COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Intentionally or unintentionally, Josh Rosen provoked the 12th man.
But more than 100,000 raucous men, women, children and Miss Rev – Texas A&M’s mascot and the highest ranking member of the school’s Corps of Cadets – showed up Saturday afternoon to throw the sophomore quarterback off his game.
Whether they got into his head or not, the Aggies pulled out the upset overtime-win over No. 16 UCLA, with the crowd roaring in approval.
[Related: UCLA’s late, dramatic comeback comes up just short in Texas]
The loyal, maroon and cowboy boot-clad students and former students were cramming into Kyle Field to do what comes naturally to them – supporting their team, ranked or unranked, win or lose.
With the win, A&M continued the Southeastern Conference’s dominance over the Pac-12, 113-76-10 overall head-to-head, while steadfastly showing off its own school’s pride.
From firing their cannon, known as The Spirit of ’02, after each football score to swaying in unison to the Aggie War Hymn, Saturday’s home-opener put Texas A&M’s traditions on display.
The Midnight Yell brings together students to rehearse cheers and chants the night before a home game. Last year’s home-opener Yell brought in 5,000 more people than Texas Christian University and Baylor University did for their home games.
Unlike Westwood, the pride and spirit from the Aggie faithful seeps into College Station and the local businesses.
All three Whataburgers – the Southern version of In-N-Out – in town have stripes of maroon and A&M posters for the patrons stumbling in after the Yell. Buildings all around town, including post-game favorite chicken strip restaurant Lanes, have Aggie flags and shirts in every corner of the room.
This little corner of Texas, 95 miles north of Houston, embodies the SEC standard – one then-No.15 Arizona State couldn’t keep up with last year and UCLA wasn’t ready for either.
Both the Pac-12 and the SEC declare themselves the toughest conference in America.
But the fierceness and passion of the conference spearheaded by defending national champion Alabama, who manhandled USC 52-6 Saturday night, are beyond what the top tier Pac-12 schools can offer.
[From Saturday’s game: Rosen regrets his performance, promises better]
Last season, SEC schools averaged 78,720 fans per game with the Crimson Tide and Aggies leading the way with more than 101,000 people a game.
The Pac-12, the “conference of champions,” mustered up 51,795 fans per game, down 11 percent since peaking in 2007 per CBS’ Joe Solomon. The Trojans and Bruins led the conference in attendance with 75,358 and 66,858, respectively.
Alabama generates popularity behind Nick Saban and his four championships in the last seven years.
Despite struggles after the departure of 2012 Heisman winner Johnny Manziel, Texas A&M’s fans have been steadfastly loyal and football is deeply engrained in their culture.
USC and UCLA don’t have the consistency or the dominance of the Tide and the Los Angeles area, surrounded by glitzy Hollywood and relaxing beaches, doesn’t foster the same fandom as College Station.
The Pac-12 lost both games to the SEC this weekend – one a thumping, the other a nail-biter.
But the difference was clear.
The SEC teams and fans are not an easy thing to deal with.
WOW, I’m really impressed. Most opposing university newspapers/reporters have traditionally made fun of the Aggie traditions rather than investigating and giving them a thoughtful analysis. It certainly causes myself (and other Aggies) to raise my opinion of the journalism practiced at UCLA. This article was posted either all or at least in part on many of the Aggie related fan sites. Again very impressed and best wishes to the Bruins during the balance of their season.
Had the opportunity to tailgate and hang out with many Bruins over the weekend. UCLA has an amazing fanbase and a very tough team. It was awesome having y’all in town for the game (Bruins Travel Well!!!).
Thank you for your kind words about A&M, good luck the rest of the season…and most importantly, Beat sc!
See you at the Rose Bowl next year!
Class of ’81 Aggie here.Thank you for your kind article. I hope those UCLA fans who came to the game felt welcome. I know of one fan who was greeted with a “UCLA sucks” from one of our students. He was quickly corrected and told if he wants to behave that way toward our guests, perhaps he’d be more comfortable in Austin or Lubbock. We pride ourselves on being good hosts, and apologize for any misguided youth who might have acted otherwise. We enjoyed having you here, and look forward to our visit next year.
Give us a break. I know several SC fans who were in Collie Station last year and talked about how horrible the locals were to them. In fact opposing teams are lucky not to get “food poisoning” when dining at a local Collie Station establishment the day or night before the game.
IF you’re looking for “southern hospitality” and aren’t pro-aggroid, don’t go looking in Collie Station. They love to pat themselves on the back for doing the things you are SUPPOSED to do if you’re a decent human being. Seriously – reminds me of that Chris Rock bit about dudes that brag about paying child support.
To the Angelinos here, simply see Scientology. A&M is a giant cult.
“Collie Station”, “aggroid”, “cult”
This is totally NOT some dork longhorn internet defender being obsessed with Texas A&M on a UCLA website.
Not at all. And one who clearly pays no attention to who actually played the game. A few SC fans? Aren’t they the Angelino area team who got hammered by ‘Bama? Tea sip troll. So impressed that one win makes his season. Now, let’s see what happens over the next 13 weeks.
Obvious sip troll is obvious.
