Texas A&M: Aggies host Missouri

If you follow the schedule closely, I had originally planned for a trip to Wisconsin this past weekend to watch the Ohio State matchup. Regrettably, flight prices a few weeks ago had risen prohibitively high, and I had to pass yet again. This proved to be a rather unfortunate miss as it turned out to be the ESPN Gameday game, and had I attended it would have been the second week in a row of watching a #1 team get upset. Fortunately, a quick glance at the schedule revealed Texas A&M was in town, and I don’t need much convincing to head down to College Station for a game.

If you followed the blog at all last year, you know that I’ve been quite enamored with my trips to Aggieland, to the point that I would consider Texas A&M my adopted Texas team. There are few places in the country that can match the College Football atmosphere you will find in College Station, and I relish any trip down there. Irritatingly, however, the game was scheduled for an 11AM start in a stroke of scheduling ineptitude. Early start times completely deflate gameday atmosphere in my opinion. Fans have barely had a chance to roll out of bed by this time, and pre game tailgating is all but non existent. It makes for a flat, sluggish crowd, and College Station on Saturday was not up to its usual grandeur compared to some of the other trips I have taken there.

On the docket today was Missouri with their perfect 5-0 start to the season on the line. Given the Tigers dubious level of competition thus far, however, this figured to be a coin flip between Texas A&M and Missouri.

Unfortunately, the game was an absolute mess for the Aggies, who struggled to do anything all afternoon. The touted Tiger defense stifled the Farmers on offense, almost completely shutting them down until a late touchdown in garbage time. Not even the 12^th man could rouse them out of their funk. This Aggie team has been a perplexing team to watch and especially frustrating for long time fans, as they came into the season with rather lofty expectations. Unfortunately, the year has been mired in wildly streaky play that leaves the Aggies on a performance rollercoaster. Prior to the year, I had picked them as an outside shot to win the Big 12 South given their abundance of returning playmakers, but they can’t seem to put it all together. Missouri walked away an unblemished 6-0, and ready for an epic tilt next week in Columbia against the unbeaten Sooners.

We’ll be returning to College Station again in a few weeks for a more “official” visit, and hopefully they can show up to play next time around.

Thanks to my friends Pat and Christine for coming down, as well as finally meeting Pat’s brother Ryan. I was long overdue to catch up with them for a game and get them some proper brisket commensurate with Pat’s discerning taste buds.

It was also great to meet up with my old roommate, and former Aggie, Federico. We were able to snap a photo with the 12^th Man statue, proof that I was able to get him back for a game in College Station. Hopefully he manages to remember what real college football is like from his perch in New York City…not so long until the next visit my friend.

Martins Place BBQ

Martin’s Place had been on my list for quite some time now, and after knocking out the famous burger joints in College Station last year, I thought it was high time to sample some cue’ in Aggieland. Martin’s place is an institution in Bryan, with continuous family ownership dating back to 1925. The original location was sold after surviving the Great Depression, and the family upgraded to the present brick location which dates back to 1939 and has since been registered a historical landmark. It’s a rare find to step into a building with this kind lineage and history oozes from the smoke tarnished walls. Countertops worn through from decades of diners plates scraping against the linoleum dot the horseshoe shaped bar, and I hurriedly straddled a stool like generations of hungry Texas before me.

After ordering up my usual three meat pile, I was crestfallen when my order arrived slathered in unsolicited sauce. The most heartbreaking aspect of this saucing was that I could tell this was extremely well prepared and lovingly smoked BBQ. The ribs were exceptional, cooked perfectly with a deep pinkish ring, and I managed to save one from the depths of red sauce. Brisket wasn’t so lucky, however. While I could tell it was smoked quite well from the texture, I just couldn’t get past the tangy sauce to get a full tasting. My last few morsels of brisket had quite literally been drown in sauce, and were beyond rescue.

