Any and All Questions about A&M

#1
GibbyAG03

GibbyAG03

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#1
Hey there guys, I just wanted to let you know that if you have any questions about our football team, school, or anything else I might be able to answer for you about A&M let me know and I will see what I can do. I am really looking forward to playing you guys at the Cotton Bowl. I have always kind of liked you guys and this will be a nice game btw two schools with alot of tradition and winning. See Ya Around.

Gig'em
 
#2
#2
Thanks for stopping by! I kind of like this laid back attitude of the bowls after a very intense regular season. Everyone seems to be friendly and focused on football rather than rivalries and personalities.

Since you offered, I'll take you up. What's the story behind "Gig'em?" We have frogs and gig'em on a regular basis. But what's the connection to TA&M?

Thanks and good luck in the Cotton Bowl!
 
#3
#3
Originally posted by volshistory@Dec 6, 2004 11:41 AM
Since you offered, I'll take you up.  What's the story behind "Gig'em?"  We have frogs and gig'em on a regular basis.  But what's the connection to TA&M?
Click to expand...

It originated when we used to play the TCU Hornfrogs in the old SWC. :thumbsup:

"At a 'yell practice' before the 1930 TCU game, A&M board of regent Pinky Downs '06 shouted, "What are we going to do to those Horned Frogs?" His muse did not fail him as he improvised, borrowing a term from frog hunting. "Gig 'em, Aggies!" he said as he made a fist with his thumb extended straight up. And with that the first hand sign in the Southwest Conference came into being."
 
#4
#4
Way back in the early part of this century we were about to play TCU in a conference game. Well they are known as the TCU Horned Frogs. One of our chancellors at the time happened to be a real big hunter and none the less a Frog Hunter. Well we were about to play them and at our Yell Practice like we have before every game he was speaking and he said something to the effect of "Let's go GIG those Frogs". So as is everything at A&M it became a tradition to start saying GIG'EM when we played someone and it stuck from there on.

Gig'em


By the way I found this website after I wrote this so here is the story "officially" as well as other Traditions at A&M.

http://aggietraditions.tamu.edu/gigem.shtml

http://aggietraditions.tamu.edu/
 
#5
#5
Originally posted by volshistory@Dec 6, 2004 10:41 AM
Thanks for stopping by! I kind of like this laid back attitude of the bowls after a very intense regular season. Everyone seems to be friendly and focused on football rather than rivalries and personalities.

Since you offered, I'll take you up. What's the story behind "Gig'em?" We have frogs and gig'em on a regular basis. But what's the connection to TA&M?

Thanks and good luck in the Cotton Bowl!
Click to expand...

except for when Florida and Miami will play each other!!!
 
#6
#6
As many on here know Brandon Stewart left TN to become an Aggie after losing the job to start with Peyton Manning (now you know why). Since I didn't get to follow his career much after TN, I wanted to know the fans opinion on how good Brandon was. I actually pulled for him when they were battling for the job at TN.
 
#7
#7
Well when he was here I was a Senior in High School his Junior year I think. I only got to see him sparingly that is, but from what I saw of him was that he was a steady QB. Nothing spectacular but seemed to have skill that never got developed. A&M was a running team while Slocum was here until his last 2 years out of necessity. Brandon never really had a chance to develop into the QB everyone thought he might become. I remember people talking about how good he ran the scout team and were really excited when he was going to play.

Most people would tell you he was a decent QB, not bad but not great.

He did help us win the Big 12 Title in '98 with 324 yards passing and 1 td. If I remember correctly he was the starting QB that whole year until he got hurt around the 6th or 7th game and Randy McCown came in for him and Brandon didn't play again until that title game. He will be good for me since he helped us win that Big 12 Title.

Gig'em
 
#8
#8
when he was competing with Peyton I thought he looked better in the game than Manning did but I guess the coaches knew what they were doing ... go figure.
 
#9
#9
Originally posted by aggie0083+Dec 6, 2004 12:01 PM--></div><table border='0' align='center' width='95%' cellpadding='3' cellspacing='1'><tr><td>QUOTE (aggie0083 &#064; Dec 6, 2004 12:01 PM)</td></tr><tr><td id='QUOTE'> <!--QuoteBegin-volshistory@Dec 6, 2004 11:41 AM
Since you offered, I&#39;ll take you up.  What&#39;s the story behind "Gig&#39;em?"  We have frogs and gig&#39;em on a regular basis.  But what&#39;s the connection to TA&M?
Click to expand...