To ALL Aggie fans and students. YOU guys definitely have TRADITION, specially at your midnight yell event, not to mention Kyle Field is amazing…. I have traveled with our team for the past 10 years and have only seen few schools with such a strong spirit and tradition. Several of our family members and I were in College Station this past weekend. YOU guys were GREAT. Many of the locals greeted and welcomed us before the game and were kind enough to let us know that “it was a great game and our team showed a great effort on a come back that could have gone either way”. We had a great time during our stay at CS and thank our hosts at our hotel and throughout the town for their hospitality and kindness. All of us gained a few pounds from eating so much BBQ at the local restaurants. Our favorite was the small hole in the wall place called 13-0, which had one of the best BBQ sandwiches that I have had in a long time. We look forward to hosting you guys at the Rose Bowl and hopefully you guys will enjoy our Sushi and Sea Food here in Westwood. 🙂 Thanks again and good luck to you guys for the rest of the season.
This was a very thoughtful article and you were very accurate….but I’d like to gently correct a couple of items. First, Aggies yell, they don’t cheer, hence the fact that we have yell leaders and not cheer leaders. Second, Aggies never lose, we just run out of time. All kidding aside, we are always pleased to host new schools and their fans and look forward to visiting the Rose Bowl next year!
Great attitude – rather than doing a beatdown article, it’s great to see that UCLA fans get the positive side of their opponent, as well as of their own team.
Trust that UCLA fans and our Aggie fans (with the exception of the standard few yahoos on each side) enjoyed the game, gave their teams all they had, and showed great sportsmanship. I personally witnessed the kindness of Kyle Field employee Dan Kowalski and Jan (a seating contractor) find portable seats in a shaded area for a couple of wiser Bruin fans who were overwhelmed by the sun and heat before the game. Good Ags!
Class of ’88 Ag here. Was great to see the UCLA fans show up in their colors and support. We love showing off our campus and making all visitors feel at home. It was a great game and UCLA has a great team and fans that showed up…We thank you and welcome you always!
Gig Em!
Thank you for your kind words. You guys have a great team as well and good luck to you guys for the rest of the season. Hope you guys enjoy your trip to LA next year as much as we enjoyed ours at CS.
I was with our team 2 years ago at the Cowboy stadium when we played and beat the Texans. my friends and I were harassed by bunch of A hole Texan fans who were sitting behind us in our section and were screaming at us the entire game.
“Cowboy boot-clad students”….really????? Typical West Coast mentality.
Kindly point out what’s inaccurate about that description.
Thanks in advance.
Shaun, you trolling the UCLA paper now?
As soon as I didn’t have to be in uniform at the games I was a cowboy boot clad student 🙂 And proud of it!
. . . said the guy with the cowboy hat profile pic . . .
By the middle of the 3rd quarter, large sections of the stadium were empty. It was “too hot” for the aggy faithful and their turditions.
Word in the state is that aTm was upset that the SEC didn’t get them the Sunday or Monday night spots taken by Florida State – Ole Miss or Notre Dame – Texas.
Your name says it all. You are a tsip troll. Congrats on your big win over the Irish. First time tu has beaten the Irish since 1970. Y’all are back no doubt, I’m fairly certain the college football world is shaken to its core knowing that they will have to deal with the resurgence of the horns. Now if you would kindly go get your shine box little brother my boots need your attention. It really sad that we are out of your league now.
Gig’em!
BTW UCLA fans that I met were all pure class and I want to thank them for not judging A&M based on any previous games with the little school in Austin and their entitled and always snotty fans.
I’m not sure where you’re getting your “facts”…but there wasn’t a section empty.
-someone who was ACTUALLY at the game
Thanks and Gig’em
Yeah, the part about A&M ‘being upset the SEC didn’t get them the Sunday or Monday night spots’ is a total fabrication. We were the SEC game of the week on CBS, in the 2:30 prime time slot. We’re not going to complain about that.
Poor little ‘sip is so desperate for attention, he’s taken to making up pseudo-controversies to claim victory in. Sad that he can’t just enjoy the win over Notre Dame and go on his way.
Aggie Class of ’79. That was a great game. Your team never quit and we were happy that we won . A&M takes pride in fighting hard in the game and then shaking your hand win or lose afterwards. Our students and alumni in general are fans of the team and our school. That’s why we generally stay to the bitter end in some losses and do the Aggie War Hymn after all the games. It shows respect for our opponents and the effort our team puts forth on the field.
For the fans of the University of Texas that are trolling you are not representative of your great school. I can still remember as if it was yesterday the compassion and class your students and university showed us when the Bonfire collapsed and 12 of our students died. It was amazing and showed that we may be rivals on the field but we are Texans at heart.
Gig’em… Whoop!
Thank you for your article. I’m Aggie class of ’91 and would hope all visitors to College Station have a positive experience (I obviously want my Aggies to win). It was a great game and I’m glad you appreciate our traditions. Good luck in the rest of your season. I hope you guys win out!
Class of ’90 Aggie with a Class of ’18 daughter considering UCLA – thanks for the solid article. Great schools. Look forward to next year’s game in SoCal.
We are called “The 12th Man” for a reason. Our students stand for the game ready to step in to play. We do believe that we are part of the game. When our offense is on the field we are quiet to not impact them. When your offense is on the field we will lose out voices yelling the “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa” yell (which will be confusing for many as when load it kinds of sounds like a bee swarm). You all brought a very solid complement of your fans though. More than most that come from a lot closer. I hope that your fans had a good time even though we got The W.
Class of ’88 here. We welcome all out of towners to College Station. Thank you for the article. We pride ourselves on being good hosts and welcoming anyone with a firm Howdy and hand shake.