Regardless of the sauce-tastrophe, I’d certainly like to hit Martin’s again and give it another shot with a dry order of meat. This is a place that does it right, as an inspection of the deeply charred smoke room quickly revealed. Pitmaster Steve warmly offered me a tour of these ancient brick pits, which have been chugging through post oak (with a touch of hickory) for over 71 years. Smoke and meat folks, there’s no big secret with proper BBQ, and I’ll be back for more.

If you’re looking for a touch of history and some fine smoked meat after your next Aggie game in College State, sidle on into Martin’s Place and plop down in a stool. Just ask them to hold the sauce….

The Lonestar Showdown - Texas A&M vs. Texas

If my rambling post below was any indication, both of us were quite enamored with our Texas A&M experience. In fact we were so blown away that we quickly decided a return visit to College Station was in order. Coincidentally, A&M had an upcoming home game on Thanksgiving night against an undefeated Burnt Orange clad foe from the South, and College Station was already priming for a huge matchup against this fiercesome in state rival.

In lieu of bloatingly lounging around watching football on television, we decided to see this historic rivalry in person. As such, on Thanksgiving Day, back down to College Station we went to get another fill of the A&M experience as they hosted the #3 Texas Longhorns. This was easily the biggest game of the season in College Station, and 84,671 fans packed Kyle Field for an epic turkey day tilt.

Once again, with the help of our friend Christina, we managed to score ourselves some student tickets. This time our seats were in the second deck on the 40 yard line offering a phenomenal view of all the action on the field, considered by some of our Aggie friends to be the best seats in the house. A quick glance to the rear revealed the “Home of the 12^th Man” block letters ominously perched above our shoulders. Given the magnitude of the opponent, the 12^th Man on this night was borderline riotous. We could feel the entire second tier of the Kyle Field structure discernibly swaying as hordes of Aggie students belted out “Varsity”.

The game itself was a battle worthy of this heated rivalry. Both the Longhorns and the Aggies forsook any semblance of defense, and took to marching up and down the field on one another in one of the most dramatic shootouts we have seen all year, tallying over 1100 yards of total offense. We witnessed two true Texas gunslingers in action as both Colt McCoy and Jerrod Johnson each threw for over 300 yards and four touchdowns apiece. It was gutwrenching to be a part of the A&M faithful however, as every time they made a big play to knot the score, Texas would answer with a drive of their own. The Aggies just couldn’t seem to focus for two consecutive series and get a critical stop out of their defense. The final Aggie touchdown to bring them within three with 7:10 left on the clock was promptly met with a 95 yard Longhorn touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff. With 6:57 left to play this all but sealed the contest for Texas, left their unblemished record intact, and ensured them a spot in the Big 12 Championship game.

Final Score: 49-39

Another fantastic trip to Texas A&M, an incredible atmosphere to be a part of, and a phenomenal game to watch. Thanksgiving leftovers are better the day after anyway….

Special thanks again to our friend Christina for her help with tickets, we are truly grateful for your efforts in making our A&M visits so remarkable. And of course another shout to our friend Allison for meeting up with us for another College Station gameday, and subtly persuading her little brother to make “the right decision”….

And now formed at the North end of Kyle Field, the Nationally famous Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band…

One of the unique elements of College Football pageantry that often goes overlooked are the bands. Bands are an integral part of game day atmosphere, and their constant energizing thrum is a traditional component of college football grandeur. They are certainly a welcome departure to the overplayed jock rock and hip hop that you will find annoyingly piped in at most professional games. While at most sporting events halftime is an opportunity to hit the concession stands for another round of ten dollar nachos, at a college football game the halftime shows featuring the precise marches of university bands are usually worth staying in your seat for.

Although we both enjoy a good band halftime show, after a host of college games this year all the bands start to feel irritatingly similar. There’s only so many times I can hear a trumpeted version of “Livin’ on Prayer” or “Thriller” before I lose my fist pumping enthusiasm. Given my lack of musical knowledge, I would be hard pressed to tell any of the bands apart, and I don’t profess the acumen to discern the most talented and organized bands from one another.