It originated when we used to play the TCU Hornfrogs in the old SWC. :thumbsup:

"At a &#39;yell practice&#39; before the 1930 TCU game, A&M board of regent Pinky Downs &#39;06 shouted, "What are we going to do to those Horned Frogs?" His muse did not fail him as he improvised, borrowing a term from frog hunting. "Gig &#39;em, Aggies&#33;" he said as he made a fist with his thumb extended straight up. And with that the first hand sign in the Southwest Conference came into being." [/quote]
Why would you want to gig that?
 

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#12
#12
The only thing I really know as to why we are called Aggie, is that Aggie means Farmers or something like that. With us being the Agricultural and Mechanics school when we were founded it&#39;s obvious as to why we have yells that say Farmer&#39;s Fight and stuff like that. Aggie came from that.

Gig&#39;em
 
#13
#13
Why do people need to practice yelling the night before games?
 
#14
#14
Midnight Yell
midnightyell.jpg

"Farmers Fight&#33;"
Yell Practice began as a post dinner activity in 1913, when different corps companies would gather together to "learn heartily the old time pep." However, it was not until 1931, that Yell Practice as it is known today, was held before the t.u. game. It began, when a group of cadets were gathered in Peanut Owen&#39;s dorm room in Puryear Hall. Someone suggested that all of the freshmen should fall out and meet on the steps of the YMCA building at midnight. The cadets notified senior yell leaders Horsefly Berryhill and Two Gun Herman from Sherman, who could not authorize it, but said that they may just show up. Well, needless to say, the word spread quickly, and when the freshmen began to arrive, there were railroad flares and torpedoes stuck in flower pots around the YMCA building to light the area. The first Midnight Yell had begun&#33;&#33;&#33;

Today, Midnight Yell is held the night before a home game in Kyle Field and at the Grove on Thursday nights before away games. Also for away games, a site is designated for a Midnight Yell in the city of our opponent on the night before the game. For example, for the t.u. game, it is held at the Texas Capitol in Austin. For a yell at Kyle Field, yell leaders lead the Fightin&#39; Texas Aggie Band and the Twelfth Man into the stadium. The yell leaders lead the crowd in old army yells, the singing of the fight song, and tell fables of how the Aggies are going to beat the everlivin&#39; hell out of our opponent for the next day. Lastly, the lights go out, and Aggies kiss their dates. If they don&#39;t have a date, all they have to do is flick their Bicks. As the story goes, the flames make it easier for two dateless people to find each other, and maybe they won&#39;t be dateless anymore&#33;

The purpose of Midnight Yell is to pump up the Twelfth Man for the next day&#39;s big game&#33;

(from http://aggietraditions.tamu.edu/team.shtml)
 
#17
#17
Yeah that is cool, but I think this is by far the coolest. We won that Best Tradition contest on ESPN two years ago with this one:

The tradition of the Twelfth Man was born on the second of January 1922, when an underdog Aggie team was playing Centre College, then the nation&#39;s top ranked team. As the hard fought game wore on, and the Aggies dug deeply into their limited reserves, Coach Dana X. Bible remembered a squad man who was not in uniform. He had been up in the press box helping reporters identify players. His name was E. King Gill, and was a former football player who was only playing basketball. Gill was called from the stands, suited up, and stood ready throughout the rest of the game, which A&M finally won 22-14. When the game ended, E. King Gill was the only man left standing on the sidelines for the Aggies. Gill later said, "I wish I could say that I went in and ran for the winning touchdown, but I did not. I simply stood by in case my team needed me."

This gesture was more than enough for the Aggie Team. Although Gill did not play in the game, he had accepted the call to help his team. He came to be thought of as the Twelfth Man because he stood ready for duty in the event that the eleven men on the gridiron needed assistance. That spirit of readiness for service, desire to support, and enthusiasm helped kindle a flame of devotion among the entire student body; a spirit that has grown vigorously throughout the years. The entire student body at A&M is the Twelfth Man, and they stand during the entire game to show their support. The 12th Man is always in the stands waiting to be called upon if they are needed.

