fans generally feel being a poor host reflects poorly on the school – there’s no sense in having pride in your traditions if guests hate you for them. And I am not just the unusual, random posting fan on this. Hopefully some of your Clemson faithful who have visited Aggieland can back this up.

5 – History and Tradition: The above said, I post on this topic so that you can enjoy the context of what you see on game day, not to boast about it. Texas A&M is quite unique in its history, and it will echo throughout your weekend. Without knowing the basics, I’ll be the first to admit many things opposing fans see without knowing the history will totally seem very odd.

Basics –
• Founded in 1876, the first public college in Texas until U Texas opened about a decade later for the general population of Texas.
• All-male military college until 1965 (we put more officers into WWII than the military academies). All students were required to be in the Corps of Cadets until then. A&M was very much like West Point, the Naval Academy, the Citadel, etc. until fairly recently (in the grand scheme of things).

Most traditions you’ll see have its roots in the military days (not a complete list) –
o Kissing your dates after scores was due to the fact cadets didn’t have time for proper dates on the weekend other than the games.
o Yell Leaders (instead of cheer leaders) began when upperclassmen cadets made some lowerclassmen entertain their dates wearing janitor suits. Today, Yell Leaders are seniors and juniors because it was discovered the dates liked the antics of the lower classmen.
o Yells (not cheers) – You will hear the student section performing “Yells”, not cheers. They’re done on the queue of the Yell Leaders and are more like chants than cheers. Obviously a military root, as it was coordinated by upperclassmen by people used to doing things with precision as a group.
o Military ballads and halftime drill of the Band… obvious connection here. The Band today still requires Corps membership (thus the Band wears Corps uniforms). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5sClG3cZAbc
o Midnight Yell – Extends from the military days. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6nfXFgJiFZk
o Muster (April, so you won’t see it, but here’s a link to show what you see on Game Day actually permeates the school year and culture of the school year round…. We don’t just put this culture on game weekends…. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dtv7AEZr8J8).

6 – Game Day (including night before) – Best advice is hit Northgate the evening before (Friday night). Northgate is the area just north of campus and has numerous bars and restaurants.

PARKING TIP: There is a parking garage for Northgate. I can’t stress this enough… CS police like to hand out parking tickets like they’re mardi gras beads… Best advice is pay the $10 or $20 for parking in the garage rather than drive around to find open meters or risk a ticket somewhere. http://cstx.gov/index.aspx?page=3209

About 11:30 pm, it should thin out a little, as you will see Aggies make their way through campus to Kyle Field. Follow them if you would like to witness Midnight Yell. Yes, opponents of good humor are totally welcome. Best viewing for a visitor would be along the edges, so you can see what’s going on, see the crowd sway to the Aggie War Hymn, etc. If you want to sit in the crowd, you’ll be good. Just bear in mind at this point some Aggies may have been drinking, so the normal gracious host feelings we tend to have may be temporarily at bay. ;) (but I really have never witnessed anything egregious even within the crowd).

Northgate: https://www.google.com/maps/place/Northgate,+College+Station,+TX+77840/@30.6216161,-96.3550906,15z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x864683be63c8ed65:0x21fabab379fc9050!8m2!3d30.6221048!4d-96.3452082

The next morning, make your way to campus after breakfast, unless you will be tailgating. For tailgating, you want to get there at the crack of dawn… spaces go fast even though the entire campus tailgates. ESPN College Gameday will be there too. If you don’t plan to set up your own tailgate, honestly, walk around and you’ll likely be welcomed at most Aggie tailgates.

https://www.saturdaydownsouth.com/tamu-football/espn-college-gameday-week-2-locations-texas-am-clemson/

About 2 hours before kickoff, make your way to Kyle Field. Walk around the fan zone outside the North endzone, but wait there for the Corps of Cadets march in, which starts from the Quad about an hour and a half before kickoff. Military types may even want to see it start on the Quad, where the cannon will go off. Even for opponent fans, it’s fun to see the Band march by playing patriotic anthems followed by the 2,500 member Corps of Cadets yelling jodies. It really gives you a unique college football game day experience. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rRpd44XRaA0

My personal advice, after seeing the Band march by and perhaps a few of the Corps outfits march by, is to get to your seats an hour before kick to take in the game day atmosphere inside the stadium. Of course I am biased, but the Singing of the Spirit of Aggieland is also one of the best game day traditions. We don’t half-heartedly sing our alma mater, it’s usually sung loud with a Yell at the end. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Tcv1vCGY7I

Hope the tips help! I didn’t bother suggesting specific bars and restaurants since if you simply go to Northgate and ask around, you’ll find them easily. You will want to at least walk through the landmark bars, the Dixie Chicken and Dry Bean Saloon next door.

If you have any special requests, post here and I’ll try to remember to check this thread!

PS – For those that were intrigued by this, perhaps knew of the Bonfire tradition, and were wondering, yes, there is an off campus Bonfire tradition these days. One can visit the Bonfire Memorial on campus. I recommend seeing it if you want to tour around campus, but its on the opposite end of a large campus from Kyle Field. Bonfire still sits in a special place in the hearts of Aggies. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWWrCu_uPt8

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