What I can tell you is that the Fightin’ Texas Aggie band flat out crushes any other college band either of us have ever seen…period.

And it’s not even close…

The Fightin’ Texas Aggie band is peerless among all the bands that we have seen this year, and a unique departure from other standard university marching bands. The Aggie band is the largest military marching band in the US, performing exclusively military drill. They eschew rehashing exhausted pop culture favorites, opting instead for traditional marches and military cadences. What truly sets the Aggie band apart, however, is their extraordinarily precise marching. These rigorous marches are a sight to behold, and their dizzying complexity is enough to hold 80,000+ gape jawed fans in near silence. It’s purported that some of these marches performed are so difficult they are considered impossible to execute according to computer marching simulations.

Put simply, if you ever have the fortune to witness a game at Kyle Field, when halftime rolls around skip the nachos and keep your haunches in your seat.

You can read more about the Aggie Band here:

http://www.aggieband.org/visitors-about.php

Or a more in depth Wikipedia article (detailing interesting facts like the band living together as a military unit, practicing 15 hours per week, and wearing custom made $1,000 boots)

http://www.aggieband.org/visitors-about.php

And of course a few videos.

The first is from the Thanksgiving Day game this year. If pressed for time, you may skip ahead to 1:08 for the famous announcement, or 2:05 for when the band begins playing.

The second video is a bit shakier, but includes some decent close ups demonstrating the complexity of the marches. Announcement at :40, music at 1:45.

Lucky Penny - Penny's Diner

If its one long standing gripe I’ve had with Texas thus far it’s the seemingly statewide aversion to the classic 24 hour roadside diner. While I can get gut bomb tacos and a shiv to the neck at a shady gas station 24 hours a day, finding an acceptable greasy spoon in this state has proven a rather elusive challenge thus far.

Imagine my delight then, when 30 minutes outside of College Station in a postage stamp of a town called Hearne, I spotted a shimmering oasis of stainless steel and neon edged off the side of Texas State Highway 6. The vaporous glow of Penny’s Diner backlit plastic pierced the black Texas night, and our post game meal was quickly decided. (This was the meal following our Thanksgiving Day game at A&M vs. Texas)

On the inside the Penny’s is every bit as consistent as any diner loving patron would hope for, checkered flooring and stainless steel abound. The no frills menu was a lineup of breakfast, burgers and assorted classic diner fare dished out at affordable prices. I promptly ordered up a three meat egg scramble. The food was simple, quick, tasty and ample. The way honest diner food should be. I don’t think you could order wrong at this place, and Penny’s certainly satisfies.

What I was quite delighted to discover at Penny’s, however, was a true chocolate milkshake. Chocolate shakes are one of the great heavenly libations bestowed upon us, and I consider myself a purveyor of these creamy delights. Unfortunately, the understated art of the chocolate milkshake is, sadly, a dying one, and it’s a rare treat that I find an establishment that knows their way around a steel mixing cup. There are two critical subtleties to a real chocolate shake, both of which were found at Penny’s and make it worthy of my high praise.

1. The shake was made with real ice cream. It’s a shame I even have to mention this, but in our fast paced modern world it seems most shake vendors opt for the shortcut route of making their blasphemous shakes with soft serve ice cream product.

2. The chocolate shake was made with chocolate ice cream. The inferior, bastardized version that many of you may be familiar with involves vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce. How this offensive practice ever became commonplace is a mystery to me, but I for one consider it a pox on the shake world. I ordered a chocolate shake for a reason, and only chocolate ice cream and syrup will properly satiate my chocoholism.

So if you ever find yourself cruising down Highway 6 in Hearne, Texas with a hankering for some classic roadside diner fare, pull on in to Penny’s Diner and settle into a booth for a quick bite. Just don’t forget the chocolate shake…

Texas A&M vs. Baylor.....Whoop!