This tradition took on a new look in the 1980&#39;s when Coach Jackie Sherrill started the 12th Man Kick-Off Team composed of regular students through open tryouts. This 12th Man team performed very well and held opponents to one of the lowest yards per return averages in the league. Later, Head Coach R.C. Slocum changed the team to allow only one representative of the 12th Man on the kick off team. The 12th Man tradition also took musical form. The 12th Man sings this song after each game in which the Aggies are outscored


Enjoy.

Gig&#39;em
 
#19
#19
Originally posted by GibbyAG03@Dec 6, 2004 5:09 PM
The only thing I really know as to why we are called Aggie, is that Aggie means Farmers or something like that.  With us being the Agricultural and Mechanics school when we were founded it&#39;s obvious as to why we have yells that say Farmer&#39;s Fight and stuff like that.  Aggie came from that.

Gig&#39;em
Click to expand...

Actually we were called Texas A&M Fightin&#39; Farmers but the papers always called us aggies so we just changed it. Another little known fact is that the origing football unis were supposed to be red but the order got screwed up and we didn&#39;t have the money to change it so we just stuck w/ maroon.
 
#20
#20
Originally posted by GibbyAG03@Dec 6, 2004 2:39 PM
He did help us win the Big 12 Title in &#39;98 with 324 yards passing and 1 td. If I remember correctly he was the starting QB that whole year until he got hurt around the 6th or 7th game and Randy McCown came in for him and Brandon didn&#39;t play again until that title game. He will be good for me since he helped us win that Big 12 Title.
Click to expand...

He also made a nice contribution to the Vols by winning that Big 12 title game. There were three undefeated teams headed into that final weekend in 98, much like this year, and to the best of my memory, the talking heads at ESPN were saying that if all three won, we would be the odd man out. When K State lost to A&M, all we had to do was win and we were in.
 
#23
#23
:lolup: Good ol&#39; Cheatin&#39; Sherrill.

A&M is rich with tradition...

As long as we&#39;re making notes on tradition... the Vols also have a rich tradition, placing them squarely at the top of the TSN list a couple of years ago... they put out a book about college football traditions. The Vol Navy, the salute to the hill, the Vol Walk, PREGAME... HOLY CRAP PREGAME. One announcer also called the Vols running through the T "the most electrifying moment in sports" :D
 
#24
#24
What would you guys say is your Biggest and Best Tradition there at UT.

Also, since we both have dogs as mascots, how did &#39;Ol Smokey come about. This is how Rev. got to be ours:

Reveille
Reveille, the first lady of Aggieland, is the official mascot of Texas A&M University. She is the highest ranking member of the Corps of Cadets, and she is a Five-Star General.

Reveille I came to Texas A&M in January 1931. A group of cadets hit a small black and white dog on their way back from Navasota. They picked up the dog and brought her back to school so they could care for her. The next morning, when "Reveille" was blown by a bugler, she started barking. She was named after this morning wakeup call. The following football season she was named the official mascot when she led the band onto the field during their half-time performance. When Reveille I died on January 18, 1944, she was given a formal military funeral on the gridiron of Kyle Field. She was then buried at the north entrance to the field, as all Reveilles are, facing the scoreboard so that she can always watch the Aggies outscore their opponent.

Before naming Reveille II, there were several other unofficial mascots, such as Tripod, Spot, and Ranger. It was not until a later Reveille that she was a full-blood Collie. The most current Reveille is Reveille VII who was inducted during Parents Weekend in April 2001.

Reveille is the most revered dog on campus. Company E-2 has the privilege of taking care of Reveille. If she is sleeping on a cadet&#39;s bed, that cadet must sleep on the floor. Cadets address Reveille as "Miss Rev, ma&#39;am." If she is in class and barks while the professor is teaching, the class is to be immediately dismissed.

Reveille is a highly cherished mascot and receives only the best.


Gig&#39;em
 
#25
#25
Biggest and best would have to be all of pregame... imagine 106,000 fans getting worked into a frenzy for 10 mins by a great band, performing a traditional pregame show that was started back in the 50&#39;s, and at the end, with the stadium so loud you can&#39;t hear yourself think, and the band forming a large T over half the field, as the team bursts onto the field&#33; No feeling like it.

I&#39;ll let someone else talk about Smokey, I&#39;m pretty sure a family just decided the team needed a mascott, and brought their Blue Tick Hound. Not nearly as good a story as Reveille... but I&#39;ll let someone who actually KNOWS the story put it out.
 
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