Goodbye to Texas University...

I am just devastated.  My beloved Aggies just played in the 118th, and last, game against that school up in Austin.  The game had some highs and some lows and ultimately, and unfortunately, we were outscored when time ran out.  Many of you know that I believe in and respect tradition and that is part of the reason that I headed off to College Station for college.  I witnessed the tradition and the passion for Texas A&M University when I attended Aggie Bonfire in 1991.  I could not believe my eyes when I saw everyone yelling, singing and swaying together on that field as we watched an enormous, 6-story fire blazing before us.  I immediately began the application process and made my way to Aggieland. 

Then, in 1999, I could not believe my eyes again when I watched the morning news a few days before Aggie Bonfire and learned that the stack had collapsed and that there were fatalities.  I was horrified when the death toll climbed into the double digits.  Then it stopped at 12.  Then there was a report of a possible 13th victim.  I called my mom and said "No.  There can't be more.  It has to stop at 12."  (At A&M, the student body is "The 12th Man", a tradition going back to 1922 when my Ags were seriously shorthanded due to injuries and called E. King Gill out of the stands to dress out and be ready for action if needed.  He didn't see any playing time that day but stood there ready to go in if duty called.  That is the reason we Aggies stand up during the entire game and call ourselves The 12th Man.)  When the news came back that there was not a 13th victim, my mom and I went to College Station and took some Holy Water to the family of the last injured student in the hospital.  I don't know if his family ever used it to anoint him or not, but I know that he did survive.

While I hate to see 118 years of tradition come to an end, I am reminded of a song from the 90s that says "every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end".  Well, here we are on the verge of a new beginning in the SEC.  Hmmmm....my friend Donna, who attended Texas, asked me what we are going to do about our Aggie War Hymn which has the following line:  "Goodbye to Texas University, so long to the orange and the white".  Well, that's a good question.  I suppose we could change it to "Goodbye to Tennessee University, so long to the orange and the white".  Sorry, Jason!

So now I will quote that same 90s song:  "So gather up your jackets and move it the exits".  Good night and God bless Texas A&M.