Plagued by yet another bout of rainy weather, on Saturday we braved the steady drizzle to witness our first game at Kyle Field pitting the Aggies of Texas A&M against the formidable Bears of Baylor University. In spite of the dreary weather, we were invigorated by the awe inspiring pep rally the night before, and the 40 yard line student section seats expertly procured by our friend Christina. As you have heard me preach before, student sections are the lifeblood of any college stadium atmosphere, and our fortune put us in the heart of the action between the Aggie Band and the Aggie Corpsman.

The in stadium atmosphere at Kyle Field is simply awesome. Despite the inclement weather and a lackluster opponent, 82,106 bodies packed the house to cheer on their Aggies. Additionally, the student section at A&M is widely considered among the great student sections in College Football. Unlike many other student sections which are tucked into a awkward corner of the stadium, at A&M the students enjoy some of the best seats in the house straddling the 50 Yard line. The students respond by standing the entire game, never leaving early, and continuously cheering through a series of complex “yells” directed by the Yell Leaders. The energy never takes a break, and you are cheering on every play. Of course all of this support contributes to what is famously known as the A&M 12^th man…

The “12^th Man” is an Aggie legend referring the always standing and vociferous students playing an active role in the game. It’s not only a moniker, but the term is emblazoned in block letters on the façade of the second tier. Furthermore tradition dictates that one lucky student, from among hundreds that tryout, is permitted a spot on the kickoff team during live Aggie games. The student wears the cherished #12 jersey, and is honored as a live representative of the 12^th man during game action. You can read or watch about the entire history of this unique tradition below.

http://aggietraditions.tamu.edu/team/12thman.html

The game itself was predictably lopsided, as without their injured star quarterback Robert Griffin, the Baylor offense has sputtered all season. While their enigmatic defense managed to put the brakes on Baylor, the Aggie offense has been dominating the Big 12 all season, and recently laid a 65 point lashing on the Oklahoma Sooners a week before. The passing attack was led by quarterback Jerrod Johnson, who has quietly put up season statistics comparable to his ballyhooed neighbor to the South and heralded Heisman hopeful; Colt McCoy. On the ground, the Aggie rushing attack is equally formidable between the backfield tandem of Christine Michael and Cyrus Gray. In fact, phenom freshman running back Michael peeled of an impressive 97 yard touchdown run early in the second quarter that turned out to be the longest running play in Aggie history. This would prove to be the first of his two touchdowns and 116 yards on the day. Between the freshman Michael and stud sophomore Cyrus Gray (who ran for 106 yards himself), the future of the imposing Aggie ground attack is in talented hands. The Bears went down with nary a fight.

Final Score: Texas A&M 38 – Baylor 3.

But much to our delight, the festivities at Kyle Field hardly end after the final whistle. One final touch capping off this phenomenal experience, is that Kyle Field is open to the public following home games. Fans are free to mingle on the field, boot a few through the uprights, toss the pigskin around with the kids, and dive headfirst over the pylon. This is a rare, yet subtle touch that encapsulates the mutual respect that Texas A&M has for its fans and alumni. Every University should take note.

In the end, I would be hard pressed to think of a more complete and quintessential college football game day environment than Texas A&M. Between the passionate, generational fan base, the raucous student section standing the entire game, a student led pep rally that is second to none, Yell Leaders in place of pom-poms, a band that utterly dominates all other University bands (more on this to come), a field open to the public after games, great “college town” vibe, the 12^th Man, and a storied program steeped in tradition, Texas A&M earns it’s reputation among the top of all College Football atmospheres. It is quite simply the most complete game day experience that you will find, and truly a treasure among College Football.

Gig Em’ Aggies! Whoop!

Big thanks to our friend Christina for the special experience of student tickets. More thanks to our Aggie friends Allison and Melissa, for putting together a spectacular itinerary for us and introducing us to the Aggie tradition. Thanks to Fed for the jersey, and Pablo for correcting a few of my oversights…

Gig’ em Aggies!

Howdy!

This weekend brings us to College Station, TX, where the 5-5 Aggies of Texas A&M (which stands for Agriculture and Mechanical for you city slickers in the Northeast) will be squaring off against the 4-6 Baylor Bears, whom some would argue are the perennial cellar dwellers of the Big 12. The Aggies have been streaky this year, but they are firmly established as one of the most storied and tradition laden programs in College Football, and widely considered as a preeminent game day experience.

I have heard about the football atmosphere at A&M for a few years now since moving to Texas, and it’s always been a curiosity of mine. There isn’t a single ring bearing Aggie alum that will pass up an opportunity to tell you just how steeped in tradition and remarkable the game day experience in College Station can be. Now if only they could tell me exactly what the hell “Gig’ Em” actually means I would be satisfied…

Now I was excited for this trip to begin with, but our friends Allison and Melissa have “gigged” (am I using that correctly?) together one of the most exhaustive itineraries that I have ever seen. Top to bottom they have loaded us with all the must see experiences to make our trip to College Station a memorable one. And the more I keep reading about Texas A&M the more excited and “gig”(gily) I get for this trip!

We already have our student tickets lined up in the senior section, and are going to be screaming our maroon clad selves hoarse as part of the spectacle of the famous “12^th Man”, lest we face the ridicule of being labeled “2 percenters”. With over 80,000 bodies cramming the tiers at Kyle field, this will be the raucous atmosphere that A&M is noted for.

You can read about the 12^th man, and the rest of the storied A&M traditions here:

http://traditions.tamu.edu/index.php?q=traditions

But the game festivities will actually be starting earlier than Saturday. Friday night will be the most interesting pre game experience that we have had thus far, as we foray into a unique A&M tradition called Midnight Yell Practice. While on the surface this may sound like a domestic disturbance gone wrong, it’s actually an Aggie tradition prior to every game. Upwards of 25,000 students, alumni and visitors congregate at Kyle field at the stroke of midnight to rehearse cheers for the next day. Like a pep rally on steroids, Midnight Yell gets the “12^th Man” pumped up for the next opponent. Just make sure you bring a date to kiss for when the lights go out, and be mindful not to wear a hat….(so I’m told)

http://aggietraditions.tamu.edu/team/midnight.html

As usual, food will be a part of this adventure, and we have our customary lineup of lovely vegan café’s to sample from. Wait…what?

Snow’s BBQ - Brisket for breakfast anyone? Strange you might think, unless that brisket was from legendary Snow’s BBQ in Lexington, and considered to be the best that Texas has to offer. For those of you following closely at home, this will be our second stop at Snow’s on the College Football Tour. Given the fact that Lexington is only 52.1 miles away from College Station, you’d need the jaws of life to pry me out of my car before I get there. So haul yourself out of bed bright and early on Saturday morning to join us, because Snow’s is only open one day a week, and the meat sells out by 10AM.

http://www.snowsbbq.com/

Chicken Oil Company - Of course one of our eating pit stops after the game will be at the institutional Chicken Oil Company, which I am told is as delicious as it sounds. As many of you may know, I am a huge fan of dining establishments that sell both fine cuisine and diesel fuel at the same time. And while Chicken Oil unfortunately stopped selling gas a few years ago, the spirits of petroleum transfer lives on in this highly unique environment, and you can bet I will be sampling one of their famous burgers.

http://www.dixiechicken.com/chickenoil/

http://www.dixiechicken.com/chickenoil/menu.php

Dixie Chicken - Staying consistent with the Dixie Chicken enterprise, we will also be relaxing with a few beers on Saturday night at the Dixie Chicken Bar in College Station. The Dixie Chicken, which may eclipse Eskimo Joe’s as the most renowned pub we have visited, claims to serve more beer per square foot than any other bar in the U.S. Suffice to say it’s an A&M landmark, and I’ll be carving my name in the table after a few pints.

http://www.dixiechicken.com/dixiechicken/

Well that’s the lineup for this week, and whatever other fun we can manage to uncover in College Station. Let me know if you are interested, and of course snarky comments always appreciated.

BTHO Baylor (I’ll let you non Aggies decipher what that actually means).

Whoop!

-Jamin